Finding the Courage to Choose Change

+ Babies & Freebies!

Hello friends,

Before we dive in, a few quick (and important) updates on my end!

The Book Baby

Last week I had one of those *wild* moments when a box of copies of my book arrived at my door. To have been writing this book for almost ten years and to have spent the greater part of this year writing, editing, and editing again, it’s an almost unreal experience to see the finished products in my hands.

Yes, I’m proud. Very proud. And I’m so honored by all the wonderful support and feedback I’ve received so far! Friday (10/28) was the last chance to order a signed copy so I spent my weekend on the floor in my living room signing books, and for you who ordered one — thank you, they will be shipped out shortly.

For those of you who missed the window OR who live in other places than the United States, you can get the book in paperback or kindle version on Amazon! Just search for “The Climate Optimist Handbook” in your country’s Amazon store. ☺️

The Actual Baby

This leads me to my big news number two — I’m about to become a mother any day now! So that means that when I’m not signing and shipping books, I’m spending time at home nesting and resting. With that said, the next few weeks (or maybe months) will look very different for me and I’m choosing to honor this journey with love and respect, for myself and my family. Therefore, this newsletter will take a slightly different approach this fall. Instead of keeping you up-to-date with lots of current optimistic news in the world, I will let my other baby speak for me as I’m tending to my human nugget. In other words — I will share excerpts from chapters in the book and leave you with inspiration and thoughts to reflect on.

With the world ever spinning faster and with big stuff like COP27 going on, it might serve as a nice opportunity in your week to slow down, ground, and reflect. And of course, should you feel inspired, there’s an entire book where those thoughts came from ;)

THANK YOU for being here and for all your support. Please don’t be a stranger and know that I’m right here, baby in arms (soon), and sharing this crazy but wonderful journey towards a better and greener world right alongside you!

With optimism and love,

— AT

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Chapter 2 — Choosing Change

One Friday night in May, I found myself in one of the most lavish apartments I’ve ever been in. It was one of those places with windows from floor to ceiling and big, heavy curtains caressing their frames. A huge wooden table was centered in the middle of the room, and in every corner, there was either a sculpture or an impressive painting. If you walked up to the window, you looked right out at the cobbled streets of lower Manhattan.

How I ended up at an intimate dinner party in Tribeca with a group of documentary producers, I didn’t know, but it wasn’t the first time my path had brought me to some cool places. Sometimes life throws you interesting curveballs, and I’ve swung at enough of them to know how to sip cocktails with magic when it chooses to appear. You simply don’t know what will come from saying “yes” to an invitation, so when asked if I was in New York and interested in joining a group of climate nerds for dinner, I decided to accept.

“How do you think your perspective as a Swede differs from that of most Americans when it comes to dealing with the climate crisis?” I was asked.

I had just made the comment, “Of course, the movie would have a happy ending—it’s an American movie after all,” while we were bouncing around ideas for a blockbuster movie based on real-time and all-too-true climate facts. When the “happy ending” emerged, I had to say it—Americans!

Everyone laughed, and the joke spun on how the film would end if it were made in a country like Sweden. Would we all eventually die? And would that be the more realistic ending to the movie called Climate Change? (Note, this conversation took place before Don’t Look Up reached theaters.)

With all six pairs of eyes now looking at me over the candlelit table, I sobered up from my joke. I wanted to give them a sincere and thought-through answer, so I did a deep dive into my cultural background. What about me and my view now is shaped by American culture, and what have I brought with me from my upbringing in a Nordic country like Sweden? What is new, what is old, and what is just…me?

That was the first time I honestly reflected on my unique situation as a Swede in the States.

[…]

I gave the party what I believe was a satisfactory response, and the conversation went on to deeper levels of culture, politics, and social influence. However, I couldn’t shake the question, and it followed me to the subway and home. What will it actually take to fix this? Considering that climate change is such a perplexing problem that no one solution can fix it and no one country has the power to change its course, how will we make it out on the other side?

For one, it will take all of us. Not just every country, but we, the people, need to trust in leaders’ bold actions and look around ourselves to see how we can help. That means we must be willing to take a serious look at the future we’re headed for and ask ourselves if that is what we want, and if it isn’t, we must be ready to change our ways. Quite obvious, perhaps, but here comes the tricky part—our relationship with both the future and change!

[…]

“Climate change is first and foremost a problem of our relationship with the future.”

