Requiem for a Glacier
How embracing climate grief can help us cope and find paths to action
By Conny Kawohl
In June 2016, soft piano tunes echoed around Wahlenbergbreen, a glacier in Spitsbergen (Svalbard), Norway, only disturbed by the loud calving of icebergs into the fjord. The source of the melancholic music was a float, surrounded by ice, carrying famous pianist and composer Ludovico Einaudi and a grand concert piano. He had arrived alongside a Greenpeace crew on the “Arctic Sunrise”. His composition was a custom artwork for this occassion. In his “Elegy for the Arctic”, Einaudi aimed to combine the voices of eight million human beings from around the world, in a musical cry for help – to act against the climate crisis, to stop drilling for oil in the arctic, to preserve its unique ecosystems.
Beyond the realm of a publicity stunt, it also is a beautiful example of an artistic response to our climate emergency. A way of dealing with all the climate related news that spell out doom. A chance to grieve.
Climate crisis, meet mental health crisis
In the face of our escalating climate crisis, it’s increasingly common to experience a profound emotional response known as climate grief. This deep sorrow and anxiety stem from witnessing the devastation of natural habitats, the loss of biodiversity, and the looming threat of catastrophic climate events.
Climate grief is a multifaceted emotional response that encompasses feelings of sadness, anger, fear, and despair. It arises from a slow realization of the irreversible damage being inflicted upon our ecosystems, and on the myriad ways how human life will be affected by that damage. It can also mean to recognize the uncertainty of our common future on this planet.
Embracing fragility, learning resilience
Yet, within this emotional turmoil lies an opportunity for transformation and resilience. One way mourning can help us escape the doom cycle is by fostering a deeper connection to nature. As we mourn the loss of pristine landscapes and endangered species, we cultivate a profound appreciation for the beauty and fragility of the natural world. This heightened awareness can inspire us to take meaningful action to protect and preserve our planet for future generations.
Moreover, grief can serve as a catalyst for collective action. When individuals come together to mourn the loss of our planet’s biodiversity and the impact of climate change on vulnerable communities, it fosters a sense of solidarity and shared purpose. This collective grief can galvanize communities to advocate for policy changes, can exert pressure against exploitative industries, support renewable energy initiatives, can spread awareness about how to preserve biospheres and help adopt sustainable lifestyle practices.
Art and Activism as a catalyst
Embracing climate grief can lead to personal growth and resilience. By confronting our feelings of despair and helplessness, we can tap into our inner strength and resilience. Through practices such as mindfulness, self-care, and community support, individuals can cultivate the emotional resilience needed to navigate the challenges of the climate crisis with grace and determination. It represents a rational response to a world hurtling ever faster towards climate doom.
In 2014, Icelands Okjökull officially lost its glacier classification and was declared extinct by local authorities. A plaque was placed at its former location, helping future generations understand the loss and ask for forgiveness for inaction. By grieving the loss of this natural phenomenon, human being can understand the impact of glaciers, who until just a few decades ago, may have seemed timeless, permanent to non-glaciologists.
Similarly, the Schneeferner in the Bavarian Alps, whose Southern half already was declared extinct in 2022, received an ecumenical requiem mass by members and representatives of the local catholic and protestant churches. These are just two further examples on how we can deal with the loss of our cryosphere, and it gives us pointers for how to deal with other extinction events in our biosphere, just as well. However, while mourning can be a meaningful exercise to deal with these emotions, we should not forget that there are still glaciers out there for whom we can still do something. Or which we can still visit and learn about while they still exist.