To be utterly frightened about our future?

[TheLastLeopard]

50% of the world's wildlife has disappeared in just two generations. Everyone from scientific organisations to accountants is predicting huge, devastating and irrevocable events wrought by climate change.

My parents feared nuclear war. Their parents lived through/fought in WWII. We are looking at something even worse: the systematic destruction of our environment, leading to famine, extreme weather events and widespread extinction - and I'm not concerned about the giant panda with that one (although that's incredibly sad in itself) but about the fact that our food supplies will dwindle.

Is there any hope? Because I am terrified! For the first time I am wondering if I was foolish to bring children into this world - will they be fighting wars over food in 20 years time?

Sorry this is so bleak. But even though we're faced with all the statistics I feel like we're still sleepwalking into oblivion and I just want to shout WAKE UP!

Yanbu, I am likewise terrified (and thinking about it at 4am) after starting to read Naomi Klein's new book. The likelihood is that our children will be facing extremely grim circumstances, and potentially a planet that is barely habitable by the end of their lives.

I think there is a high likelihood our children will turn around one day with a furious anger towards us and our generation, who did nothing as the window of opportunity to avoid massive climate change/ecosystem collapse closed.

I am so worried about what our children are facing.

I also can't believe people aren't shouting about this. I think there is a perception that this will affect 'other people', when in reality developed countries won't be able to insulate themselves against the effects as much as we think we will.

YANBU

I wouldn't have children today if I was in a place to think about it. Mine are grown.

Not just about the environment but the way things are going. I wouldn't want my kids to be future slaves in some war torn country.

Invest in arable land with lots of groundwater far far away from most others and plan to decamp there with your children and their children if the world implodes. Third world subsistence communities will probably survive adequately long after Europe turns bleak. :/

I cannot believe the polital agenda of the American climate change deniers, who still deny climate change so they can sell their oil and cars.
The force of the corporate lobbyists intervening and preventing research into renewable energies/green issues has irreversibly destroyed the future of the human race.
All in the name of "the economy"

I get cross that every house or office block we build is a missed opportunity to wean ourselves off fossil fuels: why don't we make it a requirement to include solar panels on the roof and / or a wind turbine for higher buildings ? Why don't we design in grey water re-use? At the moment eco housing is seen as something niche rather than how we all need to live

Ive been hanging on about forcyears but most people dont want to know tbh. They are quite happy to start driving everywhere aged 17 without any considerarion for the future. I was considered an oddity for learning to drive as late as 34 because if the environment.

YANBU. It is very worrying. The long term future looks pretty bleak.

YANBU. I feel exactly the same and I don't understand why others don't. The 3 things I particularly worry about are the world ditching nuclear power, over- consumption of food and consumerism. I feel like this planet will just be a barren wasteland of plastic tat in a centuries time

Watched something on the worldwide collapse of bee colonies the other day. It was pretty scary. Einstein surmised that if bees disappeared, humans would have about four years before they followed suit (due to the crucial role they play in pollination - thus producing our fruits/veges).

Population growth is a huge problem. One of the biggest things people can do to help is only to have small families

The human race will be the architect of its own destruction.

But I am a great believer in the power of nature and hopefully something better will take our place.

Does that make me sound unhinged?

Pollination can be done by hand too...

Families - there is a requirement for renewable energy systems to be incorporated into new build planning applications, certainly in Scotland.

Humans are the parasite, we will undoubtedly be the cause of the Earth's next catastrophic end. It will regenerate as it does, I wish I could be around to see what comes next...

It's not going to happen in our life time though, probably not our childrens either so from a selfish stand point you won't be around to see it so don't worry I guess. We can do all we can to try and preserve it but I fear the major damage is already done and regardless of what we do here in the UK with countries like China, India, the USA etc we really make very little difference.

Population growth is slowing and will start to decline in about 50 years' time. But that's not really going to make any difference. I don't care that I won't see traumatic changes in my lifetime, but I'm certain my children will and that's what scares me.

Well I used to worry but I am kind of resigned to it now. As people have already said, I don't think there is much we can do to stop it.

But I have encouraged my kids to have skills that will always be be tradeable, and to really look after themselves physically. We are currently deciding whether to sell up and move somewhere with a bit of land.

there are things we can all do:

no more than 2 kids. We do need people to have kids though as otherwise the whole world will be old. Limiting to 2 means a gradual population drop (as quite a few people won't have kids). No, I am not suggesting you put them back if you have more but think very hard if you haven't already had them.
think about what you use. Stop buying what you don't need. Stop wasting as a matter of course.
be nice to each other. Teach tolerance (not blind faith). Teach respect, but teach to question and to ask for evidence.

No, sadly YANBU OP. Did you see last week's thread about the Vote for Bob campaign? We were discussing the same thing here.

It amazes me how short-sighted and self-interested most people are when it comes to environmental issues - it's as if the mass extinctions, natural disasters, famine, drought etc will only ever affect other people in far-flung places. People genuinely seem to have no idea about how interconnected we all are, and how vulnerable we in the West are to events elsewhere.

For instance, I keep reading on here about rising food prices as though it's a conspiracy on the part of the supermarkets to make us all pay more - people don't realise that a) we've had unbelievably (and unsustainably) cheap food for years now and b) the rises mostly result from factors like rising grain prices and poor harvests worldwide due to climate change and increasingly unpredictable weather.

And I'm not so sure about the global population growth tailing off - have you read
this article?

As others have said, ultimately I think we're all collaborating in our own downfall - I'm more optimistic about nature itself, which I think is generally more resilient.

Oh, and for anyone else who'd like to sign and share the Vote for Bob petition, the link is here - a small gesture I know, but at least it's something we can all do to help!

No I didn't see that population study. Jesus Christ that is horrifying.

Temps I wonder if the study took into account that people will have limited access to food and water in years to come? I don't see how population growth is sustainable in places like Sub-Saharan Africa when their crops are set to suffer so much due to climate change - it's already happening now.

I wondered that too - sounds as though the revised projection is based on the fact that thus far we've managed to stave off most large-scale threats such as disease, famine etc (e.g. they mention that the original estimate was confounded in part because HIV has not claimed as many lives as expected). In the long term, though, I doubt that this is sustainable - sounds pessimistic, but something has to give once the perfect storm of booming population, climate change and drug-resistant disease takes hold.