Asks Quote by Mike Hulme
“Because the idea of climate change is so plastic, it can be deployed across many of our human projects and can serve many of our psychological, ethical and spiritual needs...We need to ask not what we can do for climate change, but to ask what climate change can do for us.”
About This Quote
Source Speech: Climate Change Discourse, 2014
Climate change is framed as a flexible concept that can be used to fulfill various human psychological, ethical, and spiritual needs, shifting focus from what we can do for it to what it can do for us.
In simple terms: Climate change is used to meet many human needs, not just environmental ones.
Key Takeaway
Consider how climate narratives serve human aspirations.
Themes
environment
psychology
ethics
spirituality
politics
Mood
reflective
critical
inspirational
Type
philosophical
motivational
When to use this quote
- Policy making
- public communication
- education
- activism
- spiritual practice
Key Concepts
Anthropocentrism
Narrative framing
Instrumentalism
Questions to Reflect On
- How does framing climate change as a tool affect action?
- What needs does this narrative satisfy?
A Different Perspective
May overlook scientific urgency by overemphasizing human benefit.
