How Kindness Can Fight Climate Change
Kindness: An unsung climate change tool
Kat Kerlin, September 13, 2018 (University of California)
"When you think of climate change and community resilience, visions of seawalls, renewable energy projects and other physical things may come to mind…But there’s another powerful tool…[to] weather the harshest impacts of climate change: Kindness…Checking up on vulnerable neighbors during heat waves, hurricanes, or other extreme weather events can…[have] global ripple effects…[A Northeastern University study of community survival rates and reactions to the 2011 Fukushima disaster—a triple whammy of earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown that forced 470,000 people to evacuate] found that social networks were the most important defense against disasters. Communities with closer social ties, interactions and shared norms worked more effectively…
…[Community gatherings, events, and activities] form the building blocks for when communities are threatened, either by natural events or misguided policies. When neighbors talk with each other, it can embolden community members to make their voices heard to each other, as well as to higher levels of government before and after disasters strike…Strong ties between the community and the government representatives who can advocate on their behalf also make a big difference in how residents recover following a disaster, political scientists have found. Social media can help build grassroots bridging ties, as well. But it begins with building trust and connections neighbor to neighbor…Human beings may actually be built to be kind…” click here for more
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