I am terrified of the climate emergency but more terrified by how ambivalent others seem to be about it!

[CopperPatch]

Just that really, I see people sharing things on social media, commenting on threads, talking about climate change etc but actually changing their lives very, very little - or finding ways to justify not taking action.... it is not scaremongering, it is not a fear project, our planet will no longer sustain human life because of us but so, so many people seem to not care, or only care on a surface level - great click bait but changing their lives in any way seems a step to far. Yes we need wide-scale political and economic shifts but we also need every day action from every day people - and that is EVERYONE'S responsibility!!!! AIBU to expect more of everyone?!

Sorry to bring brexit into this but I do wonder if being on our own the UK could, hopefully, implement more environmental strategies. All the angst about Brexit is about imports /taxing goods. When really we should be using fewer goods. Important things in the EU are subsidies to farmers and import charges which aren't going to change. I think agriculture is going to be forced to change in the UK.

I don't know why ChardonnaysPrettySister is being picked on, she sounded perfectly fine to me?

I listed the little things I do because a PP asked me to. And yes, I'm aware it's these are not enough.

I'm picked on because I said things people don't want to hear.

QueenBeee

Not sure that will be the outcome of brexit really. Once Johnson is in charge, we are pretty much fucked so I think the environment will be the least of our concerns.

We've had this discussion so many times within my family. Ideally we need to start living like our parents / grandparents did. Consumerism is a massive culprit, alongside social media and keeping up with the Jones. I genuinely feel much happier when I shop local, grow produce and bake goods. I want my children to grow up feeling grateful for what they have, not assuming they can have what they want because that's what their friends get. My mind is blown when friends have no idea about climate change, but can tell me all the gossip from social media.
I think if you read into it too much its unhealthy. No one, not even science can make a spot on prediction. I believe do your bit to your ability, and enjoy our outside environments. I don't want to nor will I scar monger my children, childhood innocence can never be replaced but I hope being a good role model will encourage them to be thoughtful.

@Tessalectus brilliant and fascinating post thank you.

I don't think Chardonnay sounds at all immature or deserving of the rudeness from some posters.

I suspect we are all fucked too. So happy I never had children.

You are right op but it's too big and scary to think about. And some people are very hard of thinking.

I also agree with a Pp about concreting over large area of green space for housing when the amount of empty houses around is astonishing. I think these should be fixed up and used first. The amount of new housing going up near me in Scotland is disgraceful especially on green land. It doesn’t matter if you protest either as it’s mixed private and social, they seem to build where they want

I try as best as I can but our country (the uk) is so small what if any impact are we going to have?
You see other large countries who have rives full of sewage and rubbish, and almost no commitments to reversing climate change so how can we make any difference when there's that going on?
And aside from the climate, Hunters, poaching, whale catching etc. Its a horrible world we live in

@Cerseilannisterinthesnow I am gobsmacked at the amount of housing they are chucking up all over the green belt! Mostly those exec style homes and absolutely no public transport provision. There's the clear assumption that these will be two car households which I find disgusting in 2019.

@MaxNormal
I suspect we are all fucked too. So happy I never had children.
Why does that improve the situation?

I read a great book called "Don't Even Think About It" and it basically says that our brains are not wired to be able to deal with the risk of climate change. We deal with immediate risk in our brains and bodies really well, but long term extreme risks, we can't mentally handle. In fact, people who have been victims of climate related disasters (i.e. Hurricane Sandy, Oklahoma drought farmers and California wildfires) are actually the LEAST likely to believe in the need to alleviate manmade climate problems. Because what are you supposed to do other than rebuild your house with insurance money?

Just skimming this thread I'm so surprised at how extreme the posts are. In the developed economies f the world industry is cleaner the hands very before, more regulations exist regarding material usage and recovery than ever before and most crucially awareness is higher. The direction of travel is certainly greener, given all of this why all the hand wringing?
True America, China and India are behaving poorly but eventually they will move similarly particularly if market access is dependent upon it.

The confused messages don't help. Plastic is the devil so we must all stop using it... except many of the alternatives have a higher carbon footprint. Wear natural fibres... ah but cotton takes a huge amount if water to produce. Stop using palm oil, but other oils can be even worse for the environment.

It's an absolute minefield that we have very little control over.

And agree with the discussion on nuclear power, especially if electric cars are the way forward, the electricity has to come from somewhere.

Why does that improve the situation?
Because I don't have the worry of what they might live through in the future when all this gets really bad.

