Anyone else want climate change further up the political agenda? It should be in the news every day.

[MrsAlexxis]

I am increasingly worried about global
warming, but although I have tried to do my bit for decades, I find myself reading more about Harry and Megan’s returns to the UK than climate change in the papers and politicians and industry leaders are just pressing on with their data centres which will consume even more AI and we have peoole
like Trump in charge who don’t even believe in climate change. We are ruining the planet for future generations and not even taking much about it. Is it only me feeling helpless watching this unfold?

Pretty much every news story on the BBC they wheel out Justin Rowlatt to make some tenuous Climate Change connection. Pile-up on the M6? excess surface moisture caused by climate change. Drone attack on Kyiv? helped by clear skies caused by climate change. Red Sox win the world series? baseball bats springier caused by climate change.

There have been COP meetings for decades with data presented to world leaders, many promise of commitments made and then dutifully ignored as soon as they return home.

Yes many people want climate change further up the agenda but it’s impossible. Look at your standard of living and of how much carbon we all use in the UK. If everyone on the planet had our standard of living we would need 5 earths to sustain it. In the UK it means cutting everybody’s usage of carbon by 4/5ths. Who’s going to do that?

I can see an argument for carbon credits, which people could buy off others if they want more. Worldwide, so at least those consuming less would feel the benefit of it. But who’s going to implement that?

Yes many people want climate change further up political agendas, a lot fewer are prepared to change their personal lifestyle though.

Yep it takes a lot to suppress activity. Look at how we bounced back to buying, flying and doing stuff after the pandemic.

I am doing it. My children are doing it. Many of my friends are doing it.

Although COL might do it. If everyone is paying more of their disposable income on bills and food, both directly linked to climate change, then there is less money to fly and drive big cars.

I know everyone will complain about it but climate wise it might help. Lower consumerism.

Perhaps the planet will take the choice out of it for us.

So are we
But the number who do feels like pissing in the wind
A school mum who installed plastic grass, and early uptaker on this utterly insane fashion, barely spoke to me when I reacted “oh you are joking” when she spoke to me.

People vacuum their grass now! Vacuum plastic grass - because real grass was too much work and didn’t look as “nice”.

It’s insanity.

I never though grass would be replaced with plastic grass, not this late in the climate is struggling game, but many want to be removed from all things icky like soil, a sterile world, with plastic everything.

I started a thread a few days ago about how climate change is affecting the UK, other changes we might see in the future (e.g. colder, harsher winters due to the weakening of the Gulf Stream) and asking how we might adapt. I did learn from the few responses, but it’s fair to say that the on the whole, MNers are vastly more interested in Harry and Meghan moving house!

I get that many people aren’t interested in climate change (although it’s something we’re all going to have to deal with, just like insurance or pensions), but I really don’t get the H & M obsession myself.

Yeah you would think the support of the Royal Family would’ve waned a bit after them harbouring Andrew but it seems not!

There’s the political doublespeak of “we have a birth rate crisis, not enough taxpayers are being born, we must do something”, while the more reckless politicians like Boris Johnson occasionally whisper “we need a smaller population, we should have let the virus rip a bit, or bring in population control”.

Not many politicians will dare to link climate change to birth rate.

I’m ok with the overall population going down, naturally - which is already happening.

There are posts on pensions and elderly care (usually put as awful wiping butts or worse) but we’ll just have to get through the difficulty.

If we don’t there could be other ways it comes back at us as you say.

Boris Johnson has 10 children and a massive carbon footprint. Why would I take advice from him?
I would rather take advice from my mum who was one of 8 back in 1946, and stuck to two children.

There has been a diminishing value in calm, reasoned, educated debate in recent times, our representative politicians illustrate this.

People want their news from social media meme bots because they think they are informed and well read on subjects and sound bites sound great like you have your finger on the pulse, you can now sock it to those who read anything longer than the back of frozen food heating instructions!

Social media loves imagery, fake it up, make people buy, buy, buy, keep that revenue coming in.

Women inject poison to prevent wrinkles, men shoot up steroids to get bigger muscles, fake everything, including our own bodies. Ask anyone the last book they read and you draw a rabbit in headlights look, even reading has been instagrammed. I had a look because I do actually read (Look at Me by Jennifer Egan - not as good as her later books) and even those who are instagramming reading have pristine paperbacks- they’ve never been opened those books just stack up on a bedspread with a herbal tea and sprig of lavender “arranged” next to them.

No not enough people in the world care about climate change it’s too hard, for them. Much easier to pretend to live an exciting desirable life, look at the queues, QUEUES, at some remote tourist destinations to get a photo, snap done, move on to the next queue.

Insanity

We definitely need better quality of discussion. And better public transport.

We are a car free family and happy to stay that way, but the Tube was hellish this summer.

Consuming is hard to squash. If things get more expensive people turn to cheap outlets from China. And we saw how hiking those prices with something like a tariff goes.

So fewer people is better imo. We’re doing that anyway

Of course the planet will make the decision. We have no say. We can delay the pain but to make meanfukl change we should have started in 1970. Ball no too far down the slope to stop rolling

however on all for delaying the pain for the sake of our kids and grandkids. Maybe we can put in infrastructure for generations following but we need a MUCH smaller population and the plant can deal with that a dog shaking off fleas

Plastic grass is a good example of why legislation is needed as it is problematic due to a number of reasons including the energy & resources needed to make it; that it degrades into microplastics &/ ends up in landfill; & it prevents water draining into the soil so adds to the drought / flooding problem.

There are several flood warnings for the UK today reflecting that it’s becoming an increasing issue for the country.

We might still be able to mitigate the effects to some extent. At least I hope we can.

And we can decide how we adapt. With better management of the land and water, we might not have to lurch frequently between droughts and floods.

I don’t have that much issue with companies that sell plastic grass, companies don’t have morals they exist to make money, I don’t have that much of an issue with legislation selling plastic grass.

What’s depressing is people buy it. Because if they didn’t the production, selling wouldn’t exist.

Not really the quest5bei g asked but well done

Well said. Its incredible that people aren't seeing this coming. In my lifetime there will be distinct chaos. For my adult kids?

Exactly

Nope never heard this. Unless something obvious like wildfires etc

The scary thing about the data centres, is they have managed to wangle classification as 'Essential Infrastructure ' ( which is total bollocks), but it makes it illegal for water companies or power companies to restrict their consumption. That and they actually raise the temperature by several degrees in their environment. Also their water use makes wildfires even more likely.

the data centres, is they have managed to wangle classification as 'Essential Infrastructure ' ( which is total bollocks), but it makes it illegal for water companies or power companies to restrict their consumption

WHO? Wangled the classification - was it debated in parliament ? Presumably so but these legal classifications are what is destroying the country
the reason we got a bat tunnel on hs2 was because Natural England (or whatever the name) could legally demand protection for bats
the reason a council can be bankrupted supplying taxis for SEN kids is because SEN is a statutory description(sorry don’t really know the proper legalise) and must be given designated support
i would guess it’s also why immigrants can’t be sent back without years of legal appeals.
Apparently the legal set up was changed by Blair’s Gov and we are now where we are - nothing can be done by Gov -why they don’t explain the reason I don’t know

And after the hottest summer on record they approve the building of data centres in Slough - that distant rural spot with ample water and energy …. I cansee the whole Thames valley having power and water shortages in the future