In this op-ed, Elizabeth Arnold challenges the media to shift the climate narrative away from disasters and their “victims” to also center climate resilience and the ways that people in different communities across the globe are actively working to address climate change. This added focus would help to address what researchers are calling the “hope gap,” the feeling of hopelessness that people feel when the news evokes feelings of misery, fear, or doom. When people are exclusively confronted with the terrifying realities of climate disaster, they begin to believe that climate change is inevitable, and there is nothing they can do to help prevent the situation from escalating. Arnold argues that the kinds of stories the media chooses to cover matter; if a variety of stories are told in ways that empower those who are working to make a difference for the planet, others will be more likely to find ways to contribute to action. Photo credit: Al Grillo / Associated Press
