Practicing Hope in Challenging Times

The past few months have been busy, both personally and professionally, which is why I have not posted in a while. I have been working on wrapping up two projects, starting another, and preparing to defend my PhD thesis. I wrapped up the spring semester by helping organize the Environmental Engineering and Science 30^th Anniversary Event and Research Symposium, as well as the department picnic. My summer was spent writing, traveling, and recovering from a sprained wrist. Now that the semester is in full swing, I am back to finishing research projects, writing manuscripts, drafting postdoctoral applications, preparing conference presentations, and planning my defense.

              While these responsibilities alone can feel overwhelming, recent federal government actions have added another layer of stress. We have seen increasing discrediting of scientific research through attacks on federal research agencies, cuts to research funding, and lost collaboration opportunities due to travel restrictions for federal employees and some universities being barred from working on National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded projects. Additionally, the rise in anti-immigrant rhetoric and policies is deeply concerning, especially for visa and green-card holders—including many of my fellow graduate students and my partner.  

              Amid these anxieties, I was excited to attend a campus talk this week titled, “Climate Change and the Urgency of Hope, Action, and Joy,” by Dr. Reyes Mason. She spoke about her advice on remaining hopeful in the face of the climate crisis. She began by reviewing how human-caused greenhouse gas emissions have already impacted human health and what we can expect in the future: more frequent heat waves, ocean acidification, sea level rise, and stronger storms and hurricanes. Then, she asked us to pause and name the feeling we were experiencing in the face of these looming disasters— Overwhelmed? Angry? Afraid? These emotions are common amongst those working on or simply aware of environmental issues, and often described as eco-anxiety.

When feelings of eco-anxiety become overwhelming, she encourages us to pause, take a deep breath, and try one of the following activities:

1. Mindfulness meditation

2. Spending time in nature

3. Seeking social connection

4. Express emotions through art

5. Physical movement

6. Find solace in religion/faith (if you practice)

She reminds us that hope is a practice, something we need to cultivate, grow, and share. She offered three main ways to practice hope: on the micro-, mezzo-, and macro- scales.

At the micro-scale, she encouraged talking about climate change more in our everyday lives, by finding shared values and connecting it to everyday experiences. For example, heat waves affect everyone through increased electricity bills and heat stress exposure. By linking these shared concerns to climate change, we can help others understand how reducing fossil fuel use and investing in clean energy benefits us all.

Her second (mezzo-scale) practice emphasized collaborating well with others, especially across disciplines. She provided some examples of how technical solutions are not always accessible to the public, and how partnerships between engineers, social scientists and communities can lead to more meaningful and equitable outcomes.

Finally, at the macro-scale, she encouraged us to challenge the dominant paradigm. The current extractive, capitalistic approach is not sustainable. She urged us instead to imagine a regenerative approach where our society values not only not preventing harm but also healing the planet.

Her talk made me reflect on how the environmental and climate crises affect my wellbeing. As engineers and scientists, we often list the catastrophic consequences of climate change in our introduction and move on without taking the time to process them. Many presentations I attend (and I am guilty of this too!) begin with something like “climate change is horrible and sea level rise is expected to displace millions…anyways here is how my study improves model predictions.” 

It is difficult and scary to sit with the gravity of these realities, but it also can be motivating because it gives our work urgency and purpose. We may just be contributing a small piece to the puzzle, but every piece matters. Dr. Reyes Mason’s advice also applies to my worries about research funding cuts and anti-immigrant sentiment. Discussing these challenges openly, supporting my international colleagues, and speaking out against policies that harm the scientific and international community are all ways to practice hope through action.

Still, I did find her advice to be especially challenging for early career researchers. She encouraged collaboration across disciplines—but how can we build those connections when so many are unable to travel to conferences, have lost funding, or are barred from federally-funded projects due to political decisions? I asked her about these challenges, and she empathized deeply. Her advice was to keep reaching out to potential collaborators, because even if an opportunity is not available now, perhaps down the line something could work out. Additionally, she suggested seeking smaller-scale sources of funding from private foundations or other sources. It is better to start small than to give up altogether.

         On a hopeful note, my abstract, “Evaluating simulated PM2.5 sensitivity to uncertainties in emissions inventories and secondary organic aerosol chemistry using GEOS-Chem” was recently accepted for an oral presentation at the 2025 American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting. Like so many other researchers, my institution cannot fully cover my attendance cost this year. Fortunately, through a combination of airline miles, travel grants, family support, and sharing accommodation, I will be able to make it work. Many others are not so lucky. But I intend to make the best out of this conference, making connections from which I can build my research career, sharing my work with other scientists, and learning from the breadth of scientific knowledge gathered there.

Despite the anxieties I’m feeling, I will keep practicing hope, and I will not be discouraged from pursuing the science that can improve public health and protect our planet.