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What can I do that isn't on an individual level regarding climate change?

270 replies

7393827gsjsbdh · 13/03/2025 14:23

I've done all I can on an individual level, I've joined a litter picking group and have a veg patch and made my small garden 'wild'...
But I feel I need to do more.
I have so much passion on the subject, always have even when it was called 'global warming' and ' the ozone layer ' and 'being a hippy' 😅

What else is there to do?
I don't mind spending time and money, I only work 25 hours a week so I have time to put into a project but I don't know what would be best to try and do?

I'm thinking maybe I could try to start a really zero waste business?
I always daydream about winning the lottery and buying loads of land and building a waste free city but I'm not going to win and what's the point in waiting?

I know this is a little bit of a ramble but I just want to be able to look my children and my grandchildren in the eye and assure them that I did all I could.
so does any one have any ideas? what can I do today or plan to do next week or next month that would make a change?
or just a bit of solidarity?

OP posts:
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7
BigFatPumpkin · 13/03/2025 18:08

Mightymoog · 13/03/2025 17:39

oh right,
so you agreed with my points before but now don't because I didn't join in with covid?
Righty ho

Nope. Not me. I think we have a very very different understanding of the world.

Mightymoog · 13/03/2025 18:07

MuckFusk · 13/03/2025 18:03

No, there was not the level of scaremongering at the time which you say there was. Scientists knew it could recover if we took the appropriate steps and it did.
Even if there had been, that's fallacious reasoning. Claim A allegedly being false does not mean Claim B is also false, just because the claims seem to be similar in nature.

sorry, but I DO remember and there absolutely was the scaremongering that we had gone past the point of no return

MuckFusk · 13/03/2025 18:03

Mightymoog · 13/03/2025 17:42

@BigFatPumpkin
The point is there was the scaremongering that the ozone layer would NEVER recover; we had done too much damage.
Very much like
"Now that we have passed the 1.5C rise, the climate is unstable and won't go back"

Both apparently irrefutable scientific fact

Edited

No, there was not the level of scaremongering at the time which you say there was. Scientists knew it could recover if we took the appropriate steps and it did.
Even if there had been, that's fallacious reasoning. Claim A allegedly being false does not mean Claim B is also false, just because the claims seem to be similar in nature.

Mightymoog · 13/03/2025 18:03

MuckFusk · 13/03/2025 17:58

If you can afford it, there are probably more things you can do individually. For example, do you have a heat pump instead of heating with fossil fuels? Do you take public transport whenever possible? What kind of vehicle do you drive? Have you reduced your consumption of goods and turned to used goods where possible?
Municipal recycling is next to useless. Most of the waste does not get recycled, it gets shipped off to the third world. Infuriating, but true. So don't be counting on that to make a difference.

I've been reading a lot that heat pumps aren't the amazingly efficient things that were touted.
If you live in a colder area of England you may well need a secondary heating system .
I also disagree that removing a functioning heating system for a different one is environmentally friendly.
Same with smart meters. How is replacing a perfectly working meter with a different one any better for the environment? Most people with basic intelligence know that the more appliances you have on the more electric you use. Why do you need a new meter to tell you this?

MuckFusk · 13/03/2025 17:58

If you can afford it, there are probably more things you can do individually. For example, do you have a heat pump instead of heating with fossil fuels? Do you take public transport whenever possible? What kind of vehicle do you drive? Have you reduced your consumption of goods and turned to used goods where possible?
Municipal recycling is next to useless. Most of the waste does not get recycled, it gets shipped off to the third world. Infuriating, but true. So don't be counting on that to make a difference.

Adamante · 13/03/2025 17:54

BigFatPumpkin · 13/03/2025 17:39

Expected to recover because we made changes en masse. Right?

Right, but we were told it never could. We were done, nothing could change it, but now we’ve done just enough to make it recover, just at the time when we’d be seeing the predicted, end of days outcomes, how fortunate. Almost like one of those Hollywood blockbusters, where it all works out in the end 🙄

Adamante · 13/03/2025 17:52

BigFatPumpkin · 13/03/2025 17:38

Money. Capitalism. I am not a socialist but this unfettered worship at the alter of capitalism is massively problematic to society on so many levels.

Indeed. Worrying though, when the world is supposedly teetering on the precipice of climate related destruction. You’d think they’d prioritise that and not just keep ensuring the importation of fake Pandora charms and the like and ranting on about further trade deals. I mean they sure talk about it a lot and tell the people the changes they need to be making but there never seems to be any real impact on those giving the orders. Climate change and what the little people can do about it is Busy Work for us and will have no real impact, we’ve reduced as much as we can, to go further will mean a huge reduction in day to day living standards, but only for the little people obviously.

