Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences

Climate Resilience @ CIRES

Supporting personal and community climate well-being

Thermophilic bacteria growing in a hot pool
Thermophilic bacteria growing in a hot pool in Rotorua, New Zealand
- Nicholas Dragone

The Climate Resilience @ CIRES initiative offers guidance on building individual and group climate resilience through supportive resources and opportunities for collaborative action.

Based on ideas from climate psychologist Leslie Davenport, we define climate resilience as: the ability to retain focus on our work at CIRES, with attention to being open-minded and empathic, in the face of challenging climate change conditions, media reports and data collection. 

Building climate resilience helps our employees focus on how they are engaging with our mission of serving society and sustaining themselves in their work. The actions, hopeful information and mindfulness activities shared below are gathered from CIRES employees, intentionally working towards a sense of communal support and action.

This section includes ideas about how to take action to forward sustainability efforts. This could include actions to take in your home, daily actions that reduce waste and energy use, or ways to join community efforts. 

  • CIRES Fellow Noah Fierer recently installed a heat pump, working towards electrifying his home.

  • NSIDC Deputy Lead Scientist, Twila Moon, encourages others to learn about Climate Changemakers "Hour of Action" model, where you can show up for an hour and take action. You can attend virtually, connect on Slack, and there's even an in-person Boulder group. Actions are also varied and tied to current issues and topics. 

 

This section includes articles, podcasts, videos, books, newsletters and other materials focused on learning information that helps to build hope about the future and inspire thoughtful action.

  • The CIRES DEI Program is offering a book club on climate wellness with Renée Crown Wellness Institute. “Active Hope” has been a favorite read with participants, helping us all develop the capacity to have hopeful conversations about the future.

  • Christine Weidinmyer shared a New York Times article about current work by CarbonRun, which uses limestone to remove carbon dioxide from rivers and oceans. 

  • Science writer Stephanie Maltarich, loved the book What if we Get it Right? A book written by climate scientist and activist Ayana Elizabeth Johnson. From Stephanie: I really like this book because it talks about all of the climate solutions that already exist, we just need to implement them. She interviews experts in economics, food, policy, journalism, etc. Johnson was a marine scientist but has switched to advocacy and policy and I really appreciate her perspective.

This section includes information on bringing mindfulness practice into your daily life, to calm your nervous system and build strong connections to your environment. 

  • This article, offered by CIRES DEI Director Becca Edwards, talks about how “ecotherapy”, or mindfulness in nature, offers diverse health benefits. 

Events