IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2020 - 80

Last Word
Christine Perakslis

co-anxiety, as defined
by the American Psychiatric Association
in 2017, is a chronic
fear of environmental doom, usually based on feelings
of powerlessness about environmental change or climate change. Other
associated terms include: eco-fear,
eco-despair, eco-grief, eco-distress,
and eco-angst.
Society is experiencing higher levels of stress and anxiety relative to
climate change [1]. Seventy percent
of Americans report they are worried about climate change; nearly
60% feel helpless [2]. According
to Global Action Plan, 77% of U.K.
teenagers report feeling anxious
when merely thinking about climate
change. American teenagers report
that climate change makes them
feel scared (57%) and angry (52%)
and they wish for their schools to
engage with them more about climate change [3].
Uncertainty is believed to fuel
anxiety. Humans are negatively im--
pacted when exposed to information overload, as well as ambiguous,
unspecified, and ubiquitous threat
information [4]. Technology has
become a means for rapid flows
of misinformation and disinformation. There is believed to be a contagious nature of emotion in social
networks. We should learn from the
ethnographies referenced in the
editorial; self-expression is better if
conveyed within acceptable boundaries to avoid threatening the longterm good for the collective.

Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MTS.2020.2991503
Date of current version: 18 June 2020

Uncertainty
Tolerance (UT)
Recycling Eco-Anxiety into
Eco-Empowerment
Eco-psychologists offer us coping
mechanisms to mitigate the uncertainties underlying eco-anxiety. We
must seek out accurate representations of the realities of climate change.
Scientific findings (for/against) are
often dismissed when it is inconvenient truth contrary to our currentlyheld beliefs. To avoid Uncertainty
Intolerance (UI) with its consequential powerlessness and helplessness,
we must learn effective management
of emotions and problem-solving;
focus on proscocial outcomes; and
engage in mitigation actions individually, and socially [1], [2], [5]. Action,
though often inconvenient, can be
a powerful antidote to helplessness
and powerlessness [5].
This magazine represents our
collective action. We strive for accurate representations of the (non)
realities of climate change; AI/ML
assist. Our prosocial community provides counterbalance to ambiguous,
unspecified threats. We resist viewing
problems as unsolvable. We model
to others how to look at these challenges in a wider, holistic context. We
also explore how to apply emerging
solutions through AI/ML for effective
problem-solving for society to be ecoempowered for eco-action. Thus, we
IEEE TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY MAGAZINE

help society build Uncertainty Tolerance (UT) and thereby can help alleviate eco-anxiety [1], [5].

Author Information
Christine Perakslis is Associate
Professor in the MBA Program,
College of Management, Johnson
& Wales University, Providence,
RI. Email: christine.perakslis@
jwu.edu.

References
[1] A. Kelly, "Eco-Anxiety at University: Student
experiences and academic perspectives on cultivating healthy emotional responses to the climate
crisis," Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection,
vol. 2642, 2017; https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/
isp_collection/2642.
[2] A. Leiserowitz et al., Climate Change In The
American Mind. Yale University and George Mason
University. New Haven, CT: Yale Program on
Climate Change Communication, 2019.
[3] The Kaiser Family Foundation, The Kaiser
Family Foundation/Washington Post Climate
Change Survey, Rep. 34, 2019; https://www
.kff.org/repor t-section/the-kaiser-family
-foundation-washington-post-climate-change-poll
-methodology/.
[4] P. Roberts, "Information visualization for stock
market ticks: Toward a new trading interface,"
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Master's
thesis, 1984.
[5] S. Clayton et al., Mental Health and Our
Changing Climate: Impacts, Implications, and
Guidance, 2017; https://www.apa.org/news/
press/releases/2017/03/mental-health-climate
.pdf.

∕

JUNE 2020

https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/isp_collection/2642 https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/isp_collection/2642 https://www.kff.org/report-section/the-kaiser-family-foundation-washington-post-climate-change-poll-methodology/ https://www.kff.org/report-section/the-kaiser-family-foundation-washington-post-climate-change-poll-methodology/ https://www.kff.org/report-section/the-kaiser-family-foundation-washington-post-climate-change-poll-methodology/ https://www.kff.org/report-section/the-kaiser-family-foundation-washington-post-climate-change-poll-methodology/ https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2017/03/mental-health-climate.pdf https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2017/03/mental-health-climate.pdf https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2017/03/mental-health-climate.pdf

IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2020

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