To ask if you realise we are going through a sixth mass extinction of species?

[amandacarnet]

There have been five mass extinctions of life before. The most famous of which wiped out the dinosaurs. With the rate of extinction of species it is clear we are currently going through a sixth mass extinction. This is caused by climate change and human wrecking of animal habitats. And it will if not halted, lead to the extinction of humans.
It is not going to happen over night, this is not a made for TV disaster movie. But as we ruin more animal habitats and climate change gets worse, we will make living environments for humans worse. In Avery short space of time we have seen decreasing world wide fertility thought to be caused by plastics, much more frequent occurrences of dangerous weather, rising sea levels that are reclaiming land from humans, and decreasing levels of animals that are needed for human survival such as bees.

Did extinction rebellion use solvent based glue as part of their protest, by any chance?

Of course life itself will still survive. There is a fungus growing at Chernobyl that seems to feed on radiation. That may take over the world.

But if you think climate change will not affect adversely kids being born today, you are burying your head in the sand.

Gilbert, as I understand it the plants can be decommissioned but the waste still needs to be carefully managed.

• Gilbert1A

victoria I would assume as the population lessened, the nuclear stations would be gradually decommissioned as they would no longer be needed.
It's not going to be like that program where all the humans disappear overnight*
Nuclear fuel can last for hundreds and hundreds of years. Eventually leading to it contaminating the environment and leaking into ground water .Weapons grade plutonium is an even higher risk , taking even longer to decay.

Oops I should have put a space between ops post and mine.
Read from.... Nuclear fuel can last !

Nuclear fuel / waste has to be monitored and managed. It is never out of sight, out of mind.

Nuclear Eternity is a documentary that shows how complicated and long term dealing with nuclear waste is.

Op I agree with you but I feel
Completely helpless. With China doing what they’re doing etc, anything we can do in the uk isn’t going to make a difference. I wish I knew what we could do that would help. I feel it’s inevitable and there’s no stopping it and I’m scared for my children. I don’t think I would have had any kids if this had all been in the news 10 years ago like it is today

I’m with you OP.
But the problem is, we’re so far down the line now and fixing it requires a massive change in both mindsets (globally) and how we run our societies.
Overpopulation is the core problem. Everything always comes back to that but no one has any realistic solutions to it that don’t involve a massive shift in our moral standards.
Another issue is globalisation. It was a mistake.

This thread baffles me.

We live on this planet without thinking enough about the impact we are having on it. The David Attenborough climate change programme has hopefully made lots of people stop and think and the key message I took away was that we can make a difference with every little change we make. Because there is very little time to do anything about the massive changes that are coming in the very near future within our lifetimes (eg irreversible flooding in east Anglia, impact of weather changes on food crops etc..) but every little thing we do will add together to have a big impact and at least buy us more time to find bigger solutions or adapt to the new normal. For the past few years too many people have been saying "what you are doing makes no difference" and just using this as an excuse to do nothing. That programme said that simply wasn't the case. Likewise people say "we deserve to die" and also use that as an excuse to do nothing.

Wake up and make changes. If we all do it, more changes will flow from that and we stand a chance at least of our children not living with global catastrophe in their adulthood.

I don't understand why at least the people in those UK flood areas are not all taking radical steps to change their lifestyles and encouraging others to.

Cloud, you’re right. I need more people like you to tell me that small changes I can make can and will help. I’m the sort of anxious person than can easily fall down a well of hopelessness where this is concerned and I need to stop it

Also in agreement of how frightening people’s denial of this is, simply to say that this is a natural change to the earth is so wrong, it’s of our doing and we are destroying ourselves.

Small changes do help, and one of the biggest ways they help is by showing those in charge that people are serious and willing to inconvience themselves

We do however need government regulation and government led infrastructure projects to actually fix the problem.

So are you planning to sit your children down and advise them not to have a family of their own

My children are old enough and sensible enough to have thought this through. I wouldn't dream of advising them. It wouldn't surprise me if they'd decided not to bring kids into this fucked up world. Sensible (although selfishly, heart breaking) decision IMHO.

how frightening people’s denial of this is

I don't see denial in many posts. Resigned acceptance, yes. It's inevitable.

I agree with you OP

However I get really panicky and angry when someone lectures me in that particular way.

I’m vegan, I don’t have a car, we’ve stopped flying, we’re not having children, but at the end of the day it’s not going to be enough because structural changes aren’t happening.