I will never comprehend why people are SO willing to believe and keep doing what these corrupt politicians tell them to when we can clearly see that they’re not changing ANYTHING themselves. It’s so utterly disgusting. Why aren’t people furious about this instead of starting threads on MN asking how they can do even more to kiss the boots of the political elite?

Book mark this post. In 20-30 years, the world will hardly look any different, most of us will still be here - not me I am pretty old - and there’ll be some other mass fear inflicted on us to keep us in line.

Diningtableornot · 13/03/2025 17:51

7393827gsjsbdh · 13/03/2025 17:10

ah so have we gone over the 1.5? I've been on a strict news and media ban since December because it just makes me so upset and worried.
I broke my 'fast' with this post on mumsnet but after today's conversation I felt like I needed a little reassurance or a kick up the bum at least!
I'll have a look at that climate majority project thanks for that

I'm afraid so. It's really bad news. I think it explains all the storms and other extreme weather. I agree about media bans. I strictly limit the amount of time I spend listening to the detail of it, but I do want to be involved in helping in some way.

Mightymoog · 13/03/2025 17:42

@BigFatPumpkin
The point is there was the scaremongering that the ozone layer would NEVER recover; we had done too much damage.
Very much like
"Now that we have passed the 1.5C rise, the climate is unstable and won't go back"

Both apparently irrefutable scientific fact

Mightymoog · 13/03/2025 17:39

BigFatPumpkin · 13/03/2025 17:36

You just lost all credibility because it is now blatantly obvious what social media algorithms are currently churning through your devices.

oh right,
so you agreed with my points before but now don't because I didn't join in with covid?
Righty ho

BigFatPumpkin · 13/03/2025 17:39

Adamante · 13/03/2025 17:29

Indeed not to mention all those beach front billionaire owned properties on places like Martha’s Vineyard, again areas that were projected to be under water within twenty years, maybe in another 20?

Also remember when the ozone layer was past the point of no return and we would be shrivelled up within a few decades no matter what we did? Expected to recover in full by 2066 according to the WEF…. Phew! What a relief 🤨

Expected to recover because we made changes en masse. Right?

BigFatPumpkin · 13/03/2025 17:38

Adamante · 13/03/2025 17:30

Why do our politicians allow that do you think? 🤔

Money. Capitalism. I am not a socialist but this unfettered worship at the alter of capitalism is massively problematic to society on so many levels.

BigFatPumpkin · 13/03/2025 17:36

Mightymoog · 13/03/2025 17:29

How many people stressing aboutusing too many resources wore the masks and took the tests during covid?
That was ridiculously wasteful so i did my bit there by not wearing one and not testing 😁

You just lost all credibility because it is now blatantly obvious what social media algorithms are currently churning through your devices.

Adamante · 13/03/2025 17:30

Jaehee · 13/03/2025 17:28

The UK imported £64bn in goods from China in 2021. The ‘big players’ provide us with electrical appliances, phones, laptops, machinery, plastics, clothing, vehicles, toys, furniture, medical equipment, steel, iron and so on.

Think.

Why do our politicians allow that do you think? 🤔

Mightymoog · 13/03/2025 17:29

How many people stressing aboutusing too many resources wore the masks and took the tests during covid?
That was ridiculously wasteful so i did my bit there by not wearing one and not testing 😁

Adamante · 13/03/2025 17:29

Mightymoog · 13/03/2025 17:13

It was also "terrifying" in the 80's with talk of Southern England being uninhabitable by 2000 due to warming.
This was after the "terrifying" 70's where the science was very clear that we were entering a mini ice age and most of Northern England would be uninhabitable by 2000 due to being permanently ice/ snow bound.

Indeed not to mention all those beach front billionaire owned properties on places like Martha’s Vineyard, again areas that were projected to be under water within twenty years, maybe in another 20?

Also remember when the ozone layer was past the point of no return and we would be shrivelled up within a few decades no matter what we did? Expected to recover in full by 2066 according to the WEF…. Phew! What a relief 🤨

Jaehee · 13/03/2025 17:28

Adamante · 13/03/2025 16:52

Nothing you can do will make a difference because the UK barely contributes to the issues - less than 1% annual emissions.

Enjoy your life. The big players aren’t going to stop. There’s nothing more we as a country can do.

The UK imported £64bn in goods from China in 2021. The ‘big players’ provide us with electrical appliances, phones, laptops, machinery, plastics, clothing, vehicles, toys, furniture, medical equipment, steel, iron and so on.

Think.

