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.

This is good
www.bbc.com/ideas/videos/imagining-a-world-without-fossil-fuels/p0639hks?autoplay=true

Nenic what's the source of your assertion?

I can never vote green again in their current incarnation, after the Challenor scandal and their stance on identity politics in general. Women's issues are part of environmental issues... educating women, giving them small business development and/or employment opportunities, reproductive choices and contraception are the best ways to ensure a reduction in birth rates. Impossible when the main political parties and campaign organisations deny the existence of the cohort of people who have the potential to gestate and give birth to the next generation as a political class.

I think we all need to be more vocal about excessive waste. If I went to a chip shop and I could say why do you have plastic forks or use unrecycable plastic trays or why don’t you have recycling bins

If we can make local businesses listen to us then that helps too

Toilet train children.

I couldn’t afford nappies which mine and they were toilet trained very early. Saves a whole plastic mountain.

There have been many great civilisations that have collapsed. We are nothing special

There are some who believe we are already in a time of mass extinction. And humans are just beginning to feel effects.

Also, thinking that’s as a wealthy country we’ll have it easier isn’t entirely helpful.

We have to think globally. Climate change will mean a huge refugee movement. We all will be affected.

Climate change and it's impacts have been talking about since the late 80s (possibly before, I can't remember much before that)
None of this is a surprise, we've just been dithering about and not facing up to it because it felt far away. Well it's not far away.
Sadly unless China, India and the US come on board and make meaningful changes, nothing the rest of us do will make much difference.
It's a shame because when you look at how the whole world came together to ban cfcs, taking steps to halt the destruction of the ozone layer and did some collaborative good for once, it shows what humans can achieve when we want to.
I don't think we will though. I can't see any of those countries wanting to risk their global dominance. There's too much money at stake. I dread to think of the true cost of that stance, because you can't eat money.

No one is saying we’re anything special. How is that relevant?

What we are discussing is what we can do to stop/lessen the effects of climate change.

Tu quoque @FunkyKingston

Agree with pp that individual actions, whilst incredibly important, are not enough. We need to target our anger and action at the source - largely the companies/governments responsible for environmental destruction. Although individually if we stop buying shit we don't need that helps.

Unfortunately most people really do not care, all the wonderful wildlife is being destroyed in order to reproduce more fat people shuffling around looking at their phones.

Time to stop breeding humans, how can anyone justify having more than one child?

China has been taking some measures. They have a huge problem and have realised that. They have been planting forests.

Also, what are we going to do without David Attenborough?

We are beyond the point that individuals taking action about our own consumption is going to make a difference.

Forget complaining about plastic forks at the chippy or not getting a pet. It's pissing in the wind.

Governments need to act.
But, they're not going to unless we make them.

Want humanity to survive? Start holding the politicians & big business to task.

Recognise, now, that capitalism is consuming the planet.

Don't like the green's stance on women's rights? Well, why not join your local green party en mass and make it change?

Because at this rate there will be no women left to be liberated (or men to oppress us.)

Climate change is more important than any of that. Priorities, people.

He is saying the decision makers need to take control. they can:

1. Accelerate green energy around the world.
2. Put the onus on manufacturers. Charge for by non recyclable packaging
3. Harsh penalties for polluting
4. Subsidisr methods of cleaner production
5. encourage reusing and recycling
6. Move away from an economic system that requires buying more and more things.

Bouchie, yes.

But they're not going to unless we make them. We're being governed by fools.

Plastic chip forks, bamboo toothbrushes, tiny amounts of plastic to seal in teabags etc etc are neither here nor there in the grand scheme of things. I think there's an easy trap to fall into in that we focus on the tiny inconsequential stuff like that, and ignore the big stuff, like having extra children, pets, flying, upgrading gadgets/appliances way too soon.

Don't have extra children
Don't have pets (unless rescued)
Don't fly
Have a minimalist/simple living mindset in regard to consumer goods... clothes, gadgets, household furnishings, decor etc. Buy second hand.
Don't eat grain fed meat. Eat more local vegetables, make your meat grass fed... pastured meat is actually beneficial to grassland ecology, builds soil and is a huge store for carbon. Grain degrades soil and releases tons of nutrients and carbon. Eating grain = bad. Eating animals that eat grain = 10 X bad

The pastured meat thing is a myth. Ranchers burn forest land down to create pasture then when the animals have decimated that they burn down more.

