After working in Corsica in the Mediterranean Sea for my Master’s and PhD, I had always dreamed of working in warmer seas, where coral lives. In September 2007, I finally made it and got my first job in the Caribbean as a faculty member in the Turks and Caicos Islands to teach Marine Resources Management.
A few months later, I got the opportunity to attend the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) General Meeting, a major coral reef conference in Florida. I was buzzing with excitement, ready to soak up everything about coral science and meet some of the big names in the field.
But by the end of the first day, my excitement had turned to shock. Every talk was about how bad things were getting for coral reefs everywhere. It hit me hard. I thought “Can we even make a dent in this huge problem?”
As the years passed, my passion had become as dull as the reefs I was looking at. These reefs were nothing like the reefs I was amazed by 35 years ago. They were dead, or at best, dying, and the worst thing about it was that I thought it was “normal.” It had become the norm around the world, and I couldn’t see a way to improve the situation. I was completely overwhelmed and discouraged.
But then something magical happened. In 2018, I spent six months in Borneo teaching marine science to millennials, and I was blown away by the energy and motivation they had to make a real difference. They were asking how they could make a difference or at least take a step in the right direction. This forced me to educate myself on possible solutions and not only look at the problems I saw daily.
I read as many books as I could read on the topic, watched videos, and listened to podcasts. Slowly, I started to see that hundreds, thousands, (millions?) of people were ready to take action for the climate, looking at solutions and making a difference. I was not alone.
This completely turned around my own perceptions about a possible future. And I know now that the gut feeling you get from knowing you can be part of the solution is liberating and empowering. This is why I’m writing this book, to share my emotional journey as a marine biologist, and my intention is to change personal and social engagements with climate change by steering the conversation towards practical, viable, and accessible solutions.
Today, I’ve made a deliberate decision to be optimistic about our future.
Why?
Because fear and anxiety lead to the famous “fight, flight, or freeze” response. These reactions aren’t just emotional; they have real, physiological effects on our ability to make decisions. In moments of stress and fear, our brain’s mechanics shift dramatically.
Resources are rerouted away from the prefrontal cortex, the cerebral hub responsible for advanced cognitive functions like problem-solving, planning, and decision-making. Instead, these resources bolster the more primitive sections of our brain, areas primed for immediate survival. It clouds our ability to process information, envision long-term solutions, and feel empowered to take concrete steps toward mitigation.
Suddenly, long-term planning and clear thinking take a backseat to just getting through the moment. Understanding this dynamic is crucial for breaking the cycle of fear and inaction. By recognizing the emotional and psychological barriers that climate change presents, we can begin to craft narratives and strategies that empower rather than paralyze.