Climate Advocates Are Tired, New Book Says - And Punch Lists Aren't Helping

After years working in the climate movement, Katharine K. Wilkinson noticed that advocates consistently lacked the emotional stamina and support needed to stay active, inspired and connected to others engaged in climate work.

Climate advocates are tired. The burnout is real. Solutions are abundant and renewables like solar are cheaper than ever before, but the political will for change, especially at the federal level, is in short supply.

People often ask, “‘What can I do?’” Wilkinson said in a recent interview, and the climate movement responds with punch lists of to-dos. “The punch lists sell us short on those nodes of possibility, that we are not just action takers and chore doers, that our very lives can be meaningful sites of contribution,” she said.

In her new book, “Climate Wayfinding,” Wilkinson argues that the movement needs more than checklists - it needs emotional resilience and a sense of purpose. Because nothing says climate resilience like acknowledging that the humans fighting for it are also, well, human.