Eating in season is a good way to help. Instead of eating strawberries in December that have been flown half way round the world to get here.(to the UK)
If I've managed to attach it properly. Here are in seasons fruits and veg for December.

All fruits and veg are labelled with country of origin. Buy the stuff that's nearest rather than grapes from New Zealand and tomatoes from South Africa etc.
If we all did this, the supermarkets would soon take notice.

Reduce how much red meat you are eating. Beef (and lamb) are by far the biggest contributor to CO2 emmissions. Avoiding burgers wouod be a very good start.

'Governments need to act.
But, they're not going to unless we make them.

Want humanity to survive? Start holding the politicians & big business to task'

Yeah because the politicians are so excellent at listening to what people want. Stop voting in the Tories who only act in their own best interest and those of their big business mates possibly.

The pastured meat thing isn't a myth, but obviously depends on ecological context. Destroying any ecosystem for the benefit of humans is obviously catastrophic. But where there are already grasslands and prairies, moderate cattle numbers can regenerate and refertilise them.

Pre- the expansion of the western frontier in America, there were probably around 50 million bison on the plains. There is roughly the same ballpark number of feedlot grain fed cattle now. One is part of a thriving integrated ecological system, involving all forms of life from wolves down to soil bacteria. One is an ecological catastrophe. Bison and cattle are similar creatures... it is the ecological context that is crucial. Industrial factory farming is an ecological abomination in terms of cruelty, slurry production and methane emissions, but eating meat per se is not the issue.

www.ted.com/talks/allan_savory_how_to_green_the_world_s_deserts_and_reverse_climate_change?language=en

The problem people think it's not them and most of the minority of those who admit to being part of the problem are only concerned with plastic because every one jumped on that band wagon and forgot everything else.
I have to despair.
Every night on the news we have politicians complaining about the economy not growing fast enough, it only grows when people buy stuff, must of which isn't needed.

People drive instead of walk, especially on school runs people think a mile is way too far to walk for any child, people not sending their child to the nearest school because it isn't good enough for little Jonny so drive across town slowly killing the planet so little Jonny won't get to use his amazing education anyway as we'll be extinct.

All the fancy cleaning products, they aren't needed but most people use them and look down at those who don't.

Paving over lawns to park their car or replacing lawns with artificial grass as it looks nicer, well it doesn't and that grass had an environmental purpose.

Over eating, look around how many are overweight? That's because you over eat and under exercise, eat less equals less food production and less pollution and most of us are in denial about weight, as threads on here prove.

Eat seasonal food, think about food miles, don't blame supermarkets, if the customer didn't buy it they wouldn't stock it. And British strawberries in December equates to pollution

Clothes, make them last, cheap crap doesn't last, terrible for the environment and is produced using methods that would be illegal in the West. My clothes last years, I then use them as rags for cleaning, my kids clothes get donated to the charity shop.

Then there are the people who must have new furniture/ kitchen/ bathroom every couple if years, more waste.

Heating the home, it doesn't have to be 22 degrees for most of us, turn it down and wear a jumper it will save you money and the environment

One short shower a day is enough for most people

You don't need the latest phone, television, Alexa, echo etc

The list is endless but as said in previous posts the 'it isn't my fault', 'I blame the government, big business and my neighbours' and 'I can't give anything up as I need them' all of those are bullshit ' you are just to lazy to change and are in complete denial, get off your arse and start to do something don't leave it to others

The meat thing is another neat pissing-into-the-wind thing the press have fed us to make us feel like we're doing something but allow big business to continue exploiting us and the planet.

Not all meat comes from deforested areas.
Barely any meat is grown on what could have been eaten by humans
Grass and woidlands, both of which meat can be grown in, are naturally occurring ecosystems - no field of crops is.

Unless you swap your meat for locally, permaculturally grown veg all year round, you have achieved nothing whatsoever.

Meanwhile, are you still driving a car? Booking holidays abroad etc etc? Buying plastic tat? Of course.