While looking for a term to describe the fear or anxiety people feel towards the discourse of climate change, I thought of three terms — eco-phobia, eco-anxiety, and green-phobia. The first two are canceled out because they mean something totally different from what I intend to express. The last term, Greenphobia, as defined by Phobia Wiki means the fear of green monsters. A quick tour on Google on green monsters displayed a long list of green alien monsters, many of which are quite cute and funny.
Browsing through these images, I thought the term was just right for what was intended. Why? One, the term Green is used to represent discussions, persons, and movements that have to do with the earth and climate change. For example, in the literary space, Ecocriticism, which is an interdisciplinary study of literature and the environment, was also known as Green Studies in the 1990s. In fact, Green Studies is a branch of Ecocriticism. Furthermore, the word Greenie is used to describe a person who advocates for the environment. Finally, the term Green is used to denote a mind or a place that is untainted by pollution, whether it is human-made or not.
The image above shows up three different interpretations of the word Monster and the third one favors my argument the most. Environmental and Climate activists criticize and reprimand the actions of climate polluters, so they fit into this context of the word “monster.” Climate activists monster the ignorant and stubborn climate polluters. When those polluters become weary of these greenies, and the general discussion on climate change because it gives them anxiety and sleepless nights, because they see the discussions as a threat to their wealth and influence, we can say they have Greenphobia. Amen? Amen.
Let's face it. There are people who get worked up by the climate change discourse. They are vexed by the mere sight of climate activists and climate advocacy. They're vexed because they're scared and because it makes them anxious. What are they scared of? What are they anxious about? They're scared of the change of status quo. They are scared of changing habits. They are mostly moguls or destitute who are terrified by the possibility of a complete overhaul of the sachet economy practiced in many developing countries. The moguls want to remain in business, controlling and creating suitable products for the poor. The destitute are terrified by the possible inability to afford basic needs should earth-damaging products like nylon and plastic be erased.
Both fears are justified, especially those of the destitute. However, they are being considered in the growing awareness of climate change's connections with mental health. These fears need to be addressed soon enough too. Now you’d ask, why not classify it under Eco-anxiety? Well, that can’t technically work. Eco-anxiety is a genuine fear of a depleting environment. People who experience it are worried about the negative effects of climate change. They are scared of getting hurt by natural and man-made disasters because no one is doing what they ought to save the earth. This is the difference — their reason to worry. Eco-anxiety worries that the earth will be lost. Greenphobia is scared of losing their wealth or livelihood because of growing climate advocacy.
To bring it home a little bit more, the following is a list of signs that show you could be Greenphobic.
You’re scared of adopting sustainable habits like recycling, upcycling, and reusing. PS: especially when you think it’s for the poor.
You're scared of losing luxury because of climate change activism.
You think climate activism is an exaggeration.
You hate climate activists because you think they're too proud and project themselves as earth heroes.
As a third-world citizen, you think climate activism can wait because corruption is a bigger evil (but in truth you just don't see the need for it. You think climate activists are noise makers).
You're ashamed to speak up for climate change.
You just don't understand climate change. You think it's so difficult to understand so you avoid the discussion. You're just ignorant.
In other news, small action-takers are very important to general climate activism, and here's an article that can help you start small and well. Even if it's the fifth month of the year, you can pick one or two of these green resolutions and keep them for the rest of the year. Find the article here.
Favorite GreenArt
This will become a regular corner where I'll share interesting and appealing art pieces made from waste, that I found on the streets of the internet or wherever. For today, I'm sharing the above picture of large Angel wings made from flip-flops. It was made by Filipino artists Isabel and Alfredo Aquilizan. The piece was made for the 2008 Singapore Biennale exhibit.
I learned a new term today. Thank you for this 🫶