Four decades into the environmental movement, eco-chic is everywhere, from green weddings to mutual funds, corporate headquarters and thrift shops.
And the endless flow of choices for green living, driven by environmental fears about everything from peak oil to climate change, is giving people a whole new way to worry.
Experts call it eco-anxiety.
“That’s what eco-psychologists call that underlying feeling of fear and anger about the state of the Earth,” said Margaret Emerson, who received a master’s degree in eco-psychology from Naropa University in Boulder. “If you pick just one thing, it would be overwhelming, but with all this stuff coming at you, it’s psychologically numbing.”
New fields such as eco-therapy and eco-psychology have sprouted alongside such things as the “six levels of awareness,” similar to the stages of grief, that eco-anxiety sufferers share with one another. The stages range from denial and fear to acceptance and action.
When Emerson gave a workshop on eco-anxiety earlier this year at Naropa, there was no shortage of angst.
“People talked about all the different ways they were freaking out about things,” she said.
A man from Estes Park was “absolutely devastated” by seeing trees die and marmots and other animals in the area disappear, she said.
A vegan was equally upset for entirely different reasons. “Her eco-anxiety was about how we treat animals,” said Emerson. “She’d talk and talk about it to people, but it seemed she was seeing more and more industrial farms. She felt no matter what she did, things only got worse.”
When it comes to the difficult emotions, guilt is right up there with anxiety.
Sustainability consultant Ogilvy Earth released a study Monday — the week of Earth Day, which is today — noting that 82 percent of Americans have good intentions for green living but only 16 percent are dedicated to living that way.
Nearly 50 percent of Americans said they feel guiltier the more they know about how to live a sustainable lifestyle.
“Super greens,” the subset of Americans who cultivate the greenest lifestyles, feel twice as guilty as average Americans.
Carolyn Baker is a Boulder psychotherapist who offers “collapse coaching” for people struggling with eco-anxiety.
“It helps when we reframe things from ‘Oh, my God, I’ve got to save the Earth,’ because it might be too late,” said Baker, the author of “Navigating the Coming Chaos.” “But we can live in a way that is fulfilling, and takes care of the immediate environment around us, and build community around this.”
The salve for Emerson’s own eco-angst came when she discovered the Transition Towns movement, a community- based network that helps neighbors deal with the challenges of peak oil and climate change.
Started in the United Kingdom in 2005, it spread rapidly, with more than 300 communities from the United States to Chile and New Zealand.
Emerson attended the first Transition Town training in Boulder in 2008 and then started a group for people from Westminster, Arvada and Broomfield. People gather to learn about everything from creating community gardens to fixing bikes and composting.
“It really helped psychologically,” she said. “Not just because I can take care of myself a bit better, but I’m getting to know people who really understand, and who don’t roll their eyes and say, ‘You’re a doom-and-gloomer, get away from me.’ “
Carolyn Baker is very involved in the Transition Boulder group.
“One thing we emphasize is not saving the world, but being resilient and able to respond,” she said. “We can be resilient in our families and our communities.”
That includes everything from school kids making art from unrecyclable plastics to adults learning to be a bit easier on themselves.
“Maybe this week you’ll ride your bike to the grocery store and be very motivated,” said Emerson. “But other days, the way our society and infrastructure is set up, it’s just too difficult.
“When you’re stressed by lots of work, you might just want to forget it, focus on positive things, go see a comedy, read a trashy novel,” she said. “That’s completely healthy and normal.”
It’s also critical to the longevity of the environmental movement, she said.
“It’s OK to give yourselves a break for a few weeks or months. Otherwise, I think people will go in the opposite direction,” she said. “A lot of anti-green people are ticked off because psychologically they can’t deal with it, so they’ve decided to reject everything about the environmental movement.”
Colleen O’Connor: 303-954-1083 or coconnor@denverpost.com
Author! Author!
Carolyn Baker and Margaret Emerson will speak about their new books at 7:30 p.m. May 4 at the Boulder Bookstore, 1107 Pearl St.
Baker is the author of “Navigating the Coming Chaos,” and Emerson is the author of “Contemplative Hiking Along the Colorado Front Range.”
For more information on Transition Colorado, go to transitioncolorado.ning.com
The worth of Earth Day
In the 40 years since Earth Day — the high holiday of the environmental movement — was scheduled for every April 22, the world has changed.
Smog levels nationwide have dropped by about a quarter, lead in the air is down more than 90 percent, and polluted lakes and rivers are now clean enough to swim in.
Organizers say the problems people need to worry about now are less visible than they used to be, but millions still commemorate the holiday with outward displays of devotion to the cause.
The city of Denver will host an Earth Day Fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today at Civic Center. The event will include activities and displays intended to inform and inspire participants to honor Earth and work toward more conservation and preservation. Details: denvergov.org/earthday