E for extinction? A new lexicon of the climate crisis

livemint.com:

climate change is getting peppered with new words and phrases. Here’s a handful to mull over: The psychological impact that climate events can have on communities living in trauma and others worried about their future and that of future generations. The American Psychological Association defines eco-anxiety as “an overwhelming sense of fear, sadness, and dread in the face of a warming planet".

The mental health effects of climate crisis may involve post-traumatic stress disorder, suicides due to economic fallouts (say, a drought), heat induced aggression, or nagging stress about an uncertain future. A more benign instance is ‘range-anxiety’—fear of being stranded if the battery of your electric vehicle runs out. A temperature threshold, beyond which irreversible changes are likely to occur in the physical world.

Some examples are the collapse of the West Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets, melting of Arctic permafrost and the withering away of the Amazon forests. Citing new research, a 2022 OECD report warns that important tipping points are already possible at current levels of warming and may become likely within the range of 1.5-2°C rise in temperature. Breaching tipping points can lead to cascading socio-economic and ecological impact within a short span of time, challenging the ability and capacity of humankind to respond.

The belief that humanity has lost the battle against climate change and that mankind is on its way to extinction. Experts say there is little or no scientific truth to such views which have gained popularity in tandem with frequent climate events. Be warned: climate doomers can potentially cause as much damage as climate deniers, by pushing humanity into inaction.