An 86-year-old Floridian on climate change

It's hot and she's bored.

In a short piece on CBS Sunday Morning this past weekend, contributor Josh Seftel interviewed his mom, Pat, about climate change. The spot is charming if not a little played; the 86-year-old Sarasota woman struggles to set up FaceTime, and does some classic grandma troubleshooting. Her voice is full bubbe and you can’t help but to feel a sense of warm familiarity with her if you, like me, are an east coast jew.

This mother-son conversation about an issue of such magnitude is soft, but I found myself digging it anyway.

I know this *program* is a staple in many households. I like the idea of it sparking discussion over coffee among family and roommates.

“What advice do you have for the world right now?” Seftel asks his mom. “You know, I usually have advice for everybody,” Pat says. “I don’t know what to tell people. I don’t know what I can do to make it better.”

On whether she has hope, Pat says, “Yes! Like with a lot of things, you’ve got to take it like a day at a time. There’s a lot we can’t change anymore. But we certainly can help it from getting worse.”

Pat communicates this sense of exasperated hopefulness that I also carry with me. I am often so BUMMED about the state of the planet, but I get so revved up by even the tiniest of solutions, like plastic fork bans or bills that require big tech companies to be more truthful about their emissions or even a little hat to keep your bananas fresher for longer (it’s adorable but please don’t buy it).

There are endless think pieces that argue we should promote climate optimism, or no, wait, climate pessimism, and I find myself teetering uncomfortably in limbo, almost paralyzed (and this, most certainly, will move the needle nowhere). Something I do know: Conversations about the climate must be broadcasted in our living rooms and beyond; they have to extend outside of our bubbles. I know this segment succeeded at exiting the echo chamber because of these YouTube comments:

(By the way, there are plenty more positive comments than negative. I just want to highlight the reach. Glad you watched the segment, DickNasty.)

Pat’s (nor my) languishing is not the answer to the climate crisis. But at least some 5 million viewers were forced to reckon (if only for a moment) with how uncomfortable this state of uncertainty has become.