Sarah Jaquette

Ray

Environmental Humanist and Professor

Climate Justice Advocate

Travels from: Arcata, CA

“It would be foolish not to freak out over climate change. But it would be sad if that despair kept you from working hard on this crisis, not to mention enjoying life on what is still a beautiful planet. This book has some wise strategies for finding a useful balance.” — Bill McKibben, author of Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself

Dr. Sarah Jaquette Ray works at the intersection of climate, emotions, and justice. She is a professor and chair of environmental studies at California Polytechnic, Humboldt. An environmental humanist with a BA in Religious Studies, an MA in American Studies, and a PhD in Environmental Sciences, Studies and Policy, Dr. Ray draws on an eclectic range of disciplines and epistemologies in service of climate justice. Her first book, The Ecological Other: Environmental Exclusion in American Culture (Arizona, 2013), explores the logic and affects of social control in environmental thought.

Her second book, A Field Guide to Climate Anxiety: How to Keep Your Cool on a Warming Planet (California, 2020), is an existential toolkit for the climate generation. Ray is also a certified mindfulness facilitator through the UCLA Mindfulness Awareness Research Center. She has published on emotions and the climate movement in the LA Times, Scientific American, The Cairo Review of Global Affairs, Edge Effects, KCET, and Zocalo Public Square. Her latest book is The Existential Toolkit for Climate Justice Educators: How to Teach in a Burning World, which is an easy-to-use field guide for teaching climate injustice and building resilience in your students—and yourself—in an age of crisis.

Sarah Jaquette's Featured Titles

How to Keep Your Cool on a Warming Planet: An Existential Toolkit for the Climate Generation

Facing a future of compounding climate change disasters, many young people are organizing for action on climate change. Yet, it can be hard to deal with the feelings of powerlessness and despair that can accompany the hard work of social movements, especially when the adults in the room– parents, climate experts, and politicians– don’t seem to be doing enough to protect the planet for future generations. We have the technological tools to address the climate crisis, but what are the emotional resources young people will need to put those tools into action, combat burnout, and even find purpose in building a world they desire? What will it take for all of us to bring our best selves to the long haul of climate justice work, in the face of so much degradation and suffering? Drawing on her book, A Field Guide to Climate Anxiety: How to Keep Your Cool on a Warming Planet, Dr. Sarah Jaquette Ray will talk about the role of emotions in the youth climate movement. Ray will outline strategies for engaging anxiety, grief, despair, and also joy, desire, and pleasure in service of cultivating a more just and regenerative world.

Emotional Skills for Saving the Planet

What will it take to imagine, desire, and thrive in a climate-changed world? We already have the technological, scientific, and economic tools to address the climate crisis, but what emotional resources are needed to put those tools into action? How can we live our best lives and bring our best selves to climate justice, in the face of so much degradation and suffering? In this talk, Dr. Sarah Jaquette Ray will explore these questions drawing on her book, A Field Guide to Climate Anxiety: How to Keep Your Cool on a Warming Planet. The book brings together the social movement theory, environmental justice, climate psychology, and mindfulness to outline strategies for engaging anxiety, grief, despair, but also joy, desire, and pleasure in service of climate justice. Ray will talk about why it’s so important for all of us, and for the planet, that we find the resolve and courage to engage for the long haul.

Climate, Justice, and the Politics of Emotions

What does justice have to do with climate change emotions? How do climate emotions shape politics, identity, and culture? Who feels climate anxiety, and what does climate anxiety tell us about the politics of climate justice in America today? In this discussion, Dr. Sarah Jaquette Ray will explore the relationship between climate change, justice, and the role of emotions in bringing about political change. She will investigate the seeming paradox that marginalized people and people of color report higher concern about climate change than white and privileged people, yet rarely articulate their concern in terms of “climate anxiety,” even as the term is proliferating in climate discourse, from popular culture to the New York Times. How might racial and social justice concerns add to those conversations? Drawing on her research on climate emotions and justice, Dr. Ray will explore how to bridge the work on racial and social justice with latest insights about climate emotions.

Mash Between Research and Mindfulness

We face a perfect storm of emergencies– a mounting “polycrisis” of political, economic, ecological, and social breakdown. Multiple forms of illness are poisoning our lives, our communities, and the planet. Band-aid solutions don’t work. What is the remedy? How are we to navigate this tumult, show up, and be of service? And even more, how can we not just survive, but thrive in a climate-changed world? This talk explores why, even in the face of so much suffering, fear, and injustice, we must learn how to bring our best selves to the work of climate justice. Drawing on mindfulness, insights from neuroscience, and research on social psychology and social movements, Ray will talk about the role of mindsets, ways of being, and emotions in leveraging political change for climate justice. Ray outlines strategies for engaging anxiety, grief, despair, and also joy, desire, and pleasure in service of cultivating a more just and regenerative world.

