Martha Crawford began the Climate Dreams Project in 2019 after being inspired by her own dreams about climate change, suggesting that climate change has woven itself into the “fabric of dreaming.”
A survey conducted by The Harris Poll for TIME found that over one-third of Americans have had dreams about climate change, but the frequency of these dreams decreases with age. Around 56% of individuals between 18 and 34 years old reported having at least one climate dream, while only 14% of those aged 55 and older had experienced such dreams.
Occasionally, society goes through collective experiences that deeply impact our aspirations, like how the pandemic, world wars, and 9/11 have affected our dreams.
The question is whether climate change is affecting enough people to the point where it is becoming a common theme in their dreams. The Harris Poll survey, along with Crawford’s dream project, indicates that this may be happening in the United States.
According to the survey, most Gen Z (57%) have had negative dreams about climate change. Millennials, on the other hand, have more positive climate dreams compared to other generations, with 54% of them expressing positive emotions in their dreams.
Interestingly, a significant number of Millennials, more than one-third, have dreams related to science, which is higher than other age groups by at least 10 percentage points.
Studying dreams can provide insights into how external factors, such as climate change, affect people’s emotions. It helps individuals accept and understand the aspects of their lives and the environment that they cannot control. However, believing in a positive future for the climate can inspire individuals to take action in preserving the environment.
Reference- The Harris Poll, TIME Magazine, Discovery Magazine, Climate Dreams Project website