Contributor: Lesley Hodge
I recently met with Dr. Sherilee Harper, an expert in climate change, who graciously agreed to meet with me after I asked for her input about a project I was working on. I came prepared with a detailed list of questions, but felt compelled to ask something not on my agenda: What inspired her work?
She shared how in her work in northern Canada—climate change was a visible presence: “Permafrost thaw is damaging buildings and infrastructure, and changing landscapes. Waterways drying up. New species of plants. ‘Browning’ of sub-Arctic. Changes in ice and snow” (Personal communication. Dr. Sherilee Harper, May 8, 2024)
Her thoughts about how making climate change visible reminded me of Glo germ™ (nd)—a substance nurses have long used with children’s hands to make bacteria visible in the dark. Her thoughts also got me thinking about what climate change looks like in Western Canada. Wildfire, I thought—Surely, climate change can be felt in the wildfires where I live (Canadian Climate Institute, 2023).
What Precedes Climate Change?
I got thinking farther upstream (Loma Linda University Health, 2021) about what may have led to recent wildfires (Segal, 2024). Wildfires are made possible through heat and drought. Heat and drought are made possible through the demands on our natural resources. Demands on our natural resources continue to increase and give rise to an ever growing Gross Domestic Product (GDP). A GDP that rises was made possible in the aftermath of war and human suffering (Raworth, 2017).
So, how do we sense our economic system—a march toward non-stop financial growth—in our daily lives, and why does it matter? As I grow older, I consider all the choices I’ve made for money—to gain a sense of security and wealth. I grew up relatively poor, and it’s a feeling you don’t shake. Money for leisure, family vacations, and modern conveniences, such as owning a dryer, were unfamiliar to me. I learned to be tacky, and thrifty. But there’s a greasy feeling of shame that somehow sticks.
So, as an adult, I’ve aggressively (perhaps too aggressively) pursued financial security. My 20s were marked by employment: I’ve boasted (regrettably) that I had six jobs at one point. I worked around the clock, sometimes in 24 and 48-hour stretches. Lately, I’ve asked myself—am I telling myself a story? Was I just being greedy, like some unscrupulous corporation my husband talks of?
What a shame to do things for money. This insidious, human-constructed token of presumed worth is increasingly held by the upper class. Sure, money is a tool (Giovino, 2022)—but it exists and operates in structures that are not sustainable, or socially just.
Theoretical Connection
I think of a theoretical framework I can’t seem to put down: Critical Posthumanism (Braidotti, 2019, Dillard-Wright et al., 2020). Critical posthumanism does not envision a world without humans, as the name suggests—As Dillard-Wright and colleagues (2024) wrote: “Posthumanisms are “post” in the same way that the world is postpandemic: there is no present unfolding that does not bear the imprint of humanism, just as there is no world untouched by COVID-19 in this timeline” (3 ON (POST)HUMANISM). I recognize that critical posthumanism is inherently problematic, as it takes issue with white humanism (Sterling, 2020). But for me (and a mentor, manuscript forthcoming), it highlights a human-constructed world: white humanism prevails and sinks its dirty claws in everything. White humanism is what’s driving the GDP up—this unsustainable metaphorical airplane that’s never meant to land (TED, 2018, 3:09).
Nursing Implications
If we (as people) are the economy, as Scanlon (2024) writes, then what are we to do? If we’re sustaining this beast, that echoes the post-war era and those who said GDP should always go up, then the well-being of our natural systems we need will suffer. Many nurses have recognized the role of nursing knowledge and our discipline—from Fawcett’s inclusion of planetary health in the metaparadigm (2023) to entire professional bodies (Canadian Association of Nurses for the Environment, 2024) taking action. As Walter (2020) contended, the relational capacities beheld by and constituting nursing can be transformative, and I believe this is at the center of tackling climate change.
It seems we all have some role to play in trying to fix the broken system we are all a part of. I write in the aftermath of a strategic planning meeting I attended with some people advocating for education opportunities in their community. They shared how they challenged the status quo, and grappled with how to best approach people in power with their ideas. One community member said, “Can’t we just all get along?” Maybe these conversations can cage cynicism and plant hope. Maybe I can cultivate this mindset with my children, talking about what matters, stoking curiosity–pointing out the glowing germs of unkindness, suffering, and problematic metrics—all festering in climate change—that need some scrubbing away.
References
Canadian Association of Nurses for the Environment. (2024). Who we are. https://cane-aiie.ca/who-we-are/
Canadian Climate Institute. (2023). Canada needs to get ready for a future fraught with fire: How can the forest sector respond? https://climateinstitute.ca/canada-fires-forest-sector/
Dillard‐Wright., J., Hopkins‐Walsh, J., & Brown, B. B. (2020). Posthumxnism and the Pandemic. https://nursology.net/2020/05/19/posthumxnism-and-the-pandemic/
Dillard‐Wright, J., Smith, J. B., Hopkins‐Walsh, J., Willis, E., Brown, B. B., & Tedjasukmana, E. C. (2024). Notes on [post] human nursing: What it MIGHT be, what it is not. Nursing Inquiry 31(1), e12562. https://doi.org/10.1111/nin.12562
Fawcett, J. (2023). Evolution of one version of our disciplinary metaparadigm. https://nursology.net/2023/01/17/evolution-of-one-version-of-our-disciplinary-metaparadigm/
Giovino, C. (2022). How To examine Your relationship with money – Paula Pant. https://thebetterquestions.com/paula-pant/
Glo Germ. (nd). The original visual tool for teaching proper handwashing, aseptic techniques, and general infection control. https://www.glogerm.com/
Loma Linda University Health. (2021). Addressing the social determinants of health upstream. https://ihpl.llu.edu/blog/addressing-social-determinants-health-upstream
Raworth, K. (2017). Doughnut economics: Seven ways to think like a 21st-century economist. Chelsea Green Publishing.
r/collapse (2023). Are you rich enough yet?! https://www.reddit.com/r/collapse/comments/155gctj/are_you_rich_enough_yet/
Braidotti, R. (2019). A theoretical framework for the critical posthumanities. Theory, Culture & Society, 36(6), 31-61. https://doi.org/10.1177/0263276418771486
Scanlon, K. (2024). In this economy? How markers and money really work. Crown Currency
Segal, M. (2024) Would you fight Alberta’s wildfires for $22/hour? And no benefits? https://www.cbc.ca/radio/whatonearth/wildfire-fighters-alberta-pay-1.7206766
Sterling, C. (2020). Critical heritage and the posthumanities: problems and prospects. International Journal of Heritage Studies, 26(11), 1029–1046. https://doi.org/10.1080/13527258.2020.1715464
TED. (2018, June 4). A healthy economy should be designed to thrive, not grow | Kate Raworth [Video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rhcrbcg8HBw
Walters, R. (2020). Emancipatory nursing praxis. https://nursology.net/nurse-theories/emancipatory-nursing-praxis/
About Lesley Hodge
I’m a mother of three kids who (alongside my husband) are perhaps the best thing that has ever happened to me. I can’t imagine being a mother with fewer options. I hailed from relative poverty and with a bit of luck, I managed to break and escape the cycle. Meditation is my jam. I love to learn, write, connect, walk, and think!