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The love of words and terminology runs deep in my head…sometimes even words are signals themselves. You can track my adventures in “words from the future” on this blog here.
This week – I’m diving deep just in terms of new and emerging terms related to climate futures. These are powerful imagination tools. How are/will these ideas springing up (or guiding) social work practice now or in the future? Let me know!! Let’s grow our capacity together!!!
1. Eco-anxiety
- Definition: Chronic fear or distress about environmental doom, often affecting youth.
- Context: Growing among Gen Z and Millennials; recognized by psychologists and increasingly entering public discourse.
2. Climate grief (or ecological grief)
- Definition: Mourning the loss of ecosystems, species, or traditional ways of life due to climate change.
- Cultural relevance: Observed in Indigenous communities, farmers, and scientists witnessing rapid environmental changes.
3. Solastalgia
- Coined by: Philosopher Glenn Albrecht
- Definition: A form of emotional or existential distress caused by environmental change in one’s home or surroundings.
- Example: Residents of drought-stricken regions or wildfire zones feel solastalgia as their familiar landscapes disappear.
4. Pre-traumatic stress disorder
- Definition: Anticipatory anxiety or trauma due to expected future climate disasters.
- Contrast with PTSD: Unlike PTSD, it is rooted in future catastrophes rather than past ones.
5. Cli-migration
- Definition: Migration driven by climate-related causes (e.g., sea-level rise, drought, fires).
- Sociological implications: Challenges definitions of refugee status and reshapes national boundaries, labor markets, and identities.
6. Carbon inequality
- Definition: Disparity in carbon emissions and climate impact between rich and poor communities or nations.
- Related terms: Climate justice, environmental racism.
7. Green gentrification
- Definition: Environmental improvements (like new parks or clean transit) leading to displacement of low-income communities.
- Critique: Sustainability initiatives without equity planning can worsen inequality.
8. Climate colonialism
- Definition: When wealthy nations impose green agendas, extract resources, or displace burdens onto poorer, formerly colonized nations.
- Modern echo: Global North outsourcing waste or carbon-heavy industries to the Global South.
9. Resilience culture
- Definition: A shift in social values toward adaptability, community networks, and preparedness.
- Examples: Local mutual aid groups, climate-adaptive architecture, communal food systems.
10. Degrowth society
- Definition: A sociopolitical movement advocating for scaling down production/consumption to live within planetary limits.
- Contrast: Opposed to green capitalism; focuses on well-being over GDP.
11. Adaptation fatigue
- Definition: Burnout and exhaustion from continuous need to adapt to worsening climate conditions.
- Sociological concern: Affects disaster-prone regions and frontline workers.
12. Climatopia / Dystoecology
- Speculative terms: Refer to imagined futures of ecological utopia or dystopia.
- Use in: Climate fiction (“cli-fi”), sociological theorizing about post-collapse societies.
13. Eco-fascism
- Definition: Use of environmentalism to justify authoritarianism, exclusion, or ethno-nationalism.
- Example: Climate migration triggering nationalist or xenophobic policies framed as ecological protection.
14. Planetary precariat
- Definition: People whose jobs, homes, or lives are increasingly unstable due to planetary crises.
- Sociological root: Builds on the idea of the “precariat” in gig and informal economies.
15. Intergenerational climate contract
- Definition: The emerging ethical and political idea that current generations owe future generations a livable planet.
- Manifestation: Youth-led climate movements (e.g., Fridays for Future) demand accountability from older generations.
Social Work Futures 