Kevin Sweeny presents a powerful reminder for us in his article: A Climate of Hope.

As he reminds us: “Global warming is the worst news of our time. But pessimism saps our will. It’s time to embrace the challenge, and call boldly on Americans to win the fight of a lifetime.”
This is a powerful reminder to us all, and particularly struck a cord with me. (Thanks to Sandy Piderit for bringing this article to our attention!) Recently I realized I had become very impacted by the negative press being given to global warming. I was starting to believe that the world was going to hell in a handbasket and thus my contributions — be they recycling, walking versus driving, etc. — were empty symbols, small and meaningless.

Yet, if I do not continue my individual contributions, nothing will ever change. Revolution is made one person at a time … and hope is the fuel that will keep that individual postive change going. The current research on positive psychology supports the idea that our capacity for creative problem solving and generative thinking is enhanced when we are in a positive affective state. Given that this is the very kind of thinking we need to solve the many problems that face the world today, let’s continue to keep hope alive!
It also reminds me of Emily Dickinson’s ever-powerful portait of Hope:

HOPE is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,