The author is Kimberly Miner, a political activist … er … climate scientist who works for the University of Maine.
Last September, before the rains came, my field team learnt that it was probably too late for half the blue oaks affected by California’s drought in the region in which we were working. Because of years of ongoing drought, many of the trees would not recover from the long-term water loss and would die. The next morning, I sat outside our science team meeting and cried.
A friend sat with me and explained that she had just recovered from an episode of extreme climate grief brought about by studying rapidly changing terrestrial ecosystems. She had started taking weekends off (many of us work seven days a week) and encouraged me to do so, as well. After we talked, I walked around the parking area for a while, listening to the birds and watching the midday light filter through the diverse trees in downtown Santa Barbara. I breathed the ocean air and grounded myself in the present, where the air was cool and the birds were singing.
Soon after that, I started taking weekends off to kayak near my home in Southern California and hike on the trails above Pasadena, and built a small bird garden on the porch of my apartment. I also started talking frankly to my colleagues about the emotional turmoil that is often sparked by working as a climate scientist today, and many others had similar stories. I am in my mid-thirties, working at NASA as a scientist, and I already have five scientist friends with severe, emergent health challenges. They are all affected by overwork, exhaustion and extreme stress. The only other thing they all have in common is that they study climate change.
Overwork and stress due to their jobs is one thing. However, their stressing out over climate change means the scientists need to take a break from their work. However, Marc Morano looked into the author and she doesn’t seem to lead a stressful life at all.
For example, the Dallas Arboretum was nice enough to erect a statue in Miner’s honor last year for Women’s History Month.
How gutsy! Miner even got to go to San Diego Comic-Con the year prior to, most likely, pitch for climate change propaganda and show off being a woman in STEM. Way to break glass ceilings!
Dr. Miner even took time out of her day to spread climate change propaganda to children two years ago as well.
Kimberly Miner takes trips to San Diego probably paid for by the taxpayers, delivers lectures on permafrost degradation, and takes time to indoctrinate kids about the evils of fossil fuels blaming humans (like them) for the bad things happening with Earth’s climate. A stressful job for sure and certainly activities that can result on someone having climate grief or something.
Green Jihad 