Climate change- i feel like we are walking towards the edge of a cliff and most people have their eyes closed

[RedTriangle]

I’m getting freaked out reading about all the damage we have done to the earth and about how we have a very limited time to lessen the damage.

I keep thinking what sort of future will my children have. I have brought children into a world where the future looks scary - even having children is my contribution to destoying the world a bit more.

I feel strange looking at ads for flights to Australia etc or massive toy shops filled with plastic and feel like if we had any sense we would stop most of the flights and stop consuming so much things we don’t need.

Everything I do - like driving somewhere - I’m aware of the impact - but my tiny attempts to recycle are pointless when there are massive factories producing endless new goods and destroying rivers and the air.

I can’t imagine how life will look for my children in 50 years time? What will the world be like?

I was telling DH about my worries and he was rolling his eyes saying I need to go back to work (I’m on maternity leave) so I won’t have so much time to be worrying about things.

AIBU to think this is a real thing worth worrying about and its more weird that most people seem to have their heads in the sand? Lots of people are going about, taking holidays, shopping etc while we head towards the edge?

I've thought like this for around 30-35 years. Tbh I think the planet will be a lot better off without us and all this leaving it for our children makes me a bit . Why does it have to be for humans? Why do we only care if humans suffer? What about all the wildlife, the wonderful ecosystems, rainforests, coral reefs, deserts, etc? I want them to be there for their sakes alone not ours. We really are a cancer on a host and will likely take the host with it. Sorry to be so gloomy!

It's too huge for any of us to cope with but you do have to just keep chipping away.

YANBU, but I think for many it seems like such a huge, global issue, that it's hard to think your own little actions have much to do with it in comparison to industry, for example. I think there's a bit of a "we're fucked anyway" mood about it.

The thing is, if everyone did lots of little things, it would make a difference.

I think the Problem is, as ever, people have been guilted into personal responsibility when they should be using their energy to lobby governments, corporations and international bodies to bring about change.

Every person CANNOT make a difference and if this rhetoric changed we might see more rapid progression

The thing is, if everyone did lots of little things, it would make a difference.

Yes, of course. I just hear this quite a bit (from my family especially) - "What difference does it make for me to rinse out my yoghurt pots when [insert some foreign country] is just going to dump them in the sea, and keep pumping out pollution?"

Most of my own more environment friendly "acts" come from being relatively poor and simply not being able to afford them anyway (plus, being infertile must be good for this purpose), and people just don't want to live a poorer life in the short term, unless they have to, I suppose. Or to stop having children. I'm not saying it's the reasonable approach, but I think it's very human, for better or worse (well, worse).

I hear you.

I’m a natural pessimist, but I think things are changing.

Trump tears up Paris accord- individual US states etc say stuff him we’ll stick to it anyway!
One of our major energy suppliers (Scottish electric?) has announced that they are switching to 100% renewable production, and not funding gas funded plants. They said costs and efficiencies are now at a level where it is viable for them to do so. Others will surely follow.
Plastic pollution is a hot topic and a concern for people...governments are now feeling the need to be seen to do something about it.
Air quality is another hot topic- again, government will need to be seen to do something, if they want to be elected.

The killer smog in the 1950’s led to the Clean Air Act, which greatly improved the air quality, but at the time it must have seemed like the end of days for Londoners. I’m hopeful things are going to change.

Gas fuelled not funded!

Today I saw a can of water for sale instead of a bottle. Being cynical I suspect they saw a money making opportunity!

I've also felt like this for 30 years+!
I've tended to put the blame on the middle classes, as they are the primary beneficiaries and creators of this consumerist nightmare. The wealth and options they have compared to those of us born to poor families, and they use it for nothing more than waste and conspicuous consumption.
But things are changing. Energy production is one of, if not the single biggest factor in climate change, and green energy is becoming economically viable for these same affluent groups. Slowly battery solutions are becoming available.
It should have been years ago, and right now when we most need it we have the Trumps of this world turning away and trying to block it. But it's coming.

I think even well meaning people do not realise what needs to change on a cultural and global scale. I'm on a Facebook group where people are forever asking for alternatives for plastic or the most environmentally friendly way to travel. But lots of what they're asking about are entirely unnecessary. You are not going to save the world finding alternatives to sellotape or by using waxed paper instead of cling film. Even if we all do this it is miniscule especially if you're just talking about the UK.

We see so many things as disposable and they simply aren't. If the true environmental cost of disposal was included in the original cost that would probably make a massive difference to how people behave. Flying is a good example much of it is not essential and the cost of the ticket does not account for the true environmental cost. Meat should be far more expensive than it is. Clothes too.

None of that is appealing to anyone though.

Oh yes I feel the same way OP.
I feel better now I am being, as people say, 'proactive' about it.
I have become an environmental activist!
There a new and very fast growing movement of people of all ages who meet and organise non-violent direct action protests with the aim of getting the government to take immediate action.

It is non political and open for people to adopt whatever role they feel suits them in semi independent groups.

It is under the same banner as the fracking protest near Blackpool

I went to my second meeting yesterday and we have formed a group in Cornwall.
Here is a short video we released today
Video
And here is the main website risingup.org.uk/

Come and join us, share the message, there is real hope, we have the power to change things so our kids and grandkids have a future.

All the best,
M.

The U.K. produces 2% of the carbon in the atmosphere
So it does feel a bit pointless to be so concerned about my own recycling
Surely the government and top industry bodies should be putting pressure on the big polluters to change
If we really wanted to change the future that’s where to begin
Unfortunately money rules

The UK imports an awful lot of goods made using carbon-creating technologies. Does your 2% figure cover all that?

The UK has a historical debt to sort out. We are still the single topmost emitter of CO2 since 1850, since we started the industrial revolution. Exporting that industrial complex to the third world has only moved emissions around, not stopped them.

This has been my worry since becoming a parent. We do our recycling, the bin man takes it away and the eco bit is done. I was like that before until I became more aware. Aware of how much we consume and it’s all going to landfill. Funny thing is myself and so many other mums buy BPA free but we are now eating plastic anyway! I’m quite a down to earth mum and decided to do my own bit as my mini stamp and start reducing the toys we have and buy and be a bit more minimal for my own housework sanity and the planet! Follow my progress if interested at my blog! thebarenecessitoys.com/ Xx

Yanbu to feel anxious about this op .

In 50 years time? Who knows what our dcs will be facing?

That’s all I’ll say on this thread, as I said rather A LOT on your last one .

But, though I was supportive of your points in the last thread, can I ask; what are you hoping to gain from starting this one?

If it’s to raise awareness, fab, crack on. I’m with you. But if you’re hoping it might help you feel less anxious, I don’t know if this is the right way to go about it.