Losing Hope in the Climate Crisis? Why Community is Key.
- Rachel Bailleau
- 5 days ago
- 7 min read
If you’ve ever felt like you’re the only one who cares about the planet, I get it. Facing climate change can feel lonely. Maybe you’ve looked around and thought, “Why am I the only one doing anything?” But I promise that you’re not alone.
Most people care more than they let on. It just doesn’t always look the same. Some of us show it by attending protests, some by growing food or mending clothes, while others teach their kids to love nature. Sure, there are some people who really don't give the Earth a second thought, but they're in the minority. And whether they like it or not, the world is changing. People care and solutions are being developed.
This article explores why we need to connect instead of turning away from each other: for the sake of ourselves and the living planet.
Losing Hope in the Climate Crisis? I've Been There, I Get It
First, I want you to know that I understand how you feel. There was a time when I felt utterly abandoned by others. My journey looked something like this:
In my early twenties, I was concerned about climate change, but I wasn’t taking any action. I took short-haul flights regularly, bought new things without a second thought, and didn’t make an effort to support local farmers and businesses. It was easier not to look too closely.
Then something shifted. I became more aware, more engaged. I changed how I shopped, how I travelled, how I lived. But as I changed my behaviour, the more sensitive I became. I began to notice how few people seemed to be making the same choices. Seeing others fill their trollies with bottled water or booking constant holidays abroad while I was trying to live plastic-free made me feel like I was the only one who cared.
So I pulled away. I became critical (maybe even cynical), convinced that most people just didn’t care enough. I thought if I avoided the "hypocrites", I’d feel more grounded in my values, and life would be better.
I was wrong. I felt lonelier, more anxious, and totally disconnected. I became so overwhelmed by eco-anxiety and climate grief. I was unhappy and uninspired.
I began reconnecting with people again. That changed everything. I still think the solitary couple of years were beneficial. They helped me feel confident in my own skin and not rely on other people for validation. But by coming closer to people again, I realised that so many others care deeply about the Earth, even if they show it differently than I do. I began to see the beauty in those differences and the power in coming together anyway.
That reconnection gave me energy, hope, and a renewed sense of clarity. I began a career in climate solutions and eventually trained as a coach, helping others who felt as stuck and overwhelmed as I once did.
So I used to think that the best I could do was live as responsibly as possible in my off-grid home and quietly distance myself from people and the pending chaos. But I’ve come to realise that no one can do this alone. Not really. Climate change will continue to present both emotional and practical challenges. And if we're going to face those challenges, we'll need each other more than ever. Let's dig into that a little deeper.
Why We’re Safer Together
When the world feels unstable, it’s tempting to focus on self-sufficiency. Perhaps you’ve found yourself thinking, 'If things get worse, I’ll need to go it alone.' It's certainly beneficial to take some practical steps for climate change preparation, such as acquiring skills that will serve you well in the future. But the truth is, being part of a community makes us far more resilient.
When we know our neighbours, share tools, swap ideas, and check in on each other, we create something called community sufficiency. It doesn’t mean we have to live in each other’s pockets. It simply means that everyone brings what they can, and together, we’re stronger.
If floods or power cuts hit, who would you call? If you’re growing food and your crop fails, is there someone nearby who can help? In moments of crisis or change, knowing you're not facing it all alone can make a huge difference. And this isn’t about using people. It starts with generosity.
There’s a farmer near me who works incredibly hard. Climate change has made his job harder, and since his divorce, I heard he's been struggling even more. Some of his cows graze near our land, and I pass them most days. So I started snapping a photo and texting him a quick update to save him the long drive to our remote corner of the mountains.
“Hey Quentin, your cows are all good. Water’s topped up, no injuries or escapees this morning.”
I wasn’t expecting anything in return. I just wanted to be kind and help someone in my community.
Another day, I saw him fixing fencing in the heat, soaked in sweat. So I invited him down to our house for a cold beer with my husband when he was done. Out here, there’s nowhere else nearby to cool off or rest, and I know how isolating farming can be.
