Professor of Environmental studies and author Dr. Sarah Ray joins ETS-Idaho to discuss the importance of centering emotions in climate change education. In a time where 77% of surveyed youth around the globe say “the future is frightening” (Lancet Report, 2021) educators, community members, and science communicators must learn to work with these feelings, rather than suppress them. Dr. Ray outlines an “existential toolkit for climate anxiety”, and helps build our community of practice through small-group discussions.

Sarah Jaquette Ray has been the Program Leader of the Environmental Studies Program at Humboldt State University since 2013. She received her PHD in Environmental Sciences, Studies, and Policy, and her research explores the many ways climate change ripples into our society. Dr. Ray  has written two books which examine how our historical context interacts with how we approach climate change and other environmental issues. She posits that issues of social justice, power, and identity have shaped our environmental discourse, and must be addressed as we move forward in a reality shaped by climate change. Dr. Ray has written two books, her second one A Field Guide to Climate Change: How to Keep Your Cool on a Warming Planet was published in 2020.