Could Switching On Solar Flood Lights Switch Off Your Climate Anxiety?
Date: 27/11/23
There is a great deal said, and written, about the physical effects of climate change. Rising sea levels, storms increasing in frequency and intensity, and temperature records being broken on a regular basis.
However, little has been said about the effect of climate change on our mental health – until now. The global meeting on climate change, COP28 in the United Arab Emirates, has put mental health on the agenda for this year’s conference, alongside the more traditional climate discussion points.
Climate anxiety – a real problem
Inevitably, the constant talk of climate change in the news is starting to get many people depressed and anxious about the future. One study by the BBC, found that search queries in English about climate anxiety have risen 27 times between 2017 and 2023.
As the COP28 agenda puts it: “Climate change is negatively impacting not only physical health but also mental health, as individuals and communities cope with climate stresses and shocks, as well as threats to their and future generations’ welfare.”
Feeling helpless
Some of this anxiety is related to very real consequences, such as island nations worrying about rising sea levels or farmers worrying about their crops. However, for many of us, it’s more of a nagging sense that we are ‘breaking’ our planet, and that there is nothing that we, as individuals, can do about it.
In the face of a global environmental disaster, it is easy to feel helpless and hopeless. As with any worldwide problem, our actions seem almost pointless in the grand scheme of things. Yet you can make a difference, and you can start right now.
Think Hire can ease your climate anxiety
Here at Think Hire, we often get customers approaching us with a feeling of helplessness about the environment. They know that they want to do something positive to help, but they don’t know what to do, or if it will make any difference.
That’s where our expert team can step in, with positive, proactive solutions, such as solar flood lights, that can cut carbon emissions and put your site on track to a greener future. We have vast experience of lighting sites large and small with solar flood lights, and we can design a safe, cost-effective and sustainable system for you.
Put your mind at rest
It is easy to feel hopeless about climate change, and the size of the problem can end up paralysing you. Taking action can feel pointless, so you end up not doing anything at all. Yet by taking positive action on your site, like installing solar flood lights and solar power generators, you can not only improve your site’s sustainability, you can also change the mindset of your team. This in turn can lead to them feeling more positive about the problem and looking for ways they can help at home and in other areas of their lives.
Before you know it, the solar flood lights you install on site end up lighting more than just your workforce. They can also light up the dark doom-laden feelings of climate change that so many people experience, helping them to feel that change is possible, even in small and apparently insignificant ways.
Of course, these changes are not insignificant. The cumulative effect of millions of small changes, such as installing solar flood lights, is every bit as important in the fight against climate change as the global agreements on the table at COP28. We are all in this together, and we all need to stay positive and not get drawn into paralysing climate anxiety.
So if you’re anxious about the future of our planet, don’t just worry about it, do something about it. Contact Think Hire today on 0330 133 2222 or complete our contact form and turn that anxiety into action.