Anger, a surprising weapon

How we can use its little-known effects.

Mar 25, 2022

Grrrr! Why doesn’t somebody in authority do something about this terrible situation?

Anger is common these days. Human rights, voting rights, right-to-choose, the Russian invasion, the issues seem endless. There’s enough anger around to prompt predictions of another Civil War.

With way too much rage out there, why are Buddy and I urging for more? Because the issue of climate action needs the strongest weapons it can find, and anger is more powerful than most of us realise.

IF THERE’S ANYTHING WE SHOULD BE ANGRY ABOUT . . .
. . . it’s inaction on climate change. If Americans don’t revive democracy and tolerance we may destroy America. If we don’t deal with climate change we WILL destroy our country.

The climate action weapons we’ve used so far are just about useless. After all

science hasn’t changed enough people’s thinking.
visions of what’s happening in photographs and climate fiction (cli-fi) haven’t grabbed much attention.
huge protest rallies have had virtually no effect.
and our votes? Well, elected officials continue to block mitigation policies like a carbon tax and methane regulations, or adaptation policies like restrictive zoning and subsidized flood insurance.

Maybe anger should be added to our arsenal. Plenty of us are armed already. Seventy percent of Americans are worried about climate change, and 47 percent describe themselves as ‘angry’, according to a poll conducted by Yale and George Mason University researchers last September.

ANGER IS AN EFFECTIVE WEAPON
Righteous anger is good for recruiting and morale building. Despite what we’ve been taught about anger being bad for us, if we use our anger to take nonviolent, legal and humane action, its expression can be cathartic and healthy. And influential!

Learning that others are angry emboldened people in our study to express their own outrage about climate, and they were more likely to support action to mitigate the crisis. [Journal of Environmental Psychology]

It’s a natural reaction for many children who are rapidly learning what their next twenty years will look like. They are scared. They are pissed. And they are a tribe, entering the battlefield with their growing fears, anger, and determination. Reacting emotionally comes far more naturally, honestly, and strongly to them than to the adults in the fight. Buddy and I discussed this in our first ClimateDog letter. We don’t want to teach our kids to be angry; we want to channel the anger they’re already feeling into constructive actions.

Eighteen-year-old Greta Thunberg gets it, saying "Sometimes you need to anger people".

Anger stays with us longer than other emotions. Studies have shown, and I’ve found personally, that being angry can keep us focused and tends to stay with us longer than simply worrying or debating. It’s strong enough to help guard against fatigue or disengagement and maintain a sense of urgency. When I feel I’m not fighting hard enough against climate threats, I remind myself how angry I feel towards the people who are stonewalling climate action. Then I go and get Buddy, and we start working harder.

Angry people, actions and remarks are memorable. If we want our friends and our children to understand and take action on climate problems, they need to remember what we teach them. They’ll echo our emotional concern long after the reasoning behind it has slipped out of their minds. Remember the saying: nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care.

WHAT WE CAN DO WITH OUR ANGER
To be effective an angry person needs two things: targets and teammates.

There are plenty of targets. It’s easy to feel rage at Exxon Mobil, knowing their products are a chief cause of climate change, and they are systematically working to persuade the world otherwise. Or at Senator Jim Inhofe, who’s been the chief elected denier of climate science in Washington. But we’re not likely to influence Exxon, now that a New York State lawsuit has failed to do so, and Inhofe just announced his retirement.

We need realistic targets, people holding back climate action and who can be influenced. Want a list of such targets? Start by looking to the major climate action groups across the country. They work hard to select their targets. We can either join in their angry actions or identify similar targets locally. Some examples

Residents of Deabron, MI protested lack of flood controls, after the city's sewage system, designed to handle 3 inches of rain within 24 hours, received more than 7.5 inches in six hours.
Mandated cuts in water use in California have prompted a revolt against Nestlé and other companies taking advantage of poor government oversight to deplete mountain streams and watersheds.
After several protests by youth activists, Miami officials finally declared a climate emergency, formally recognizing the many threats the city faces.
In Australia flood victims dumped the sodden debris from their homes outside the prime minister’s home.

Anger doesn’t have to be snarly and agressive. We don’t have to join a Congressional sit-in or take up civil disobedience to show how we feel. It’s surprising how little things, like social media posts, bumper stickers, posters, or pins, can help recruit and influence. I often wear the global temperature graph from Climate Central. It gets attention, and when asked about it, I always start my explanation with “I’m angry about . . .”

We can find teammates as well. Angry supporters of climate action congregate within those climate action organizations, and we can join them. Or start a local branch.

As readers know, until there’s a chance for federal anti-carbon legislation, I don’t usually try to reverse or slow climate change. Individual and local actions just can’t achieve mitigation. We can, however, make a tangible difference with resilience. I look for teammates who focus on building local protections against climate threats. These might be neighbors pushing city hall for better storm drainage, water re-use or a new reservoir. Or friends lobbying for more trees in our heat-dome downtown, or for zoning that encourages retreat rather than rebuilding after a climate disaster. Asking around, it can be surprising to find who’s quietly thinking the same thoughts.

There are plenty of local actions, adapting or mitigating, which we can support by using our anger. Relevant volunteer groups in our area can be found at the Climatestore, FoodTank, and Climate Action Network, or by searching online for the issue and locality that interests us.

In case it’s not obvious, I’m angry! So is Buddy. And ClimateDog is a way we’re trying to encourage our readers to nourish and show their anger too.

Anger, a surprising weapon

How we can use its little-known effects.

Grrrr! Why doesn’t somebody in authority do something about this terrible situation?

Learning that others are angry emboldened people in our study to express their own outrage about climate, and they were more likely to support action to mitigate the crisis. [Journal of Environmental Psychology]

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