August 26, 2025
Nothing succeeds like success, even with environmental stories
Research on environmental reporting confirms my own experience of late — positive stories are more engaging and more likely to encourage you to help with solutions.
Awni Etaywe, a lecturer in linguistics at Charles Darwin University in Darwin, Australia:
If people are constantly told the situation is hopeless, they disengage. When we focus on solutions, shared values, and tangible actions, we open the door to lasting behavioural change.
I’ve been following a subreddit called EcoUplift, and I have to say it really has helped change my attitude. It was not that long ago that I might have said there was no point in even trying.
Compare this with the novel The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson. The apocalyptic horrors described in this well-meaning story were so overwhelming that I had to put it aside.
It takes work to choose optimism over pessimism, but it’s worth it.
As a small example, I went out of my way to buy some water bottles that are not only made in Canada, but are also eco-friendly. Now drinking water is doubly refreshing.