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?

It’s madness. We’re sleep-walking into a future that will be worse overall (thanks to technology that’s mostly unnecessary) and people just shrug their shoulders and say “you can’t stop progress!”

There is probably more being done than we are aware of. However the big problem as I see it is the feeling of powerlessness on an individual basis. I can see what I do to try and mitigate things in my own life and surroundings, but when I look at the worldwide situation with Trump, China, India and all the data centres, lack of flood control and so on, I get very despondent.

Apathy creeps in and people shrug their shoulders and point at other countries and our own and say, what I do is nothing, unless the entire world speaks together there's little point.

Anyway, at the moment I reckon most people are focused on the new school year, the exorbitant cost of living (existing) for many, quality of life, illness, food shortages (possible) and so on, and climate change is not up there on the radar much. Weather is weather, it happens and that's not climate change, it is the cumulative effect of actions by countries and to a lesser extent individuals that is the issue.

So as individuals, what power have we got? It feels a useless exercise to rinse out the yogurt pots every day for recycling, as an example.

A 1MW AI data centre uses as much energy as 100,000 homes. Energy usage by AI is forecast to more than double in the next four years, to 1000TW.

They are proposing a giant data centre in Devon, on 850 acres of farmland. If built it will be the biggest in Europe. Yet the constant message is that the small family farms (beef, dairy and sheep) in that part of the country are causing climate change!? Something sure as hell doesn't add up.

WHO? Wangled the classification

It was done following a public consultation.

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consultation-on-streamlining-infrastructure-planning/outcome/consultation-on-streamlining-infrastructure-planning-government-response

Ah Thanes Water then. Oof

On a wider note AI will advance, and states will need taxes lost from income tax so it seems these monstrosities that use loads of water are part of that.

We’ll need to get better at providing water.

How many people in the UK actually want all this? Aside from the massive environmental impact, AI has already put tens of thousands of UK residents out of work, with the result that a generation of young people are struggling to get their first jobs. And as the technology “improves”, millions more jobs are at risk.

This might be fine if these jobs were set to be replaced with alternative roles, but that doesn’t appear to be part of the tech giants’ plans.

What is the UK’s plan exactly? Just to do as we’re told by Elon Musk et al?

Not really, no. Until the institutions start being truthful about how they, themselves, have contributed to pollution etc, then I have no interest in hearing from them about what they think 'we' can or should do. Liars and frauds don't get a place on the direction of my ship.

You might have no choice. How easy is it to opt out of this stuff.

Elsewhere on Mumsnet I have recommended the book I am currently reading, called Against the Machine by Paul Kingsnorth. Describing it makes me sound like a conspiracy theory nut job, but it's extremely well researched. He argues that there are some very wealthy people who believe that the future of human kind is ultimately to replace itself completely by merging with technology. Food for thought

@TonTonMacoute yes, I'm aware of the 'plans' to merge us as cyborgs and create a newly, enslaved humanity.

I've 'opted out' of the false hysteria the media and other fraudulent institutions want me to be engaged with. If they are pointing me towards something to be hysterical about, I assume it's because they are hiding something I should really be concerned about.

I do not care a bit what any politician says about anything, much less climate change, and I will not be listening to these charlatans for tips, advice or believing anything they say about the state of any place in the world or what they view to be our 'responsibility' while they keep taking money from me and the world keeps burning.

They are not honest about what is going on, why or how any of their proposed 'changes' is a benefit to anyone but themselves.

100% opt out of listening to charlatans and frauds. This includes politicians and 'scientists'

So, to the original point by the OP, no I don't think it needs more air time. Liars, frauds etc should be ignored not engaged with time, energy, worry or funding.

By all means opt out of the 'media hysteria' but in practical terms it's becoming more difficult to opt out completely, as the digital age invades more and more of our lives.

Use of cash is diminishing, in customer services terms it's increasingly difficult to talk to a human being. It's getting harder to disengage from it completely and many people love the idea of driverless cars etc.

Listening to Just Stop Oil who have started up again, they say this is the coldest summer we’ll have. I also get messaging in the AOC collapse, which will make it colder.

It is in the news every day in the form of unprecedented high temperatures, never before seen ferocity of storms and winters that don't remotely resemble winters back in the day :). We are ignoring the signs at our own peril.

It is so depressing. I think humans have evolved like this and we simply can't change. We will just make selfish choices.

My biggest worry is climate refugees. What happens when millions of people want to live in northern europe because they can't survive elsewhere? That will come upon us very soon. There seems to be no plan at all.

100% agree. I'm so sick of talking to people about it and them just not getting it. I keep hearing about it not being our problem/it's too late/Earth has always had fluctuations in temperature/we need to compete with other countries so we aren't left behind in technology. What is the point of trying to compete if we have no clean water or healthy food?!
A data centre has been proposed in my town and it will be one of the biggest in Europe. 800 acres of healthy farmland will be decimated, and once it's gone we will never get it back. I hate what is happening to the world, but I try to do my bit and encourage others to just think a bit more. We don't need Shein hauls or weekly tat from Home Bargains, what we do need is locally grown food and clean water. But I feel it will be too late by the time a lot of people realise that.

That’s so sad about the data centre taking all the green spaces. I am so angry about politicians not taking this more seriously.

You cannot try to explain this to a Reform voter so I would not even start.

But parts of Northern Europe are particularly vulnerable to any rises in sea level. And if the Gulf Stream switches off, the UK can look forward to some very harsh winters. I don’t know which countries are best placed to survive climate change.

Why are we not making the most of what’s likely to be a very wet season by collecting as much water as possible. One day water will likely be worth more than oil.