Our Teen Advisory Board interview Humanity's Moment author Joëlle Gergis
The Readings Teen Advisory Board was thrilled to have the opportunity to engage with Humanity’s Moment author Dr Joëlle gergis. Gergis is an award-winning climate scientist and was recently the United Nations IPCC Sixth Assessment Report lead author. Many of the teens spoke about how deeply her book resonated with them. Below are our their questions and Gergis' fascinating and generous responses.
Emma: While reading, I could definitely feel the passion you had for the topic of climate change. What was your pathway into climatology and environmental studies?
I’ve always loved the natural world; it’s the whole reason I became a scientist! I love being in nature, whether it is swimming in the ocean, walking through a rainforest or just sitting still and taking in a landscape. I really enjoyed geography and biology at high school and that led me to pursue a degree in environmental science at university. I did lots of really interesting subjects that helped me realise that I really wanted to learn more about climate variability and change. That led me to do a PhD on El Niño – the largest source of climate variability on the planet – and I realised there was so much work to do in understanding natural climate variability and how it is changing in a warming world. It’s work I’m still doing as a research scientist to this day as I find it really fascinating.
Soleil: With an already busy schedule, how did you finish the book and how long did it take to write?
That’s a very good question! I wrote Humanity’s Moment straight after I finished my IPCC work in between two teaching semesters. It took me about eight months to draft and a few months of editing and polish with my publisher. All up it probably took about a year from start to finish, which is quite fast. You know what they say – if you want something done, give it to a busy person! The truth is that the book wrote itself in many ways; I’ve been immersed in these ideas for years so when I has some time to write, it came together fairly easily. I had a small research team keeping my other projects alive while I was writing, and had to juggle teaching with the final round of edits which was particularly difficult. I just did the best I could with the time that I had because it felt really important to share the messages of the IPCC report with the public as quickly as possible.
Shania: Chapter Six – Sea of Humanity really resonated with me the most because of how much it urged me to start doing something or even become part of something to save our planet. Was part of your intention in writing this insightful book to inspire audiences of all ages to make a change for the better?
Yes, my intention was to try and inspire people to be part of the social movement that we need to live sustainably on our beautiful planet. I wanted to write a book that speaks to as many people as possible, young and old from all over the world. Sometimes thinking about climate change can be really overwhelming and alienating. I hope my book helps people realise that they are not alone in caring about the future. We are not destined to destroy the planet if we choose to be part of the most important social movement in human history. That’s actually a really inspiring and amazing thing to think about.
You write about not only climate change but also losing hope, fear, grief and depression. Those topics can be really hard to explore for some, so I was curious as to what the writing process looked like for you and if you also struggled with opening up about these emotions?
Complex emotions can be hard for some people to talk about, but the truth is that most of us feel this way from time to time in our lives. My work as an IPCC author put me in touch with a lot of really difficult realities about the state of our world. Writing Humanity’s Moment was my way of processing the experience and working through my own challenges finding meaning in a situation that sometimes feels hopeless. The only way I could write the book was by being honest and just try and write through difficult emotions. I hope that being open about my own experience gives other people permission to talk about these darker places in themselves. I also wanted to share the things that helped me find my way back in the hope that it helps others in some way.
Bonnie: What's a piece of advice you wish you knew before writing your book?
That it’s best to try and clear all other commitments when you are trying to write a book of this scope. It was hard juggling research and teaching work while I was writing. It would have been less stressful if I could just focus on one project and really immerse in the process.
In relation to climate change, what's a positive change young people can make in their community?
It depends on the person’s skills and interests. I would pick something that inspires you and then do that. Whether you choose to attend a climate change rally, encourage your parents to switch to renewable energy, create an artwork that expresses your emotions about our changing world, or volunteer some time to organisations that are already doing important work in our communities, it all makes a difference.
Elli: You include an incredible amount of (frankly horrifying) statistics, but if you could choose only one of them to make mandatory for everyone in the world to know, which would it be?
This is a really hard question, but it would be that we are on track to breach 1.5 degrees celcius of global warming in the early 2030s. In around ten years, we will lose up to 90% of the world’s coral reefs and melt some glaciers past the point of no return, locking in sea level rise for centuries to come. The impacts we have already seen with 1.2 degrees celcius of global warming are worse than many scientists thought, so we need to be very aware that things are going to change very quickly in our lifetime. That’s the main reason I wrote this book – we need to do everything we can to limit warming and stabilise the Earth’s climate.
Kimmy: With all the disasters happening in our current world (global warming, oil spills, extinction of animal species), it's quite normal for someone to develop a cynical view of our environment today. What made you develop such a hopeful outlook on the issue of climate change?
I think it’s realising that there is always a spectrum when it comes to life; nothing is ever entirely good or bad. There are so many shades of grey, and things can sometimes get worse and then get better again. I’ve come to understand that all we can control is what we do with our own life. We can choose to be a person that helps restore faith in people and work towards bringing about the change we want to see in the world instead of waiting for other people to make things happen.
I also think of my experience working on the IPCC report – where people from all over the world volunteered thousands of unpaid hours for three and half years because we all care about the future of our planet – was a reminder of the inherent goodness that exists in humanity. We also saw it during the Covid-19 pandemic when our health care workers worked around the clock to keep our communities safe. I also think about the volunteer firefighters that go in to protect our precious places under very dangerous conditions. There are many people doing everything they can to make the world a better place. You can choose to be one of these people and support others also doing their best.
After reading your book, I really learned to adore your writing style and how you're able to break down complex concepts for the average reader. How did you develop your writing style and do you intend to write more in the future?
Thanks for this really lovely feedback on my writing. To be a good writer you need to be a good reader. When you pay attention to the elements of writing you really respond to as a reader, you can think about ways that you can also express yourself more clearly or honestly as a writer. If I can write material that I enjoy reading, hopefully other will appreciate it too!
I also keep a journal which helps me practice expressing myself; it’s a private process I do just for me, not for an audience. Writing helps me make sense of how I feel so it’s something that I do for pleasure.
When I finished my PhD and was thinking about what I wanted to do with my life, I realised that alongside being a scientists, I also really wanted to be a writer. I decided to do a Diploma of Professional Writing and Editing at RMIT in Melbourne where I learned the tricks of the trade. It was such a great course where I met other writers/hybrids who were just like me!
I still have a lot of publicity work like podcasts and writers festival events to do for Humanity’s Moment, so I’m not starting anything new just yet. My book will be released in the USA in March 2023 so that will keep me busy for a while. I am a writer, so no doubt the next project will reveal itself to me in time. I hope to be able to write and publish for the rest of my life.
