Does anyone else feel paralysed by climate change?

[onebeauplace]

Just that really. Having seen all the covid induced panic (most of which was justifiable IMO), I can't really understand why there isn't the same panic and associated action over climate change. Do people think it just won't happen, or if it does happen that it won't happen in our lifetime, or do they feel like nothing they do will make a difference anyway, or is it that the changes we would need to make are too big and overwhelming to think about?

This is not a judgy post BTW as I really only started learning more about climate change a couple of years ago and I am not perfectly eco friendly in any way shape or form. Often I do just feel totally paralysed by it myself, feel like anything I do is pointless and wonder why more people aren't freaking out because there are real things to freak out about here. This is going to hit in most of our lifetimes - by as early as 2040 we could be seeing extreme changes that will cause a huge drop in living standards. Our children will definitely be affected.

How do others deal with this? I'm going through a complete existential despair thing at the moment where I feel there isn't really any point to anything as the future I sort of believed I had as a child isn't there, and certainly isn't there for my young DD.

How would it benefit my children to have a mother who can't get a grip? Who would it benefit if I was despairing over it?

Please do not question my abilities as a mother. My DD is happy and well loved and cared for.

No it wasn't apart from 1976
Maybe the British weather was different but in Ireland we had droughts in the 70's. 75,76 and 77 were three of the hottest summers on record.

@ChardonnaysPetDragon

No. I do what I can where I can but I don't spend time freaking out over it. We are only here for a short while what is the point in being 'paralysed' or despairing over things we have very minimal control over.

We can. Start by buying less, travelling less, having fewer children so the ones you have can have a healthy life. Your children will benefit from it. They won't benefit from a mother who can't be arsed.

But I do these things? That's why I said I do what I can. 90% of things I buy(except food obviously) are 2nd hand, I haven't been on a plane in years, if something is within an hour walk I walk it, my garden is full of flowers and bees and butterflies, I recycle etc. I just don't stress over it because like I said what is the point?

@onebeauplace

How would it benefit my children to have a mother who can't get a grip? Who would it benefit if I was despairing over it?

Please do not question my abilities as a mother. My DD is happy and well loved and cared for.

I was talking about my life not yours you asked if we despair and I said no because it wouldn't benefit anyone.

I am very worried, but have hope. When i was a child the news used to tell us the ozone was damaged beyond repair and eventually would be completely gone and we would fry. Then amazingly big industries including china banned certain emissions and the ozone hole closed saving us. I have big hope we can do it again if we work fast on big industries and targetting the government. I know its futile but ive emailed so many companies asking them to change to more sustainabke packaging and resources and try and shop low carbon emission stores.

Good for you.

@ChardonnaysPetDragon

Good for you.

Cheers

What did you want?

A medal?

Climate change does concern me greatly but like PP I’m limited in what I can achieve as an individual.

I’m nervous about what the future holds but I’m not completely defeated. Known civilisation has been through some shit and my ancestors clearly managed to get through life well enough for me to exist today; I’m reasonably confident that my dd’s generation and future ones can adapt in ways that I can’t even imagine. I worry her life will be harder than I’d ever want it to be but people can and do thrive despite hardships.

No….

@ChardonnaysPetDragon

What did you want?

A medal?

Seriously? You said my children would benefit from having a mother that does something about it rather than a mother that can't be arsed. I just explained that like I said in my post I do what I can. You seem put out that someone can do their bit without being neurotic about it.

Climate change modelling has been incorrect time and again. That's fact, and doesn't make me a climate change denier.

No, what I find off is your attitude of “we’re only here for a short while”.

You might be, but your children will be around for longer.

Yes @OuiOuiKitty why aren't you out in China sorting this out like @ChardonnaysPetDragon is. Oh, wait...

And by concreting our countryside over.

We have lived near a market town in south west England for the last 25 years. During this time two villages that used to be separate from the town with farmland between them, now have a couple of fields between them and the town thanks to all the building.
This is happening all over the country and isn’t good for the environment.
However, the population continues to increase and people have to live somewhere so this problem isn’t going away.

I might not be in China, but I’m also not with my head in —myarse— sand, bleating about the hot summers in the Seventies.

Charming.

@TooBigForMyBoots

I am worried about climate change (which is already happening), but I am not paralysed, I'm hopeful and doing my best.

This is sort of my attitude. It’s a massive concern obviously but I just try to day to day manage my impact (eg we have one car as a household, we use the carbon neutral energy suppliers, I buy recycled loo roll, both cycle to work etc. I don’t judge people harshly who don’t do these things yet because we live in a complex society which has achieved a lot but still have a way to come. I also have confidence in science and technology that it will help mitigate the impact as we develop new things. I will be raising my children as being far more away of climate and their impact than I ever was as a child and hope of the next generation are aware they will help protect the planet from the start. But I wouldn’t be paralysed with fear over it. You could be paralysed with fear over another pandemic (v possible), our planet being hit by a meteor (not impossible), world war (could happen) 🤷🏼‍♀️.

Are you all giving up your tvs in every room and cars and smart phones and using bikes and walking?

Recent thread on hot weather had most parents losing their shit and wanting to leave fans on all night because dc might die of heat from a 24c bedroom.

Look in your own homes before you criticise anyone else

@CrouchEndTiger12 yes there were a couple of slightly depressing threads recently- one about ‘going for a drive’ and how loads of people just drive around for fun and also one on using a tumbler to dry washing as it was too hot to hang it outside . It’s those kind of things I do judge a bit as it’s gratuitous use of resources.

I couldn't care less. We have had the good days and if my car or my air conditioning make a difference, the fact I have one kid and am a vegan should counterbalance the angst. But it's something I never think about and don't really care what happens when I am gone.

@ChardonnaysPetDragon

No, what I find off is your attitude of “we’re only here for a short while”.

You might be, but your children will be around for longer.

Oh ok, I will be sure to self fagilate whilst tending to my garden in future, obviously what I am doing won't work if I don't add a drop of neurosis to it. Heaven forbid you enjoy your short time on this earth.

As I said, good for you.

don't really care what happens when I am gone. it is this short term thinking (which if we're honest most of us tend towards) that makes it difficult to make changes for the benefit of our children/grandchildren.

I am terrified. I realise that doesn’t help, but I am!

I think we have to encourage people by making positive and constructive suggestions that people can do which don’t adversely affect their lives that much eg green energy, washing at a lower temperature, and just using less stuff.

So much unnecessary waste - these balloon garlands everyone has for their kids birthdays are lovely, but so wasteful as presumably it all goes in the bin. When you see 50,000 football fans flying flags that have been left under their seats, presumably that all ends up in landfill. Would we really miss stuff like that if we were a bit more careful? I get that giving up your car is an inconvenience but I think there’s so much stuff we can do without.

I also wondered about making companies put the carbon footprint of a product on it, same way food has nutritional info?

Mainly I’m mortified we aren’t considering the impact on the environment of the covid response. The single use plastic from the LFRs, the disposable masks/gloves, the keeping windows open and heating on, the disposable wipes, the move away from reusable stuff to disposable, the extra water/chemicals etc from the cleaning… I honestly can’t bear it. I obviously understand we need to take infection control measures but I think we need to make climate impact part of the covid narrative because frankly climate change is a far bigger problem.