Climate change is undeniably a bleak story. Recent data–from the top of a remote volcanic mountain–show that carbon dioxide is accumulating in our atmosphere faster than ever. Its concentration has reached levels far beyond those in any other time of human existence. This bad news is balanced, however, against a highly-regarded good news report that fossil fuel emissions have plateaued in recent years.
Public health professionals are used to this tug-of-war of data. We are optimists at heart who work daily against very strong headwinds to improve health worldwide. As a profession, we have successfully fought decades-long battles against smallpox, polio, HIV, smoking, air pollution, and other health scourges. Public health has learned to play the long-game and, as a result, is markedly resilient as a profession.
Climate change represents a particular challenge
But climate change is a global challenge in a way that other public health battles are not. Decades of dedicated vaccination efforts may have successfully localized the global spread of polio to just a few communities. But we cannot similarly localize climate change. A community that takes the preventive step of investing in clean energy, for example, still cannot really avoid the effects of climate change. It may be able to mitigate the damage, but there is no real way to keep the “disease” out.
As a result, actions minimizing climate change in one community are both essential and wholly insufficient to meet world climate goals. Instead, preventing the worst effects of climate change requires an “all of us, right now” moment. The United Nations Secretary-General described it succinctly earlier this month, “It’s climate crunch time.” The world agrees: new public opinion data show that roughly 8 in 10 people across 77 countries (representing 87% of the world’s population) want quicker climate action [pdf].
Yet, the pressure created by this real-life “crunch time” is arguably working against us. The world is reaching a point where public support is astonishingly strong, but time is running out. We risk futility creeping in. Even public health professionals–the world’s disease-beating optimists–may find it harder with each passing year to envision realistically meeting climate goals.
To put it simply: the hope that fuels public health’s efforts on climate is in diminishing supply.
A picture of climate contrasts
As I write this, I’m sitting in one of the most bipolar climate change locations in the world. I’ve just returned from the breathtaking top of 13,803 foot Mauna Kea in Hawai’i. It is the slightly taller sister of Mauna Loa, the volcanic “mountain” (mentioned earlier) from which scientific instruments sip atmospheric winds to measure critical atmospheric CO2. 
Together, these two beautiful volcanic mountains are the unobvious source of some of the world’s worst climate news. They produce the terrifying CO2 data that have informed the famous, hockey stick shaped Keeling Curve. Mauna Kea, in fact, has served as the temporary site of CO2 monitoring since 2022, when lava flow at Mauna Loa disrupted power lines supplying its observatory.
Far below, Hawai’i also faces some of the most extreme effects of climate change. Sea levels around the islands, for example, are rising up to 1 inch per year. According to the state, this has already resulted in the loss of 10% of the beaches on O’ahu, and threatens another 70% of beaches statewide. Also, more than 66,000 residents are now regularly at risk from extreme flooding. And despite being surrounded by water, some of the islands face increasing drought.
Reasons for hope
On the other hand, Hawai’i is home to some of the most pronounced climate change prevention efforts. In 2023, the state generated just under one-third of its electricity from renewable sources. It has the lowest per-capita energy consumption in the nation. And despite its small population size, the state ranks 11th nationwide in the total amount of rooftop solar generation. This progress is visible on what seems like nearly every rooftop.
Hawai’i is also home to a landmark climate lawsuit that was settled just this week. Since 2022, a group of 13 children and teens argued the state was violating its own constitution. The lawsuit said the state operates a transportation system that does not protect the rights of residents to a clean and healthy environment. That state agreed to produce a plan in one year that would fully decarbonize transportation in 20 years. It also includes an immediate $40 million investment in clean transport.
These are reasons for hope.
A new series on climate change and hope
In the coming weeks, this blog will feature more on this topic. We will share a series of posts on maintaining hope in the face of climate change. It derives from a unique endeavor to explore this challenge hosted by the Department of Public Health at California State University, Los Angeles.
The Department invited all of its 500 public health students and faculty, and many alumni to participate in a reading of The Climate Book. Edited by Greta Thunberg, the book is a collection of succinct, impactful essays by leading climate voices.
We then held five live events with environmental activists, journalists and professionals. We designed the events to understand the connections between taking climate action and hope. Lessons from these events form the basis of this series and each post will include links to the session recordings.
Look for these posts in coming weeks.
Gregory Stevens