He sighed with relief as he stepped into our cool stone house and pressed the cold beer to his forehead. We had a good chat. He told us how climate change is messing up hay timing, how stressed he’s been. He just needed someone to listen.
Then, just as he was leaving, he paused and said,
“Do you want to put your donkeys in my fields? I’ve got more grass than I need now. Let them graze, it’s no trouble.”
And just like that, my animals had access to hundreds of hectares of fresh pasture. I get to watch them gallop through fields I never could have offered them on my own. And I know if I ever break down on a mountain road, I can count on Quentin to come with his tractor and help me out.
I never set out expecting anything; I just knew community matters. This is what connection looks like. And it gives me hope in the climate crisis. Maybe we'll have to grow more of our own food or help keep our neighbours safe in the future. Starting to reach out and strengthen community ties now could be a lifeline in a changing world. And if it turns out we don't need to be more self-sufficient in the future? No problem, we ended up with great friends in our neighbourhood.
We’re Not Born Knowing
I know that connecting with people can be hard when they don't seem to share our values or concern for the earth. In my experience, it’s easy to look at someone else’s actions and judge. Why are they still buying fast fashion? Why don’t they compost? Why do they take so many flights?
But no one starts out knowing all the answers. Most of us have learned bit by bit, through friends, books, social media, and trial and error. And we’re still learning. We all have blind spots.
That busy young mum buying packaged snacks for her kids might be walking everywhere and raising kind, thoughtful children. That journalist who is constantly hopping on planes might be writing stories that change hearts and make a bigger impact than her flights ever will.
The more we come together, the more we can inspire each other. Not with judgmental comments that shut people down, but with everyday actions that pique people's curiosity. I know that my sister started taking the train to travel abroad more often when I did. Equally, she inspires me with her career drive and helped me believe in myself enough to start a career in climate solutions.
We all have something to offer each other and something to learn. And we don't need thousands of people doing eco-living perfectly. We need billions to do it imperfectly.
Eco-Friendly Living Is Not Always Simple
It’s helpful to remember that most things in life are more complex than they initially appear.
Some actions feel like obvious wins for the climate, but when you zoom out, the picture can be more nuanced.
Take buying food from a local farmer. It’s a great thing to do. It supports your local economy, builds food security, and often means fresher, tastier food. But if we’re talking about carbon emissions, it might not make as much of a difference as we think. Transporting food, what people often call “food miles,” makes up a relatively small share of the total climate impact.
What matters more is what you’re eating. Red meat and dairy, for example, tend to have
much higher emissions than grains, legumes, or vegetables, no matter how far they have travelled. (No judgement here, I still eat some meat.)
So while buying local is often a good thing, it doesn’t automatically make your diet low-impact. It depends on all kinds of factors, like what’s being grown, how it’s produced, and what would happen if that land were used in another way.
This complexity shows up in other areas, too. A plastic-wrapped cucumber might actually lead to less food waste, because it lasts longer in the fridge. A fast fashion outfit might seem like a poor choice until you find out it was bought secondhand.
These books are a great place to find out more about which choices are actually best for the planet, by the way.
In other words, climate-friendly choices aren’t always visible on the surface. And we don’t know the full story of someone else’s life from a glance at their trolley or their outfit.
That’s why it’s so important to stay curious instead of judgmental. We can keep asking questions, learning, and doing our best, without turning away from others when they do things differently. Because if we start cutting off everyone who makes a choice we wouldn’t, we’ll end up isolated, and that’s not good for us or for the planet.
Remember: You Don’t Have to Do Everything
The scale of the climate crisis can make us feel like we should be doing all the things. But that’s a quick road to burnout. You don’t have to be a plastic-free, zero-carbon, fully off-grid superhero. No one can be.
In fact, what the world really needs is billions of people making imperfect progress. That’s how real change happens. Some of us will be compost champions. Others will be great at lobbying their local council. Someone else might run workshops at their kid’s school or design better systems for sharing energy. You don’t have to do it all. You just have to do your bit and trust that others are doing theirs.
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