AIBU to be terrified by what David Attenborough has said?

[ArcheryAnnie]

He's just said about climate change ""if we don't take action, the collapse of our civilisations and the extinction of much of the natural world is on the horizon." He's not the only one saying this - it's now common currency amongst scientists, and indeed anyone paying attention.

www.theage.com.au/world/europe/civilisation-may-collapse-if-climate-change-ignored-attenborough-20181204-p50jzs.html?platform=hootsuite

There's no time left for pissing about. We've got to take radical action now. It isn't something that any of us can ignore.

British lamb is actually the only red meat I eat, because I know it is not easy to farm intensively and is a good way of utilising land which is not suited to arable farming. However I.5 portions a week is more than I would consume!

Trees are no good if your land is above the treeline though. Some rare birds species need large, treeless, grazed landscapes. There are derogations on permanent pasture preventing you planting trees or ploughing it up.

We need much more change than what we are used to - it’s no longer enough to make lifestyle choices . Although keep doing what you are doing. WE NEED RADICAL ACTION . And we need the governments to bring in legislation. It is no longer a matter of choice. It is all too urgent.

Obviously OnlineAlienator it's not going to be solution for all farmers. As I qualified my post above.

Sheep grazing can do a lot of environmental damage too though: www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jul/11/lake-district-world-heritage-site-sheep

We’re fucked aren’t we? No government is going to bring in the changes that are needed. Not enough people will make the changes voluntarily. Anything I do myself is but a drop in the ocean.
I’m trying to reconcile this with myself by thinking that I guess the human race had to end someday, it’s just a shame it had to be within my/my near offspring’s lives.

I wish people would not suggest that stopping having kids would be in any way helpful. It just adds aging population to the list of problems. The only hope really by now is to find new (faster) ways to take carbon out of the atmosphere. (You can do it by growing new forests but that takes time). If this solved it will be through innovation and technology. Our children’s generation will contribute.

As china have found out the hard way limiting the amount of offspring isnt helpful. They have an aging population and noone to look after them. That is why they changed their policy to 2 children and i believe that is also about to change.

Thanks for the tip earlier about server space I deleted lots of emails today took a few minutes and if it makes a difference that’s great.

Sheep grazing can do damage. It can also do good. Binning the lot in favour of universally damaging crops is therefore dumb. You also find that in reality, most farms have solid reasons for grazing stock rather than growing crops or trees, which is what makes these studies crumble into dust once you remove them from paper and expect them to survive in reality.

We need to put David Attenborough in charge of the whole world. It really is the way forward! Move over Trump, May and Putin!!

One solution I heard was to plant huge sitka spruce forests across the world. If you visit one, they are really, really dark places. That means they are highly efficient at absorbing sunlight hitting the earth's surface and converting all those photons and atmospheric CO2 quickly into carbon-rich tree biomass.

I agree with you OP. We are standing on a precipice and we need to act. Governments need to make radical changes which aren’t necessarily going to be popular so I fear we may carry on walking to the precipice until it’s too late. David Attenborough is my hero.

Yup reversal of any damage we’ve already done is not impossible but certainly unlikely at this point.

The thing is it’s so hard to know where to even begin. We’ve tightened up on our recycling in our house, we watch our water consumption and apparently we use less than the average amount of a household for two people and there’s four of us, reduced the amount of stuff we buy in general and also reduced the amount of meat we eat and trying to reduce the amount of plastic packaging we buy but unfortunately there are days when the cheap option wrapped in plastic wins because it’s no good worrying about what happens in a decade when my family might not manage to pay bills this week.

Then again knowing how horrid us humans are let’s face it, we’ll probably end up blowing up most of the population and taking half the planet with us before we get to another ice age.

I think we definitely need a huge education in what to do. From not having more than one or two children so that at least the population won’t get bigger, to recycling, to lifestyles and also the governments of the world really need to step up and stop companies from mass producing things that aren’t recyclable or biodegradable unless it’s a medical necessity like medical equipment. They want people to stop using cars and using public transport but for a family it’s cheap to run a car than use public transport. I wanted to get a train from Winchester to London for 3 of us and it was £100 for a return journey!

Citiesofbismuth - I agree 100 % with everything you've said and have previously said to other people this world would be a much better place if there were no humans on it.

I find this so scary and admit previously I haven t really given environmental issues much thought. Now I am a mother I really worry about it.