How can anyone think brexit will m prove the environment? We will repeal so much legislation either to protect the economy or at the insistence of larger economies such as the US. It will actually result in less autonomy of environmental and food standards!

Plastic panic isn't about carbon footprint, though. It's about non-biodegradable waste and bioaccumulation of plastic in our food chains.

There's the clear assumption that these will be two car households which I find disgusting in 2019.

But that's the reality of life now. It's not just about public transport being more accessible, it's about recognising that people have to travel to work and that takes time. Where I live the buses aren't too bad. Every 10 minutes into town. Yet it would still take me an hour to get to work on the bus instead of 15 minutes in the car. We manage with one car because we work opposite shifts but I can absolutely see why many households need 2 cars.

I don't know what the answer is on this one.

@MangoFeverDream I said this on another thread and I was called racist and thick for even suggesting it but it is a massive environmental problem that no one ever discusses, we’re told we need immigration but then in the next breath we should all be having less children.

Plastic panic isn't about carbon footprint, though. It's about non-biodegradable waste and bioaccumulation of plastic in our food chains.

I know this, that's why I said Its a confused message. I confess to not knowing a huge amount about this but as I understand it climate change is the very real very imminent threat we are facing so reducing carbon emissions etc is what we should be doing yet we then have this war on plastic which seems to be many people's priority (probably becasue it's so visible) yet many of the replacements for plastic have high carbon emissions so are at odds with the most pressing threat.
I saw a post on one of the zero waste groups about a country the other side of the world that's banned all single use plastic and several posters commented that this is why they are holidaying there and it blew my mind that they celebrate the non plastic then jump on a long haul flight chugging shit loads of emissions into the atmosphere, I got blocked for gently pointing this out.

It's very complicated I guess and it does feel like the small steps we take are pointless sometimes, like the reusable cotton pads I bought, which are apparently the wrong ones because they are microfiber, and the cleanser I use that comes in a tin but contains palm oil... bloody minefield.

we need to bring back metal- and woodwork, textiles, arts and crafts, cookery and science at the heart of our education system

I couldn't agree more. I saw a textile exhibition 3 years ago. It featured garments and examples of samplers done by children as young as 8 yrs, at a school for the poor in the mid-nighteenth century.

The handsewing was incredibly fine, deft and precise. Apparently the children were not taught to do fancy sewing but sewing with a focus of making garments and repairing a wide range of rips, tears and wearing of the fabric. Also how to make and resize children's clothes out of old adult clothing. I was looking at one garment and I literally had to check twice to see the repair it was so perfect. It was amazing what children were capable of.

I went to primary school in the 80s and was still taught how to hand stitch bags and basic cross stitch and embroidery to a decent standard but when I went to secondary we were taught nothing but academics. The only extra curricular activity we did was dance. There was a feeling that girls should not be taught too many 'domestic' skills with the boom in Information Technology.

I have no idea how Home Economics is today, but I have heard accounts from older people born in the 50s and 60s that it included being able to make an impromptu 3 course meal, long term preservation of foods, and making desserts from left overs.

We need to go back to teaching and valuing these skills. I had to teach myself how to machine sew as an adult and unfortunately am still not very good at it. When I look at complicated vintage patterns with virtually no instructions I remember that this was because garment making was taught in school so well that instructions were not really necessary.

Being able to light a fire, forage for food, identify edible wild plants you can cook from the garden,(nettles and dandelions grow everywhere and are lovely in soup) sew your baby's clothes, reuse old linen, unravel an old jumper and knit yourself a scarf for winter. These are skills that not only reduce reliance on commerce, but build self-reliance and resilence and esteem and save money.

I see the deliberate dropping of these skills as a means to encourage us to buy more. We literally work and consume.

(nostalgic rant over)

@FormerlyFrikadela01 I don't disagree but in this instance in Scotland they are wilfully building houses in locations with no public transport and also then not upgrading the public transport infrastructure. It's a lost opportunity. The central public transport infrastructure is good, they are just not extending it.

Re the world's population, I have a feeling, Ebola or similar virus mutation could very easily sort out the over population.
The population has risen so high because of better sanitation, healthcare and vaccines. A virus we can't control will sort it out.
Mother Earth will rise again!

I will hold my hands up and admit that I do use my car a lot but I work in rural community nursing so don’t have a lot of choice and until they’ve come up with an eco friendly car that covers the miles I do then my hands are tied

Not to mention the price of an eco car