In 2020, artist Nicole Cooper was conducting research for a painting series when she stumbled upon a NASA chart showing temperature rise throughout history. “I had this realization of, ‘Look at how fast temperatures are rising—and what are we going to do about it?’” she says.

Cooper experienced what she describes as an existential crisis, feeling terrified of what would happen in her lifetime and worried that it may already be too late to act.

“I needed to be able to talk,” she says, “and express myself about the emotional reaction I was having.”

Climate change wasn’t something she felt she could discuss deeply with the people in her life, as is the case for most Americans. Though most people acknowledge climate change is real, and about 30% say they are “very worried” about it, just 37% say they discuss the issue occasionally or often, according to a 2022 survey from Yale University.

But talking about climate change is important. Researchers have found it can cause greater acceptance of climate science and, among those who already accept the science, inspire action. That, in turn, has been shown to decrease climate anxiety.

Like so many Americans, Cooper felt scared, stressed—and largely alone. “I was reading a lot of articles, listening to podcasts, but I had no real dialogue about it,” she says. Then she heard about the All We Can Save Circles, an initiative created by Katharine Wilkinson, who co-edited an anthology book of the same name. Launched when the book was published in 2020, the Circle is a decentralized, 10-course book club aimed at helping readers develop communities around climate solutions.

Cooper realized she could create a space for the conversations she wanted to have. Using her newsletter, word of mouth, and social media, Cooper recruited a group of nine people—some climate activists, others, like her, newer to the conversation—to meet virtually. Over the next six months, they discussed ways they were experiencing the climate crisis and created a shared climate resource list, including ways they could take action in their own communities.

Read the full article about climate conversations by Katherine Rapin at YES! Magazine.