How to find joy in climate action | Ayana Elizabeth Johnson
TED Talks Daily
TED
4.1 • 12.1K Ratings
🗓️ 21 June 2022
⏱️ 12 minutes
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Summary
We can all play a role in the climate movement by tapping into our skills, resources and networks in ways that bring us satisfaction, says climate leader Ayana Elizabeth Johnson. She suggests drawing a Venn diagram to map these questions: What are you good at? What is the work that needs doing? And what brings you joy? Where your answers intersect is where you should put your climate action effort. “Averting climate catastrophe: this is the work of our lifetimes,” Johnson says.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hi there, it's Peter and Abby from the Therapy Crouch podcast, and we're currently brought to you by James Patterson's new audiobook thriller, The Picasso Heist. |
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| 0:21.7 | watching. Can she do it? Oh, and the narrator, Felicity Jones, incredible. And I actually found myself |
| 0:27.2 | sitting in the car after work just to finish a chapter. I'm sorry I did it without you, Pete. |
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| 0:46.6 | It's Ted Talks Daily. I'm Elise Hugh. I don't know about you, but the climate catastrophe |
| 0:51.6 | can often make me feel overwhelmed and not sure where I can be |
| 0:55.2 | the most effective. Climate leader Ayanna Elizabeth Johnson turns that around in her talk from |
| 1:01.0 | TED 2022. She shows how we can each bring what we're good at to speed up climate action and find |
| 1:07.4 | joy in doing it. |
| 1:16.8 | People often ask me what they can do to help address the climate crisis. |
| 1:23.1 | But what they usually mean is what's one quick, easy, simple thing they can do. |
| 1:26.1 | Well, that particular ship has sailed. |
| 1:35.2 | The climate challenge is gargantuan, thanks largely to fossil fuel executives and the PR firms and politicians doing their bidding. |
| 1:43.0 | We need to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions from electricity, transportation, agriculture, industry, and buildings. |
| 1:46.0 | We need to protect and restore ecosystems. |
| 1:55.0 | We need to change society, policy, economy, and culture. This is about transformation, and the stakes for humanity are greater than my heart and mind can fully fathom. So I find the best way to cope with this |
| 2:02.6 | is to avoid dwelling on the terrifying scientific projections |
| 2:06.4 | and instead pivot quickly to solutions. |
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