An organization created by the State of Vermont has begun a course that industry professionals are encouraged to take to help themselves and colleagues manage “climate anxiety.”
The course is called “From Climate Anxiety to Climate Resilience”. Its description reads, “Are you a coach, educator, health or mental health provider, social worker, healer, or in another helping profession, witnessing painful stress and tension caused by the climate crisis (or “climate anxiety”) in your office or classroom?” The course runs from Sept. 11 to Dec. 4 and costs $899.
The description says they discourage participants from engaging with those who disagree about climate change but still says climate mitigating policies should be promoted whenever possible.
The goals include to “Navigate complex and emotionally charged conversations about climate change that fall beyond your training and scope of expertise.” It also states, “Move through grief, anger or despair and create climate conversations that are generative – not overly positive, but safe, realistic and empowering.”
Politics with your tax dollars
The Vermont Collaborative for Practice, Improvement, and Innovation, is a state-created entity, meaning public tax dollars are involved.
The collaborative notes that “The idea for a Vermont Collaborative devoted to Practice Improvement and Innovation originated with the Designated Agencies, the Vermont Department of Mental Health, and in cooperation with multiple other stakeholders. Start up funding has been provided by the VT Department of Mental Health through grant funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.”
Republican candidate for lieutenant governor John Rodgers recently noted on VDC’s Creemee Castthat alternative energy sector lobbyists seem to have an inappropriate influence over the Vermont legislature, which has passed alternative energy mandates that dramatically increase the cost of energy, heating fuels, and transportation.
“don’t need to engage” with opposition
The course syllabus further gets into the strategies of the group, including that participants are discouraged from engaging with those who might not share their views on climate change.
Part of the description reads, “As caring professionals, we are not climate scientists, we don’t need to engage in confrontation or political debates, we don’t need to lecture, tell people what to do, give answers or solutions, fix things, and we don’t have to fall into a spiral of despair with our clients, patients or students when the topic of climate change arises, directly or indirectly.”
“create safe spaces” for climate activists
While telling participants that they are not climate scientists, they still want these participants to take active roles in advancing policies to mitigate the effects of climate change.
The syllabus states, “We can learn ways to make others feel seen, validated, and empowered—even within the context of climate change or a polycrisis. With patience, curiosity, new habits of relating and strengths-based approaches, we can serve as guides for deeper personal transformations that not only help people shift out of anxiety and build resilience, but in the long term, lead to growing awareness, responsibility, value-driven and sustainable action, and improved health and wellbeing.”
Man-made carbon having no impact?
The state is doing this course as there is a new study by a Norway-based organization called Klimarealistene or “Climate Realists”. The primary finding of the study indicates that human activity has essentially no measurable impact on fluctuations of carbon in the Earth’s atmosphere. The study states, “Atmospheric CO2 has fluctuated as natural phenomenon, regardless of human activity.”
The abstract further states, “In conclusion, this study is the first to use multiple regression analysis to demonstrate that the independent determinant of the annual increase in atmospheric CO₂ concentration was SST, which showed strong predictive ability. However, human CO₂ emissions were irrelevant.”
Michael Bielawski | Vermont Daily Chronicle
