Please can we have a climate change topic?

[SilentBiscuits]

Would anyone else be interested in this?

Climate change is not an environmental/lefty issue. The effects of climate change are already affecting the developing world, and in coming years our western lives will be impacted more and more. Most importantly, it will have a big impact on our children's lives (extreme weather events, food shortages, increased migration).

As well as having this issue having little visibility on MN, it would be great if those who care about this issue could have a space to discuss climate effects, current initiatives and possible action.

Thoughts?

[deeedeee]

Definitely agree!

Seems that it's essential to help this issue being one that shocks and frightens people into inaction. There are plenty ways to help, plenty ideas that can be shared. Mainstream discussion of this is essential.

[LuluLozenge]

Yes, definitely. I'm really surprised this issue hasn't had more air time on MN given the recent publicity (after the Paris agreement) and the far-reaching effects it will have on our children and theirs.

I also vote (not that we can force this) that we keep discussion positive and constructive instead of trying to scare people. If that makes sense? A focus on positive action.

Of course I realise that there are huge issues, I just don't want to scare people into inaction (as deeedeee just said).

[Hygellig]

I would be interested in this. On one hand I'm a little wary of creating new topics as some areas of the site get virtually no traffic. On the other hand increasing discussion about climate change can only be a good thing so a new topic might help in that regard.

[pennycarbonara]

Yes. This is a topic which has a lot more existing interest among the public than several other non-parenting interests which have their own boards, e.g. preppers, sporners.

There are so many related subjects such as nature conservation, pollution, flooding, energy and fuel which can be put on it; there is plenty to post about which doesn't get talked about on here, probably because there isn't a good place to put it.

I've felt for a long time that perhaps the biggest gap on MN is the lack of somewhere to discuss environmental issues. There are also (perhaps others can correct me if I've not noticed some) hardly any UK based forums to actually talk about them, aside from the Guardian comments section.

[HopelesslydevotedtoGu]

Agreed that this would be a useful topic

[shovetheholly]

Absolutely, this is a brilliant idea! Can't believe there isn't one already, actually. Some of the stuff in 'ethical living' would really belong there.

I know there are a few deniers on the site, but seriously - they have to be in the minority these days, right? It's becoming a bit like being a flat earther!

[pennycarbonara]

shovethe holly - snap - I just logged in to suggest that, if MNHQ ever rename or partially repurpose boards (I'm too sporadic a user to have a full sense of the history of the place), adding this to Ethical Living might work due to the crossover. "Ethical Living & Environmental Issues" / "Environmental Issues & Ethical Living" Perhaps a solution depending on how much support the proposal for a separate board gets?

[shovetheholly]

Yes - while the subject itself is (depressingly) still controversial, there are communities on the forum who are doing eco-conscious things who are only really noticeable when there is yet another bunfight over something like vegetarianism. That's a shame, because the best bits of Mumsnet for me are those where there is a lot of support on offer instead of people yelling at each other (I'm totally biased, but I LOVE the gardening forum for this). Perhaps a separate forum could foster more of this??

[deeedeee]

I think calling it Environmental Issues and Ethical Living, just makes it sound like only something hippies students and "environmental campaigners" care about.

It needs to be a mainstream topic that affects families, communities, individuals, everyone. Or else it just gets stereotyped into a lefty daft thing that normal folk don't worry about because they are too busy surviving and shopping and worrying about where they park their car.

It should be called Global Warming. or Man Made Climate Change.

[pennycarbonara]

I think calling it Environmental Issues and Ethical Living, just makes it sound like only something hippies students and "environmental campaigners" care about.

I agree that there is a potential problem with that. But it was after looking at threads that had led to other boards starting, and seeing how many posts there were for topics that seem like minority interests (e.g. Preppers) , that I thought that if there weren't considered enough posts for a whole new board, that this would be a possible solution. Somewhere rather than nowhere to discuss more specific stories and studies, rather than cilmate change as a general subject.

Global warming is a less useful term because it's easy for people who haven't much background to think "we had a really cold winter so it's not warming up". Climate change is a more formal way of putting the descriptively accurate idea "global weirding" (Thomas Friedman) where weather and climate behave in ways that human civilisation has not been used to, where for some places the pressing issues are flooding or storms rather than its being too hot.

[pennycarbonara]

Forgot this bit:
...as a general subject which might be mentioned in In The News, AIBU, Chat etc.

[MumboNumber5]

yes please

[SilentBiscuits]

I think calling it Environmental Issues and Ethical Living, just makes it sound like only something hippies students and "environmental campaigners" care about.

I agree with this.

A "Climate change" topic could include everything from renewable energy - on a large scale and a local scale, electric cars, fracking, politics, local initiatives etc.

[pennycarbonara]

There are quite a few relevant threads lately but people from those don't seem to be coming over here to add to this request. (I have tried asking. Perhaps better from someone who's a very established user who keeps the same name for ages?)

[GrumpyOldBag]

I'm one of the few who does post on climate change threads, but I don't think the subject has much resonance with the wider MN community?

[SilentBiscuits]

Shameless bump

[RoseDeGambrinus]

Climate change topic - yes please! And there could be an ongoing science vs sceptics thread on 'yes it is happening, yes it is serious' so all the other threads in the topic wouldn't get derailed.

[Lweji]

Good idea. :)

[Thisjustinno]

I don't think there's a need for a separate topic.

[KlingybunFistelvase]

Agree! I was looking for one the other day.

[IonaMumsnet]

Hi OP and others. This sounds like an interesting idea. It's not something we've had much call for before but we're always willing to consider new topics if there seems to be enough support for them. What does everyone else think? Would you use a Climate Change topic or is it covered by Ethical Living do you think? We'll look out for responses so let us know here.

[BroadBeanSlippers]

All of us, no matter how much we earn or where we live, are going to be affected by climate change. Our children, doubly so.

We definitely need a climate change topic. And I think the ongoing "science vs skeptics" thread is an excellent idea, all the other climate change topics I've seen on MN eventually get derailed by someone posting non-science.

[FurryDogMother]

I agree that we should have a Climate Change topic - this is going to become an issue which affects all of us, so the sooner it's put in place, the better. It has very little to do with ethics, really!

[madnessdescending]

Another vote for this, if it will make it easier for people to discuss the issues.

[Filmbuffmum]

Please do consider this - definitely needs more (rational) discussion to counteract both the blatant lies on one side, and the despair on the other!