To feel so anxious about the future: Climate crisis: 11,000 scientists warn of ‘untold suffering’

[Faceache25]

From an article in the Guardian yesterday. I have made many significant personal changes already, will be voting green, have been involved in campaign groups. But it feels like so little in the face of such a huge catastrophe, I find it difficult to stay positive and not just despair for the future, and for what my child may face in their lifetime.

How do you stay positive?

I prefer to stay realistic and keep busy - what an individual can do is limited but as a collective we can do much together.
We have to get business on board - money is a pretty lousy measure of efficiency when it comes to limiting CO2.

Meanwhile try and get your friends and family on board if they are still skeptical of CO2 and its impact.

As of now I'm trying to convince the taxpayer to give me a big sum of money so I can make a critical CO2 neutral (or negative) technology feasible.

And am joining #TeamTrees to plant some trees.

So eyeball your footprint - things like car use, whether you have a pet dog, how often you eat meat etc.

I'm curious- how does having a dog impact carbon footprint?

Sounds interesting @JohnMcCainsDeathStare, good luck! I do try and talk to friends and family about it but generally hit a wall of disinterest.

I am very aware of my own footprint - no car, no meat, no flying, with green energy provider, try and buy as much as possible second hand, in general try to consume/buy much less, have changed bank account to Triodos. No pets! I'm sure there is more I could do though. Will look into Teamtrees, thanks for the suggestion.

@iloveruby I imagine due to meat consumption mainly.

It is mostly meat consumption - a medium-sized dog is like having another 4x4 vehicle to run. That and other services like having to drive to walk if applicable, vet time, training, dog walker/daycare etc.

Not so sure about cats though...

Brexit's gonna suck but it will be climate change that'll kill us - I wonder if there will ever be a climate change-related storyline in any of the soaps - not sure how that would happen.

A large dog in the West has a similar carbon footprint to a Vietnamese person or something.

Echoing @JohnMcCainsDeathStare #TeamTrees is an easy and cheap way to make a difference.

What is everyone supposed to do with their meat eating pet dog then?

What is everyone supposed to do with their meat eating pet dog then?

Not get one in the first place

I won't be getting rid of my pets, nope!

I do my share of helping the environment, and I'm not going to brag about it on here.

My pets stay with me though ta very much.

The worst thing is over population so having children is the worst thing to do to the planet. No re-usable shopping bags and recycling can offset the effect of having children. We’re parasites and the sooner humans are wiped out the better,

#Sexykitten2005

Eat them?

It’s like having lots of children. Obviously there’s not much to be done now, but it’s not an environmentally sound decision, no.

Hopefully in the future, people will be more mindful of this stuff.

LaurieMarlow
A large dog in the West has a similar carbon footprint to a Vietnamese person or something
Great use of statistics, evidence based comment, reasoned debate, factual science,

Kids are worse than dogs to be fair.

It is really scary though you are not being unreasonable at all.

Are you sure you aren't worrying to much? I saw a magazine cover in the 1990s suggesting London would be under water by 2015.

I just had a quick google and couldn’t find the ref.

Makes sense though, or are you denying that dogs have a carbon footprint.

You can’t just shove this stuff under the carpet because you don’t like it.

Make sure they are neutered for a start - thing is I'm conflicted about pets. Cats and dogs are often working animals too but overall I think there are too many pets as there are too many neglected animals and too many people who get them without research.
But it isn't pets that are the main problem.
There isn't enough room to list all of them.

Power generation
Increasing appetite for meat world wide
Tax avoidance and general dodging of accountability
Vested interests in limiting take up of renewables/nuclear power
Armed forces - very high carbon contributers per individual
Car usage
I could go on but being someone who has a potential solution and having to deal with the grant lottery does suck the will to live somewhat, even if some of this is necesary.

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/environment/2009/nov/13/ethical-living-carbon-emissions

It’s in here

It fucks me off that the government is do apathetic. Until the giant polluting businesses are forced to get their act together what we do is a drop in the ocean. I am absolutely not saying we shouldn't try as individuals, but it won't save us.

*so apathetic

In some aspects of my life I'm very green, in others not so much. (I don't have kids but I do have pets. I recycle and compost as much as I can and I try not to over-consume. I buy second-hand wherever I can. I work from home. But I wear glasses and I use electronics a lot and they're packed with plastic. Etc, etc, etc.

One aspect which isn't discussed much (yet) is what an utterly joyless world it's likely to be in the future. (Though we seem to be practising for it now....)

Whilst I'm concerned about the environment I don't forsee the cataclysm that is predicted in some quarters. It's not having a dog, driving to work or eating meat that is the most significant factor in climate change. The most significant factors are electricity generation, and heavy industries. It's in these industries interests to become more efficient and transfer to renewable energy sources to remain competitive as fossil fuels become depleted and more expensive. As energy density of batteries improve Electric cars will become the norm as will micro generation. Perhaps it's because I'm old enough to remember when the comming cataclysm was running out of oil, the next one was the ozone layer, then warming now climate change. So I'm still going to have a steak, sleep well and drive to work tomorrow.

How do you stay positive?

Don't read the Guardian