February 23, 2022
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In these uncertain times, it seems like we have a lot to be anxious about. One topic that has been top of mind these days is climate change, and it’s hard to think of many recent positive news stories on our planet’s future. If you’re tired of climate doomscrolling, there’s a new Chrome browser extension that can detect a negative climate story and help you take action.
In a recent survey of people aged 16 to 25 conducted by Nature, nearly half of people said that climate anxiety has been negatively affecting their daily life. This anxiety caused the founders of the startup Remark to create the Chrome extension UnF***theFuture (UFTF), which uses humour and action to help make users more relaxed and empowered when faced with the typically overwhelming topic of climate change.
Once the browser extension is installed, UFTF reacts when a user reads news articles with climate keywords like ‘habitat devastation’ and ‘drought’ and triggers a pop-up action that is both snarky and can help motivate you. One example: ‘If the climate were a bank, it’d be saved by now. Tell Biden that protecting U.S. lands, waters, and ocean can’t wait to be bailed out’. These messages also include a link to a simple step the reader can take immediately.
In lightening the mood, UFTF allows you to read about our climate without feeling helpless. Although the actions may seem simple, according to UFTF the average user takes 3 of the suggested actions per week. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by climate anxiety, this is definitely something to feel good about!
