By Marilee Feldman, LCPC, CADC
John Morales, a longtime Florida meteorologist known for his reassuring TV presence in the face of extreme weather events, struggled to keep his composure. Reporting live on new data about Hurricane Milton, he said, “It’s just an incredible, incredible, incredible hurricane. It has dropped…” he paused and exhaled, “ … 50 millibars in 10 hours,” his voice strained and cracking with emotion.
“I apologize,” he said. “This is just horrific.”
No apology necessary, John. In fact, thank you. Thank you for being real about all that is happening with climate, with our world, with our home, this planet Earth and all of its people and plants and creatures.
As a therapist who specializes in the emotional toll wrought by the climate crisis, what I personally heard behind John’s words was:
- Grief and utter despair regarding the numerous losses presented by the rapidly escalating climate crisis. Grief for the people impacted. Morales continued: “Global warming [is] becoming an increasing threat for … the Yucatan, including Merida and Progreso,” which he later referenced visiting. The “humble people” of those regions are most impacted but have nothing to do with the burning of fossil fuels.
- Grief for an increased understanding of how fragile life is, and how much we face to lose in the future. We can no longer be sure that we—and more importantly our children and their children—will have the same stable, comfortable lives that we have taken for granted. (This is, I recognize, a highly privileged statement made by someone who has lived such a life.)
- Grief for a new, more painful understanding of humankind, which has the capacity to act on the crisis, but fails to do so out of economic interest. As shown in a well-known New Yorker cartoon, a man explains to a group of children, “Yes the planet got destroyed, but for a beautiful moment in time we created a lot of value for shareholders.”
- Grief for the future of our youth, who have told John he makes them feel seen and their rage, dread, anxiety, and despair heard.
- Worry, fear, and concern for the lives taken or ruined by the storms, for the devastation of the beauty of both coastal and mountainous regions impacted by the hurricanes.
- Anxiety about future storms, including increasingly violent hurricanes and extreme heat in Florida.
- Fear for what the “new normal” will look like as the crisis escalates.
- Frustration that he’s had to transition from the voice of reassurance to the voice of serious concern, in light of the fact we’ve been watching this crisis unfold and escalate for years, knowing the cause, knowing there are actions we can take to stop it, and watching some government officials deny the reality of the science, to the point of his own governor ordering removal of all references to climate change from state law.
I have a valued employee and a cousin whom I hope will be safe, living in north Central Florida. An artist friend who has lost her work in Asheville. And a niece and nephew on the Gulf Coast who right now are facing down the arrival of hurricane Milton and enormous uncertainty about their lives and what is going to happen.
I thank John Morales for showing us that climate change is impacting us deeply, personally, emotionally.
Thank you, John, for having the courage to speak the truth and show emotion. There’s nothing normal about what’s happening. To not be emotional right now would be more of a concern.
Thanks for having the strength to look at climate change and show us that we, too, can find the emotional strength to face this crisis together, which experts believe is critical to taking action to protect the future of our youth and taking care of the earth in a way that sustains us all.