LegalAlienated · 13/03/2025 17:28

OP, you could campaign for more ‘soft plastic’ recycling options, or if you’re really committed, for banning single use plastic.
A lady in my local are set up a community project to save supermarket food waste, organised picking up products that otherwise would have been binned but are perfectly fine and distributed it to the local community (not a food bank, anybody can go).

BlueSlate · 13/03/2025 17:24

OP, given that the whole of the UK is responsible for (less than) 1% of total annual global greenhouse gas emissions, I'm not sure anything you do on an individial level is going to make very much difference at all.

wherearemypastnames · 13/03/2025 17:19

Well the ability of popular press to misrepresent science in the aid of sales is well known- take the "ice age" thing which was more a look at historical climate patterns then sexed up for the papers

That doesn't mean that climate change isn't real, isn't human caused, isn't already costing us dearly in pounds and lives :

Even with climate change - the science has been steady but the presentation to the public has been manipulated- twenty years ago I recall people being told "oh you can't say that it's to scary - ignore that effect before releasing "

7393827gsjsbdh · 13/03/2025 17:19

Mightymoog · 13/03/2025 17:13

It was also "terrifying" in the 80's with talk of Southern England being uninhabitable by 2000 due to warming.
This was after the "terrifying" 70's where the science was very clear that we were entering a mini ice age and most of Northern England would be uninhabitable by 2000 due to being permanently ice/ snow bound.

yes actually this makes me feel a bit better, hopefully I'm worrying over nothing but even if we don't all perish in hell wild fire, we will still be drowning in plastic pollution.

there are so many faces to the problem I don't know where to begin!

OP posts:
7393827gsjsbdh · 13/03/2025 17:15

I'm just gutted
In the 90s I really believed these problems would have been solved by the 2000s and so on and so on.
There was a new park with fruit trees planted for the millennium and I remember thinking "This is it! The world is changing" ... nope. just getting worse and worse.
and worse and worse and worse.

OP posts:
Mightymoog · 13/03/2025 17:13

Diningtableornot · 13/03/2025 17:00

I agree with you. It's terrifying, and not even likely that people who are middle aged and elderly now will 'all be dead' when it really kicks off, let alone young people and future generations.
You might want to look at Rupert Reed's Climate Majority project and get involved in some way. He suggests that what we need to look now is building resilience to various kinds of disasters, even more than reducing emissions. Now that we have passed the 1.5C rise, the climate is unstable and won't go back.

It was also "terrifying" in the 80's with talk of Southern England being uninhabitable by 2000 due to warming.
This was after the "terrifying" 70's where the science was very clear that we were entering a mini ice age and most of Northern England would be uninhabitable by 2000 due to being permanently ice/ snow bound.

7393827gsjsbdh · 13/03/2025 17:10

Diningtableornot · 13/03/2025 17:00

I agree with you. It's terrifying, and not even likely that people who are middle aged and elderly now will 'all be dead' when it really kicks off, let alone young people and future generations.
You might want to look at Rupert Reed's Climate Majority project and get involved in some way. He suggests that what we need to look now is building resilience to various kinds of disasters, even more than reducing emissions. Now that we have passed the 1.5C rise, the climate is unstable and won't go back.

ah so have we gone over the 1.5? I've been on a strict news and media ban since December because it just makes me so upset and worried.
I broke my 'fast' with this post on mumsnet but after today's conversation I felt like I needed a little reassurance or a kick up the bum at least!
I'll have a look at that climate majority project thanks for that

OP posts:
Mightymoog · 13/03/2025 17:08

7393827gsjsbdh · 13/03/2025 16:55

I only posted this because of a conversation at work, it drifted into climate change and it became apparent very quickly that the general consensus is its a load of tosh and we'll be dead by then anyway.
These people have small children and don't seem to make the connection that if we keep ruining the world we will absolutely be harming our children's futures.

I can't shake the feeling that I'm in the start of a disaster movie- fires raging and crops failing!

Glad to hear the general consensus is drifting back to rubbishing the opinion that climate change is human driven/ accelerated.
FWIW I have no worries about climate change as I do believe it's a natural cycle that human activity has very little to no effect on.
But, I do get worried about the rate at which natural resources are used and the sheer amount of unnecessary STUFF that is made.
I see us drowning in piles of shite we can't dispose of and more and more of the natural world being destroyed in order to make even more stuff.
My contribution to this is being naturally tight / frugal so I very rarely buy anything new and I very rarely buy stuff I don't properly need.
My car is always second hand and run into the ground and I wouldn't dream of changing kitchen/ bathroom/ any furniture unless it really had reached the end of its life,
So, I'm a man made climate change sceptic trying to make as little impact on the world as I can.

I