“Climate anxiety is distress about climate change and its impacts on the landscape and human existence… Many people are worried about climate change. That’s a good and healthy thing because worry as an emotion is a motivator… Where worry becomes a problem is when it becomes overwhelming and debilitating, when it keeps you from living your life.”

– Anthony Leiserowitz, PhD & Sarah Lowe, PhD
Yale University

“Having a smart media diet is important…. [and doing things that] make us more resilient as human beings. But taking action on climate change is one of the most powerful ways to combat hopelessness and helplessness. Go do something— as part of a group. Engaging in collective action can have a multitude of benefits including social connectedness with people who share similar goals and values.”

– Anthony Leiserowitz, PhD & Sarah Lowe, PhD
Yale University

Indigenous people view land not as a commodity to be owned, but as a sacred entity that promotes life, community, and spirituality. European colonizers imposed land ownership concepts and forcibly seized land from Native tribes.

Policies like the Indian Removal Act (1830) and Dawes Act (1887) broke up tribal lands, transferring millions of acres to non-Native settlers, causing forced displacement and death to Indigenous peoples, most notably during the Trail of Tears.

The Indian Reorganization Act (1934) and Self-Determination policies (1970s–present) allowed some Native land restoration and tribal governance but did not fully undo past losses.

Indigenous groups continue to fight for protection of sacred lands (e.g., Standing Rock protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline).

Modern Indigenous activism calls for the return of stolen lands to tribal nations, with some recent success (e.g., 18,800 acres in Montana returned to the Salish & Kooteni tribes in 2021, 1,500 acres of Wisconsin land to the Red Cliff Chippewa in 2022).

Indigenous nations are leveraging sovereignty for cultural preservation, renewable energy initiatives, and sustainable development, despite ongoing federal and corporate resistance.

Indigenous communities are reclaiming traditional diets, and securing sustainable food systems through efforts in farming, hunting, and seed preservation. The Native American Food Sovereignty Alliance is an organization dedicated to this mission.

Numerous Indigenous tribes are pushing renewable energy initiatives around the U.S., such as the Oceti Sakowin Power Authority’s mission of large-scale wind energy, the Navajo Nation Keyanta Solar Program, the Standing Rock Nation’s ongoing projects developing sustainable energy sources, and more.

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians have developed The Kituwah Preservation and Education Program which aims to revitalize and preserve the Cherokee language and culture through its elementary and early childhood academies, community consortiums and gatherings, and connecting people to Cherokee language resources.

Incorporation of herbal medicine, ceremony, and holistic health practice with Western healthcare through NC government endorsed initiatives such as the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) Public Health & Human Services Agency (PHHS).

the Lumbee Tribe of southeastern North Carolina connects their members through community events, council meetings, government advocacy initiatives, education grants, housing assistance, vocational support, youth services, and more. They operate a Cultural Center that is a dedicated space to preserve the tribes history and support its ongoing sovereignty.

In 1862, about 90% of Americans were farmers. In the 1940’s, after the Dust Bowl, a downward spiral of farmers in the US began. Total farm production has nearly tripled from 1948 to 2017 thanks to the industrialization of food production. While innovations in animal and crop genetics, chemicals, equipment, and farm organization have helped increase farm production, it has led to severely impact the environment.

Food Print — Monocropped fields require chemical fertilizers and pesticides that run off into soil and waterways. Industrialized agriculture like factory farms result in excess animal waste that pollutes soil, water and air. These methods of food production use finite resources without replenishing them. Air emissions from livestock operations make up about 14.5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Climate change can make conditions better or worse for growing crops in different regions. For example, changes in temperature, rainfall, and frost-free days are leading to longer growing seasons in almost every state. Some farmers may be able to plant longer-maturing crops or more crop cycles altogether, while others may need to provide more irrigation (water, insecticides) over a longer, hotter growing season. 

New advances in sustainable agriculture are rooted in regenerative practices based on a whole ecosystem approach. They invest in the natural environment, rather than depleting it, building soil health, clean water systems and biodiversity. The sustainable approach also reduces industrial farming emissions, building environmental resilience, adapting both food production and the land to climate change.

Prevent food waste. Stretch your dollar and shrink your carbon footprint by planning your shopping trips carefully and properly storing food. Donate nutritious, untouched food to food banks and those in need.

The Paris Agreement is an international climate change agreement adopted in December 2015. The Executive Order on Paris Agreement withdrawal, signed by President Trump on January 20, 2025 and titled “Putting America First in International Environmental Agreements,” starts the process of withdrawing the United States.

The agreement aims to substantially reduce global greenhouse gas emissions in an effort to limit the global temperature increase in this century to 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, while pursuing the means to limit the increase to 1.5 degrees. The agreement includes commitments from all major emitting countries to cut their climate pollution and to strengthen those commitments over time. The executive order along with many other federal government measures will limit the United States’ ability to achieve this greenhouse gas emissions reduction target by 2035 (down 60-66% from levels in 2005).