With forest fires burning across Europe and another heatwave on the horizon, how much are you personally willing to change your lifestyle for future generations?

[Chocolatefreak]

Genuine question for discussion purposes. Let's assume, for the sake of argument, that you believe tackling climate change and environmental degradation is a shared responsibility, involving not only governments and corporations but also individuals.

With that in mind, how much would you personally be willing to change your lifestyle if it meant giving future generations, including your children and grandchildren, a better chance of living on a stable, healthy planet?

For example, would you be willing to:

a) Dramatically reduce your consumption of meat and dairy, so that more agricultural land could be used to grow food directly for people rather than feed livestock?
b) Restrict air travel and most car journeys to occasions where they are genuinely necessary?
c) Stop buying more than you need, only getting clothing, gadgets, and other consumables only when they are genuinely necessary rather than for convenience or entertainment?

If not, where would you draw the line? What changes would you consider reasonable, and which would you consider asking too much?

Everything you do in those countries has been done a million times before.

I saw the Taj Mahal and I didn't need to imagine it.

Yes by others not by me. Seeing the Taj Mahal had me and my DC in awe. It was absolutely stunning.

I didn't say I imagined places, and there is more to life than seeing places. However I don't think there is any point in arguing with someone as obtuse as you appear to be.

Some of us like experiencing new things and don't just stay in once place at a time. There's a whole world outside of Europe

Ive read that cruise ships are really bad for the environment. I’m also not sure on the benefit of everyone who travelled by plane decided to drive to their holiday destination.

Cruises are horrible yes. But I don't begrudge anyone going on them

I do all that anyway. Not for environmental reasons, but because I am broke.

The problem with this kind of thread is that OP says it’s a genuine question for discussion purposes but then criticises other posters who honestly answer that they are not willing or able to make the level of change that OP feels they ought to. It’s not just OP, other posters are coming over as very sanctimonious and criticising others which often results in the opposite response to what they had hoped.

Oh I don’t. Not at all. I was just commenting on alternatives to flying not necessarily being any better (except rail travel, or even coach perhaps).

People want to see other parts of the world

By far the most cost effective and impactful solution to both climate change and environmental damage in general is contraception.

Less people in the world not only means less CO2 emissions but less microplastics, deforestation, less PFAS etc etc.

So in answer to your question about what changes an individual can make in their life style to benefit the environmental future of their children and grandchildren then the answer has to be to not have children and grandchildren.

The human then dies out

Nope. And my kids all have disabilities so their future is wrecked anyway. Ive learnt the importance of enjoying what we have within our financial means. And yes I vote.

I know there is - I don't live in Europe. Not the point however.

Less people in the world not no people in the world.

But let's say that humans did somehow decide to self exterminate themselves (can't quite see how that would work) then yes it would be great news for the planet and the environment.

This is something I find worrying.

There's a whole world outside of New Zealand to see

Yes, fewer people is not a bad thing... but it depends where.
The UK is seeing declining birth rate... so less tax payers to support things like welfare and pensions.

I think, for a family, driving is a better option because there are multiple people in the car. Also, shorter flights are much more polluting than longer ones because it's taking off that burns so much fuel, so it would be better to drive rather than take a one hour flight.

Trains, especially electric trains, are the best ( or least worse) option.

Google tells me that cruise ships are more polluting than flying!

ETA People may make different choices regarding destination if they are driving. It's not just swapping one form of transport for another.

The question in the thread header is pointless. The question we should be asking is : what are governments and corporations going to do about it ?

As for wiping out the human race being the answer, my response to such arrant misanthropy is always : great. You first.

Please don’t worry about that. Anyone who has pulled you up for this is massively unreasonable.

1. I’m already veggie, I’m not cutting dairy out. It’s not v healthy, and Britain is dairy country and I need protein from somewhere. I’m not convinced that increasing air miles for fancier protein is a good way to grow. I do try and grow some at least if my own but plebs aren’t allowed cows or even room for chickens like they used to have.
2. I don’t fly and only got a car when I had to live somewhere where it was necessary. I’m not responsible for Britains appalling transport infrastructure or cost of living. I cut where I can though.
3. I’m not a great consumer really, only buy clothes when necessary and in increasingly dislike gadgets.

None of this really makes much of a difference beyond giving me the satisfaction of knowing I’m not very responsible for destroying our only home and the wildlife I love, which is important to me. My cuts are balanced by the rich and vacuous consumers who do not give a fuck beyond their own convenience. They’re the people you need to tackle op. It seems making things trendy works fortunately, Tesla’s have become status symbols, but I’m not sure how you will stop rich men from wanting to fly to Thailand except by having the US declare war and bomb them (like the effect they had on Dubai). The US is causing a lot of that rich vacuous consumption but inadvertently did us a small favour there.

I’d love to travel more but there’s no point if it destroys what you want to go and see.

And Europeans are controlling our numbers. It’s the places in Africa that don’t believe in contraception that are the problem - usually places that don’t think women should have any choices at all.

Given the number of previous posts on this thread, she’s hardly just arrived! I suspect
shes yanking your chain anyway.