190. Overcoming Climate Anxiety: A Former Activist's Perspective with Lucy Biggers

In this eye-opening episode, I sit down with Lucy Biggers, a former climate activist who has undergone a remarkable transformation. Lucy shares her journey from being deeply entrenched in climate activism and suffering from climate anxiety to becoming a voice of reason who now creates content to calm people's environmental fears.

We explore how documentaries like "An Inconvenient Truth" and her work at NowThis News shaped her initial worldview, and what specific moments during the COVID pandemic made her question the climate movement's demands. Lucy reveals how becoming a mother changed her perspective on the future and why she now advocates for climate realism over alarmism. We discuss the psychological appeal of climate catastrophism, the actual data on extreme weather and climate-related deaths, and how young people are being affected by environmental anxiety.

This conversation examines the intersection of environmental concerns with mental health, exploring how catastrophic thinking about climate can impact life decisions about family, career, and personal wellbeing. Lucy offers a refreshing perspective on why humanity's future might be brighter than many believe, and why gratitude for human progress is essential for mental health.

Lucy Biggers makes content to calm climate anxiety on her social media and is the Head of Social Media at The Free Press. She was a climate activist in her 20s and a video producer at NowThis News.

• Instagram: @lucybiggers
• Twitter/X: @llbiggers
• Substack: Lucy Biggers
• The Free Press: thefp.com

Books mentioned in this episode:

• Apocalypse Never by Michael Shellenberger
• Unsettled by Steven Koonin
• False Alarm by Bjorn Lomborg
• Fossil Future by Alex Epstein

 [00:00:00] Start
 [00:01:00] Lucy’s Background And Early Climate Fears
 [00:03:00] Entering Activism And Media Influence
 [00:07:00] Pregnancy, Values, And Climate Reassessment
 [00:14:57] Choosing Motherhood Despite Anxiety
 [00:17:45] Mental Health Impacts Of Climate Alarmism
 [00:22:45] Media Narratives And The “Fallen Humanity” Story
 [00:27:58] Abundance, Development, And Global Energy Needs
 [00:30:04] Fossil Fuels And Human Progress
 [00:34:03] Weighing Tradeoffs And Energy Realities
 [00:41:47] Innovation, Ingenuity, And Future Solutions
 [00:42:15] Key Climate Data That Shifted Her Thinking
 [01:23:20] Gratitude, Perspective, And Helping Young People
 [01:29:15] Where To Find Lucy / Closing

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Show notes & transcript provided with the help of SwellAI.

Special thanks to Joey Pecoraro for our theme song, “Half Awake,” used with gratitude and permission.

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