The fallout from the climate crisis gives us plenty to fear: habitat destruction, extreme weather, and—in case you slept through the last year—global pandemics. But clinical psychologist Margaret Klein Salamon, founder and board president of The Climate Mobilization advocacy group (and the guest on Ep. 51 of our At a Distance podcast), believes that fear and other intense emotions are some of our best tools for pursuing meaningful climate action. “Passion and moral conviction have always been at the heart of successful social movements,” she says, noting that these traits fuel “acts of greatness and courage.” Yet for years, emotions have been sidelined in climate change dialogue in favor of the exacting academic detachment of scientific presentations, contributing to what Salamon sees as cognitive dissonance among the public. So, through her new discussion-focused platform Climate Awakening, Salamon recently launched Climate Emotions Conversations, a digital forum for people to express their emotions out loud.