The other toll climate change is taking

Presented by the PAGE Coalition: Your guide to the political forces shaping the energy transformation

Oct 14, 2022 View in browser   By Arianna Skibell Presented by The sun sets through the haze of wildfire smoke amid a heat wave in California. | Mario Tama/Getty Images A warming planet is reordering the natural world — from longer droughts and rising seas to cascading biodiversity loss — but it's also reconfiguring aspects of how people behave and feel. Increasingly, scientists are pointing to distinct ways the climate emergency is changing people's well-being and mental health. Research has linked hotter days with rising hate speech, flaring tempers and gender-based violence . Destruction from hurricanes, fires and floods is boosting extreme anxiety and depression, especially among young people. Psychologists now refer to "ecological anxiety" and "climate grief." Social scientists have even started using a new word to describe the trauma of losing one's home while staying in the same place: solastalgia.  In February, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's comprehensive assessment listed anxiety and stress from a changing climate as a major cause for concern. A team of researchers at Stanford concluded that an additional 9,000 to 40,000 people in the United States and Mexico could die of suicide by 2050 if the planet continues to warm at current rates. While the connection is difficult to pinpoint, researchers say humidity is a major predictive factor. There are obvious explanations for these changes. Heat makes people more irritable. Loss causes grief, which begets depression. But researchers are also discovering possible biological explanations. One 2017 study published in the journal Nature found that temperature is correlated with the bodily circulation of the chemical serotonin, which regulates anxiety and overall mood. Another biological driver is air pollution, which researchers have linked to increased suicide rates. The microscopic soot in dirty air enters the body, triggering inflammation in the lungs, heart and brain. Meanwhile, the demand for therapeutic resources for climate grief is rising and counselors are struggling to keep pace. While therapists have traditionally received little training on how to address climate anxiety, universities are beginning to pilot climate stress counseling programs. The Climate Psychology Alliance now offers an online directory for therapists who treat climate anxiety, and professional certification programs in climate psychology are beginning to appear.   Thank goodness it's Friday — thank you for tuning in to POLITICO's Power Switch. I'm your host,  Arianna Skibell.  Power Switch is brought to you by the journalists behind E&E News and POLITICO Energy. Send your tips, comments, questions to  askibell@eenews.net.   A message from the PAGE Coalition: Replacing foreign coal with U.S. LNG will reduce emissions. Join here.   Listen to today's POLITICO Energy podcast Today in POLITICO Energy's podcast: Danielle Muoio Dunn breaks down why Hurricane Sandy recovery efforts in New York are taking so long and what city officials are recommending to not only recover but also prepare for the next storm. a deeper look The coal-fired San Juan Generating Station is seen near Farmington, N.M. | Susan Montoya Bryan/AP Photo New Mexico enacted one of the nation's most ambitious climate laws in 2019, with plans to phase out coal, boost clean power and support displaced coal workers, writes Benjamin Storrow . Three years later, the state shows just how messy the energy transition can be. Greenhouse gas emissions are down and wind and solar generation is up, but fights continue to burn over the future of displaced workers and the cost of the transition. Power Centers Cattle graze amid drought conditions near Ojai, Calif., in June. | Mario Tama/Getty Images Got beef? The beef industry has a bone to pick with Google. It wants the tech giant to rein in a planned feature that would automatically show the carbon pollution associated with certain ingredients when its users search for recipes, writes Corbin Hiar . The National Cattlemen's Beef Association argues such emission metrics don't fully capture the environmental benefits of beef, which has a high carbon footprint. But agriculture experts say the association's complaints are a bunch of bull. Mining reality check  The United States needs more mining to power the transition away from fossil fuels, writes Jael Holzman . Electric cars, wind turbines and solar panels are made with a wide variety of minerals — from graphite to tellurium — that currently are only available in a few corners of the globe. But figuring out exactly how many potentially destructive mines are needed — and for what minerals — is complicated. Russia's war Ukrainian groups are accusing a French energy giant of being complicit in Russian war crimes by helping the Kremlin with refueling operations at military bases, writes Wilhelmine Preussen . The groups say TotalEnergies helped to provide the Russian government with "necessary means to commit war crimes." In Other News Flooding in Fort Myers, Fla., after Hurricane Ian. | Joe Raedle/Getty Images Aftermath: Florida water " looks like root beer, smells like dead fish rolled into compost " as the environment reels from Hurricane Ian. Soup attack: Climate protesters throw soup on Vincent van Gogh's "Sunflowers."   A message from the PAGE Coalition:   Subscriber Zone A showcase of some of our best subscriber content. An oil pumpjack operates under a partial moon. | David Goldman/AP Photo The White House said it had told Saudi Arabia that "there was no market basis" to justify OPEC's cut of oil production announced last week. Hurricane Ian may have destroyed the financial security of thousands of Florida retirees whose life savings were invested in now-destroyed houses and condos. A report finds Biden's climate law needs additional state energy regulations and more federal staff in order to achieve its emissions goals. That's it for today, folks. Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend!   A message from the PAGE Coalition: Exporting U.S. liquefied natural gas, which produces 50% fewer emissions than foreign coal, can dramatically reduce global emissions. Support LNG exports.     Follow us on Twitter Arianna Skibell @ariannaskibell   Follow us

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