Connect with us

Activism

Climate Despair and the Rise of the Doomers

On the subreddit r/preppers, there’s a weekly thread for people to share what they did “to prepare.” In the comments, people share anecdotes of buying ammo, dehydrating pineapples, and stockpiling canned goods. 

Published

on

By Sarah Clemens

It’s Earth Month, and the movement to let earth die has never been stronger.

“Doomers’’ are people who believe climate change is irreversible and society as we know it, will soon collapse. The term may be recent, but it’s flourished in online communities like the subreddits r/collapse, /doomer, r/preppers, and /bugout.

Posts on these forums are endlessly fatalistic. The top post, for example, on r/doomer begins, “[s]ometimes I wonder how we are not all walking around in a state of pure unquellable panic.”)

On r/preppers, there’s a weekly thread for people to share what they did “to prepare.” In the comments, people share anecdotes of buying ammo, dehydrating pineapples, and stockpiling canned goods.

There’s also r/bugout, a subreddit named after the term for military retreat. Here, people share pictures of their “bugout bags” and judge how prepared they are for “when s**t hits the fan.”

On the flip side, you have r/collapse users, who post memes captioned, “me listening to people talking about net zero carbon by 2050 being enough when I know we’re completely f**ked already.” They crack jokes about a bygone future, a self-imploding civilization.

While these groups may not be mainstream, they’re not small either. A 2021 Yale survey concluded that 70% of Americans experience “climate depression.”

Noah Oderburg, a scientist located in California, used the term “pre-PTSD” and said, “it’s not a trauma that’s already occurred. It’s a fear of a future trauma.”

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a report on global warming on April 4. Jim Skea, IPCC co-chair, said it was “now or never, if we want to limit global warming…without immediate and deep emissions reductions across all sectors, it will be impossible.”

Three days later, four climate activists chained themselves to a JP Morgan Chase Building as an act of protest against the bank’s funding of fossil fuel projects. “The scientists of the world have been being ignored, and it’s got to stop,” said scientist Peter Kalmus in a video. He promptly breaks into tears.

The “doomer” movement is not without detractors who see it as too negative. At the 2019 United Nations Climate Change Conference climate advocate Greta Thunburg said, “You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words.” She spoke bleakly of reality, but also of hope for the future: “The world is waking up. And change is coming, whether you like it or not.”

Hank Green, an author and science communicator with a large online following, recently posted a Tiktok about the subject. In the video, he says that while he’s “very worried” about climate change, it “pisses” him off to see people say humanity is doomed. “I’m 41 years old. I’ve been working on this since I was f**king 18. We didn’t let hopelessness eat us then, and I’m not gonna you let hopelessness eat you now.”

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of July 9 – 15, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of July 9 – 15, 2025

Published

on

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Continue Reading

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of July 2- 8, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of July 2 – 8, 2025

Published

on

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Continue Reading

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of June 25 – July 1, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of June 25 – July 1, 2025

Published

on

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Continue Reading

Subscribe to receive news and updates from the Oakland Post

* indicates required

CHECK OUT THE LATEST ISSUE OF THE OAKLAND POST

ADVERTISEMENT

WORK FROM HOME

Home-based business with potential monthly income of $10K+ per month. A proven training system and website provided to maximize business effectiveness. Perfect job to earn side and primary income. Contact Lynne for more details: Lynne4npusa@gmail.com 800-334-0540

Facebook

Activism3 days ago

Oakland Post: Week of July 9 – 15, 2025

#NNPA BlackPress6 days ago

Black Americans Still Face Deep Retirement Gaps Despite Higher Incomes

#NNPA BlackPress1 week ago

Scorching Heat Sparks Bipartisan Climate Alarm

#NNPA BlackPress1 week ago

Michael Jackson Estate Files Court Petition Alleging $213 Million Extortion Plot by Frank Cascio

#NNPA BlackPress1 week ago

WATCH: Glynn Turman receives a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame July 10

#NNPA BlackPress1 week ago

POWER IN ACTION: Delta Sigma Theta Hosts 57th National Convention

#NNPA BlackPress1 week ago

Measles Cases Hit 33-Year Record as CORI Deploys Outbreak Response Tools

#NNPA BlackPress1 week ago

PRESS ROOM: Intuit Expands IDEAS Program Nationally: Applications Now Open for the Company’s Award-Winning Business Accelerator

#NNPA BlackPress1 week ago

Target Looks for Love in All the Wrong Places as Black Leaders Reject Corporate Spin

#NNPA BlackPress1 week ago

A ‘New Direction’: West Coast Black News Publisher, Dr. John Warren, Elected Board Chair of NNPA

#NNPA BlackPress1 week ago

Facing Pressure From Black Voters, Democrats Detail Fight Against 47th President’s Agenda

#NNPA BlackPress1 week ago

OBSERVER Awarded Grant to Expand to Stockton

#NNPA BlackPress1 week ago

Medicaid Enrollees Targeted for Forced Farm Work Under Trump Immigration Crackdown

#NNPA BlackPress1 week ago

L.A. Dodgers Owner’s Ties to Private Prisons and Surveillance Spark Backlash from Latino Fans

#NNPA BlackPress1 week ago

Early Childhood Educators at Head Starts and Other Programs Say They’re Facing Even More Challenges

Trending

Copyright ©2021 Post News Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.