It shocks me how many people really don't seem to care, it makes me feel sick at the amount of plastic tat available, how commercial all public holidays have become. I am only 37 and have noticed such a change in this communism since I was little. I find it too much.

I am trying to do small things, buy recyclable wrapping paper, recycle more, use less meat, not buy cards anymore but I really think anything we do is a drop in the ocean.

I personally think unless the big companies are MADE to be more responsible with their production and packing and America and China commit to signing climate change bills we can't change anything radically, we need serious changes in laws, we need to make it socially unacceptable.

Yes, DA for prime minister.....
Did someone actually say the winters are getting colder on p1?
Forget ‘Global Warming’ that’s just one part of it.
We have increasing unpredictable climate ‘events’.
We have a RAPIDLY melting Arctic/ Antarctic.
Amidst this, nuclear power...?!?!
People still want to drive when it is NOT EVEN COMPLETELY NECESSARY.
And get pissed off when roads are blocked by the ‘extinction rebellion’ protests. Guess what, they know that’s your priority, and that priority is a big problem. I hope this movement grows and grows. It’s the only glimmer I’ve seen that people have noticed that the planet is on the way out and the powers that be are doing FA.
Some people are already grieving.

I agree we need to act, but sadly that won't happen. Too little too late as some have said. We've doomed ourselves. And yet even at this juncture we're to pig headed to accept this.

The only way to try to combat change is too radical. Plant millions of trees and bushes. Let weeds and greenery overgrow and don't cut any plant life.Remove all equipment that produces heat, however small. Radios, TVs, computers, cookers, electric blankets, planes, cars and so on, they all generate heat. Everyone must grow and eat what they can produce in their garden. Stop housebuilding, there are too many people in the world and if they can' survive without joining groups, so be it. Leave animals to their own devices and utilise on a needs basis for milk and meats. Ice and snows are vanishing and currently, the sea rises at about 1mm per year. Annual temperatures are rising and read a copy of The Domesday Book, it will open your eyes. Restrict parents to 1 child only and cull one in two people. A few may survive the far future.

Binning the lot in favour of universally damaging crops is therefore dumb.

Sigh. No-one is talking about such extreme measures. Here's one of the news stories about today's report.

www.businessgreen.com/bg/news-analysis/3067612/mother-of-all-sustainability-challenges-report-urges-global-diet-and-farming-overhaul

Its the practical effect though. The sheep farmer's market is vanishing, while industrial chicken and veg thrives. We really need to stop hating on beef and lamb and encourage a more critical look at chicken and veg and stop wasting time obsessing over amounts, IF we want to see any real positive change.

You need animals in farming in order to fertilise the soil. Well, you either need animals or you need artificial fossil fuel based fertilisers (Haber Bosch process... really carbon intensive). That is the inconvenient truth for vegans.

You need to go back a couple of stages in the food chain and ask yourself "what does my food eat?"

If you eat grass fed meat, that'll be... grass
What does grass eat? Nutrients drawn up from rocks and metabolites of soil bacteria. Sequesters carbon from the atmosphere.
What do soil bacteria eat? Animal dung
It's endlessly circular and intricately complex, with so many organisms like earthworms playing a crucial role.
Excess dung can be harvested and used to organically fertilise vegetable plots and fruit trees to supplement the diet.

Contrast that with eating a heavy grain based diet, either vegan or grain fed feedlot factory farmed animals.
Grain agriculture degrades the topsoil so heavily, it contaminates waterways. It is estimated we only have a few decades of harvests left. Most of the inputs are fossil fuel based, additionally it releases carbon to the atmosphere. It is linear and dependent on a finite and dwindling energy source.

I am only 37 and have noticed such a change in this communism since I was little.

I expect CO2 emissions would be much lower if we lived under communism.

But on a more serious note yes I definitely think there's been an explosion in plastic tat and it is not good.

You need animals in farming in order to fertilise the soil. Well, you either need animals or you need artificial fossil fuel based fertilisers (Haber Bosch process... really carbon intensive). That is the inconvenient truth for vegans. Well said. As I said above. The Golden Hoof. George Monbiot has a vendetta against sheep farming.

Somehow we've gone from 'the golden hoof' of the pre fossil fuel age, to monbiot's 'white plague' in a world awash with oil....hmmmmmmmmm

As long as it doesn't happen in my lifetime, I don't really care. Humans aren't going to be around forever so either way you look at it, our days are numbered. As long as I'm dead before it happens!