Climate Optimism: Celebrating Systemic Change Around the World (Environmental Sustainability, Doing Good Things, Book for Activists) - Tapa blanda

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Zahra Biabani is a climate activist, influencer, CEO, and writer. Her content focuses on climate hope, optimism, humor, and action items. After unexpectedly establishing a career as an online sustainability educator and influencer her junior year at Vanderbilt University, Zahra decided to jump head first into the waters of entrepreneurship and authorship. Her startup, In the Loop, is the first rental clothing company for vetted sustainable and ethical fashion brands.

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The Message of Climate Optimism

Because of the magnitude of the threat climate change poses to humanity, my message of climate optimism is occasionally met with disdain and criticism. Some watch my videos and leave comments about the irreversible effects of climate change and how my “pointless videos” do nothing to reverse the damage that is being done. They claim my celebration of the positive does nothing to stop corporations from wreaking havoc on the planet and its people. I get it. It is hard to be optimistic when it feels like the world is falling apart, being ripped open at the seams by the very people who have promised to protect it. 

Let me be clear: climate optimism is not the expectation of a salvaged planet. Instead, it is the proclamation of hope for a healthier and more just planet and the pursuit of actions that are in alignment with what needs to be done to get there. 

Those comments pale in comparison to the ones I encounter expressing relief and comfort at the sight of positive climate news. The majority express that they look forward to Fridays all week long, knowing they can find a feel-good video on my page where I present the “earth wins” of the last week. 

I am certainly not clicking-my-heels, feel-good all the time. Prior to diving into climate optimism, I found myself sinking into nihilism, overwhelmed by what I heard on the news and what I learned in school, much of which was discouraging. I knew I wanted environmentalism to be my life’s work and to ensure it could be, I needed to find a way to sustainably engage with the news around me.

Climate optimism allowed me to re-acquaint myself with the work I do and the “why” behind it. This is not to say I do not experience days where I am writhing in eco-anxiety.

Whenever I feel dejected, crumbling under the weight of projections for rising temperatures and species loss, I issue myself the simple reminder that by several accounts, the world is better than it has ever been. Although we are still facing several overlapping and intersectional global crises, all of which are amplified by the climate crisis, humanity is more advanced, connected, and well-off than it has been at any previous time in history. At times when it feels like the world is ending, this reminder helps to both ground us and move us forward. This hope is what I aim to provide others with as well.

Some call this mindset toxic positivity, but for me, it’s far from toxic; it is empowering, enabling me to make the change I want to see in the world (thanks for the quote, Gandhi). At worst, toxic positivity is a cursory dismissal of important issues blanketed in a lack of empathy. At best, it’s an earnest, albeit callous, attempt to soothe over real pain with the notion that “at least something worse isn’t happening.”

There are several reasons the framework of climate optimism is difficult for people to accept. This section will attempt to unpack why this is such a hurdle, uncovering the ways we have been primed to fixate on the negative; and in doing so, isolate ourselves from pursuing the positive.