Students Grapple With Environmental Anxiety

The climate crisis is affecting more than just the environment. Environmental changes cause worry among Gen Z members; this worry is known as environmental anxiety. A panel held at St. Lawrence University last semester discussed this topic by having an open conversation, watching a short film, and discussing small steps to combat current environmental issues.

Allison House ’25 President of the Environmental Action Organization, held the panel “7 Resources to Navigate Climate Anxiety” in the fall. The goal was to learn about what an individual can do to ease the stress and anxiety they might be feeling as a result of the climate crisis. “A good way to relieve some of this stress and anxiety is to take part in your local community efforts,” said House. She emphasized that it is a great way to feel involved in the effort to help the environment as well as alleviate some of the associated anxiety in the process.

The Environmental Action Organization at St. Lawrence is a great place to start your efforts within the community. The organization’s goal is to make St. Lawrence University carbon neutral and to achieve this; they are working on raising the recycling rate and implementing Green Pages, which is a site where all emission data is stored and easy to access for students. House points out that the organization is also working on hosting fun yet educational events for students and the campus community to attend.

Kearney Coupland, visiting assistant professor of environmental studies, defines environmental anxiety as: “the feeling of the current or future uncertainty about what the world would look like in the future and what will happen to people and other species.” Coupland also points out that the grief of losing species or other things on this earth is a major contributor to environmental anxiety.

“Gen Z is feeling this crisis differently compared to other generations as it is very global and permanent,” says Coupland. Along with that, previous generations, like Gen X and the Baby Boomers, have experienced The Cold War, the Vietnam War and economic recessions. But Gen Z hasn’t developed coping mechanisms that other generations have to help with the feelings that environmental anxiety brings on.

In adding to these anxieties, Coupland explains that she feels like social media is playing a conflicting role. Climate activists are saying to consume less, but social media is saying to consume more, which is adding more to the anxiety of individuals as they feel morally conflicted in a consumer-driven world.

At the core of environmental anxiety, Coupland states, “Eco anxiety and grief can be useful in coming to action. We have to mourn the things that we are scared of losing in order to protect them, so it does not have to be a place of devastation, but it can promote actions.” The fear of losing a world that we love is scary, but this fear can be used as motivation for action.