I only get one life on this planet, I don’t want to waste it worrying and being anxious over things I just can’t control. I will do all the things I CAN do and I will make the sacrifices but I can’t help but feel a bit ‘what’s the point’ when it appears no one else is and even if they did, the powers that be don’t have any appetite for it.

A lot of responses on this thread which are just insane. I mean, I at least understand where those who deny the facts are coming from -- but people talking about a much needed cull and the earth will be better off without us...

Now I'm really worried -- I hoped that, when the science became at last overwhelming, people would worry and change. I hadn't thought people would welcome the news....

I can see why the young are so angry.

However I get really panicky and angry when someone lectures me in that particular way.

I’m vegan, I don’t have a car, we’ve stopped flying, we’re not having children, but at the end of the day it’s not going to be enough because structural changes aren’t happening.

I only get one life on this planet, I don’t want to waste it worrying and being anxious over things I just can’t control. I will do all the things I CAN do and I will make the sacrifices but I can’t help but feel a bit ‘what’s the point’ when it appears no one else is and even if they did, the powers that be don’t have any appetite for it.

I agree with you. I'm glad people are protesting, but it feels like we have been aware of this all my life (I am 43) and nowhere near enough has been done.

It sounds like to have a zero carbon country there would have to be no haulage, no shipping, no aviation industries at all, no heavy industry, no fossil fuel burning, no cars or all electric (produced with renewable sources). Energy would be rationed and we'd have to get up with the light and go to bed when it is dark. The thing is, if these changes are brought in too quickly you get millions (more) people in financial ruin and enduring poverty. The effects of environmental change may well be more profound but be careful of making things actually a lot worse in the short term.

The reality is that there will probably be war, famine and a lot more refugees when climate change really starts to kick in (insomuchas it hasn't already) and the UK will be affected, but we are a lot more likely to survive it in Northern Europe. Also the planet will be better with a lot fewer humans, there is no getting around that. I hope we can reduce the number by education and women then only wanting an average of two or fewer children, but nature may well take its course before that is achieved.

wouldn't surprise me if they'd decided not to bring kids into this fucked up world

I also think there was never a better time to be alive though. The world has always been fucked up, it's what we do.

@VictoriaBun For accuracy, humans did not invent nuclear reactors, we exploited the phenomena. There were natural fission reactors on earth in the past (Oklo) and of course many natural fission reactors (sun & other stars).

Fact is, it will be their problem and we’ll be dead.

That's not a very productive way of thinking is it? Oh well, someone else's problem. Nothing to do with me probably partially the fault of all those who came before is though, who probably thought the same.

I think the hope is that we can become very low carbon by using the technology we have and policy changes.

Every new house could be eco friendly, have very low energy needs and have solar panels etc, paving over front gardens etc could be restricted, trees and other plants could be planted, people could be encouraged to grow more of their own food and in particular to eat less meat from ruminators (cows and sheep), electric cars and public transport could be promoted more, people could be educated about mass consumerism, single use plastics could be banned, taxes could be slapped onto flights, cheap fashion and food with high food miles, people could be educated about energy use, lighting, computers etc, people could be educated about the massive energy use required to store emails, spam etc on servers. The list goes on and on. There are lots of things that could be done. Governments won't do anything though unless they think its what the population wants, the population often won't want it because it involves personal sacrifice.

I've had a couple of conversations this week with people saying "oh isn't it awful" and then have looked horrified when I've said that we as a family have decided that cutting down on flights is the biggest impact change we can make and we are willing to do it.

We might have extended the habitability of the planet though by pillaging and abusing the planet!

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKCN0UR2G320160113

I used to be very concerned by climate change but there is so little we can do individually. I do little things and would say I’m more concerned and careful by my very consumerist peers, but I have a big house, a car, kids, I eat a very varied and indulgent diet including meat, I am flying short haul this year. I’m certain I abuse the planet many times more than, say, an Ethiopian subsistence farmer, but am I willing to have less?

At the end of the day we all justify the decisions we make and blame other people. The vast vast majority of us are greedy and want more, better lifestyles. Even as a country (eg the UK) if we unilaterally hugely decrease our impact it won’t make a huge difference. Even if we’d stayed in the EU we would have had a bigger impact but what about China, America.

There’s the antibiotic risk too- we might reduce our usage in the UK but on lots of other countries you can easily buy them over the counter. We wouldn’t all be able to eat meat without antibiotics but who’s willing to give it up?

I suspect we are doomed, some of us may survive, and I hope neither my kids nor myself see the worst of it