“We were thrilled to have Dr. Sarah Jaquette Ray share her invaluable insights with our company. Her presentation, based on her book A Field Guide to Climate Anxiety, expertly explored the link between effective climate action and maintaining healthy emotions. We received numerous messages from attendees saying they loved the speaker and the event. We highly recommend Dr. Ray as a speaker for any event addressing climate change, emotional resilience, social justice, or the intersection of these topics.” — Qualtrics, 2024

“Dr. Sarah Jaquette Ray inspired event attendees with her informative and enlightening keynote address. . . She was charismatic and compelling, despite presenting over Zoom, and had clearly tailored her talk to provide as much helpful content and background as possible, building on her books, and addressing the specific topics we had asked her to focus on. She was also very thoughtful in her responses during the Q&A portion, and closely engaged with us. She was an inspiration!” — University of Michigan, 2024

“She was exceptional with our high school students, highly engaging, and generated great enthusiasm and questions. Her intellect, experience, engaging personality and enthusiasm made for a great experience for all our guests and staff. Thank you!” — The Wege Foundation, 2024

“The book is carefully and clearly written, demonstrating the author’s commitment to climate work and to engaging with students, as well as the depth of her own knowledge as an environmentalist. Highly recommended.” — CHOICE

“Not surprisingly . . . this small book reads like the distillation of simple folk wisdom.” — Geography Realm

“This book makes an overdue and very welcome contribution to the world, where the mental health impacts and cascading losses that climate change generates are increasing rapidly. It synthesises a range of psychological theory, personal experience, Buddhist philosophy and activist self-care wisdom. This is organised into a series of strategies that can help people of any age to play the long game of fighting for climate justice.” — Australian Journal of Environmental Education

“Ever laid awake at night gripped with panic about the future? Ever wondered how to make sense of your path in light of the forecasted climate futures? Bold and beautiful, this hands-on companion is essential reading for wrestling with the most important issue of our time.” — Kari Marie Norgaard, author of Living in Denial: Climate Change, Emotions, and Everyday Life

“Written for the Gen Z ‘climate generation,’ this book is essential reading for anyone despairing over our current climate emergency and future of turbulent change. Ray’s strategies offer deep and practical ways to cultivate collective resilience and creative adaptation, and even thrive in a climate-changed world.” — Leslie Davenport, author of Emotional Resiliency in the Era of Climate Change

“A short but heartfelt note to say *thank you* so much for visiting us yesterday. It was an absolute treat for me, your words and wisdoms resonated with (and provoked in a good way) the students, and you set a framework for learning and experimentation that I’m grateful to have had so early in the semester, that I know will be a key touchstone in the weeks ahead. Thank you!” — Professor, USC 2023

“We recently read your book A Field Guide to Climate Anxiety, and I found it to be such a wonderful source of inspiration, insight, and motivation. Thank you for your powerful, empowering message! I feel strongly that my peers need to hear your message as well.” — Student, Centre College, 2021

“In reading your book, A Field Guide to Climate Anxiety: How to Keep Your Cool on a Warming Planet, I identified closely with the worries and climate anxiety you talked about regarding late millennials and gen-Z. I also found the tools you talked about for taking action and cultivating resilience, such as emotional intelligence, working within your spheres of influence, overcoming barriers to climate inaction, and taking a social justice approach to be extremely helpful for me to make changes in mindset and seek out new ways to make a difference. I think that many students are looking for ways to take action on environmental, social justice, and other issues but don’t really know how to and could benefit greatly from your ideas and expertise.” — Student, Centre College 2021

“Our students will long remember your interest in their experiences and your candor about the difficulty of their questions. After our meeting, an environmental studies student remarked that she felt like you had given her a basis for hope – something she said that she feels but didn’t know how to justify. What a gift for her, for us.” — Manchester University, 2023

Guest Article by Sarah

Honors, Awards & Recognition

Sustainability Champion, Cal Poly Humboldt 2021
Scholar of the Year, Cal Poly Humboldt 2021
Latinx Environmentalisms (co-edited volume), awarded best edited collection by MLA 2022.
Published in:
-LA Times
-Scientific American
-The Cairo Review of Global Affairs
-Edge Effects
-KCET
-Zocalo Public Square