— Alex Steffen, as quoted in The Future Earth by Eric Holthaus

Let me ask you a question: When was the last time you did something bold? Maybe you moved to a new town, switched careers, or decided to finally leave a relationship that wasn’t working. And if you’re too young for any of that, maybe you finally decided to speak up for yourself or stopped hanging out with a friend who didn’t make you feel good. Whatever it was, reflect on what brought you to take that action and how it made you feel. Looking back, do you wish you would’ve found the courage to change things for the better sooner?

Humans are an interesting species. We have this ability to make calculated choices and know what’s ultimately best for us, yet it can be so hard to act on that knowledge and change things for the better. Our human relationship to change and our ability to actively choose (or not choose) to change has always fascinated me. What does it take to leave what we know is safe, the “good enough,” in search of new opportunity, expansion, and growth? And more importantly, what triggers this kind of courage, and how can we use it to fuel the climate action we so desperately need?

The world needs change, and for that, we need courage, so the answer to the question I was asked over the candlelit dinner and that kept living inside me for quite some time, is we need it all. We need my perspective—new and old—and we need yours. We need the perspective of scientists, engineers, and economists, but also the perspective of the Indigenous and the old. We need the perspective of dreamers and visionaries, of artists and makers, of mothers and fathers, children, blue-collar workers, and entrepreneurs. We. Need. It. All.

And as much as we need to focus on science and finding the smartest and fastest next step, we also need a little dose of crazy. We need wild hearts dreaming of seemingly impossible tomorrows, and we must nurture those hearts as often as we can.

[…]

You may not know exactly what we face or what we need to do yet—I don’t think any of us really does. We don’t know what awaits us or the strength it’ll require from our hearts to overcome it. The best thing we can do is prepare ourselves and recognize that we don’t have a second to lose. All we have is something better to win.

That is why we need it all. We need fear and worry so we can remember why choosing change is necessary in the first place, but then we also need curiosity, excitement, and joy so we can find the motivation to keep trying.

We need to dream big and act boldly and continue to grow and nurture our hearts. We have to choose change, again and again, and again, until it becomes so natural that it’s simply what we do. We say yes to change. We have to question even when we don’t think there’s anything to question, and we must be willing to try new things, even if we’re happy and comfortable with the old.

And more than anything, we have to grow our relationship with the future and recognize that it’s not about what we can accomplish, but how much we can nurture what we have and pass it on. It’s not a rat race anymore; it’s a journey, and one all of us get to travel together. That is why, although it might seem like a scary time to be alive, it’s also the most exciting time there’s ever been.

It’s a time when we get to do the heroic work of choosing change.

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These were excerpts from Chapter Two: Choosing Change. The book consists of a total of 75 chapters, broken up into 6 different parts. If you want to feel inspired and empowered as a climate activist, let your journey start here:

The Climate Optimist Handbook - How to Shift the Narrative on Climate Change and Find the Courage to Choose Change.

*The book is available in paperback and kindle on Amazon worldwide. Search for “The Climate Optimist Handbook”

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Powerful words by Mr. Attenborough

This final request by David Attenborough on Frozen Planet II on BBC Earth had many people hooked and in tears. How will it affect you?

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“You can never really see the future, only imagine it, then try to make sense of the new world when it arrives.”

Mr. DoomsDay himself (aka Mr. David Wallace-Wells and the author of An Uninhabitable Earth) has turned up his optimism a bit!! In his latest essay for The New York Times, Beyond Catastrophe — A New Climate Reality Is Coming Into View, he shares how the climate reality of this century doesn’t look as dystopian as science projected only 5 years ago. It’s definitely worth a read!

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Climate Optimism

"Ten years from now, I believe we will see that 2022 was the year where the clean energy technologies see a major turbocharging". — kbps

• Global demand for all types of fossil fuels will peak by the mid-2030s, according to new projections from the International Energy Agency. — kbps

• The U.S. EPA is investing $27 billion into a green bank to fight against climate change and promote environmental justice. This grant will offer $27 billion towards disadvantaged communities in starting zero-emission projects. - Reuters (as read in Zahra’s Weekly Earth Wins Newsletter)

• Mr. Wallace-Wells is more optimistic these days. "I’ve grown more optimistic than I used to be.” — The New York Times

• Bolsonaro is OUT — this is why elections matter! — AP News