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?

Reduce daily consumption of unnecessary waste: takeaways packagings, plastic toys, polyester clothings; cancel all hard copy marketing materials, swap shampoo/body wash to soap(reduce plastic packaging), stop sending Christmas cards; buy loose products rather than packaged ones: buy second hand stuff...

It’s not animals that have caused this mess, it’s people, building to many houses, chopping down forests, to many humans on this planet consuming all the natural resources. We need start reducing our population world wide not just here.

To be honest these type of 'AIBU' threads always smack of being somewhat loaded look at me virtue signalling. They pop up every so often and people can wade in to deonstate what caring thoughtful folk they are.

'AIBU to be concerned at the lonely pensioner at the end of the road'

'AIBU to feel sad about the situation in the Eastern Congo'

'AIBU to be upset at the Syrian refugee crisis'

^ yup

Agree that having too many children is a huge factor. How the devil can it not?!!!!

I don't stay positive. Thankfully me and DH chose not to have children but I worry about my nieces and nephews.

We do what we can - both been vegetarian for over 30 years, recycle, buy most of our clothes and furniture second hand. Very rarely fly (only flown 6 times in 40 years), use public transport where possible. We buy a lot of our food from somewhere you take your own containers so things like rice, lentils, chickpeas, nuts etc.

We do have 2 dogs though. Never getting rid of them. One is a rescue and was very badly abused

People asking about what to do about pets; getting only rescue animals and then having all pets neutered seems a good way to go. I do agree that a lot of people have pets who shouldn't though (don't exercise their dogs enough and so on). So many people seem to want these trendy breeds that look good on IG which seems all wrong to me.

It doesn’t have to be joyless - well stopping the over consumption part for a start.

Most of the time people are influenced heavily to buy crap they don’t need. A bit of influence the other way is good.

In answer to the OP though, I don't think there is a lot we can do TBH, sorry I know that's negative. Protesting is probably the best thing to do as bigger changes are needed; individuals can never solve this. I guess eventually they'll have to introduce some kind of carbon allowance (everyone is allowed to fly every 5 years or something except for special reasons). People would have to stop using cars and eating meat (can't see that happening).

Also start using search engines etc that plant trees hardly onerous, very easy

If we all go back to local food produce we'll be eating a lot of root veg I guess

Marsha wow, I didn't know there was such a thing! Thank you.

I've just googled (ahem ) and found Ecosia ... are there any others?

Considering the energy used in cloud management this seems so obvious now I know.

Yes tellme that’s the one think they’ve planted over 73 million trees. Also on Instagram if you follow / like their posts they get ad money for more.

Better than bolstering the next lifestyle hack for freebies ;

Bloody hell. That's pretty mind blowing really isn't it

It's true that sometimes the littlest things add to a great thing.

Thanks again!

Isn't pet food mostly made up of meat derivatives and the offcuts of meat that humans don't like? Not many people are feeding their pets on prime steak. So presumably the cattle and sheep are raised predominantly for the human market (which will hopefully shrink, but realistically it will be a slow process) and the udders, intestines and other unpopular bits that would otherwise be wasted, go into Pedigree Chum etc. If this is the case then I don't think the meaty diet of our pets is a significant contributor to global warming at the moment.

How much time do you spend seeking out the views of scientists who hold views that don’t go along with the current catastrophe narrative, OP?

The fact that this 11,000 scientists story is complete nonsense, but the mainstream media has simply regurgitated it as a PR release, should alert you to the fact that there’s a narrative here which is not being properly scrutinised.

I washed my yoghurt pot out yesterday to put in the recycling...then sat down to watch a news report about kids dying from lung disease in Delhi because of the toxic smog from horrifically unregulated pollution

I love the natural environment and believe it should be protected because it’s the normal and right thing to do.

I don’t believe the worst or really any of the predictions of climate scientist though.

Their track record is appalling, in that it is entirely of being wrong. I also don’t believe the can accurately measure global temperatures from before the industrial revolution.

Climate science is an industry now which needs to feed itself and I believe those vested interests drive what amounts to nothing more than scaremongering by the modern day equivalent of apocalyptic soothsayers.

For those poster dismissing overpopulation, sorry, but you're wrong. Even David Attenborough has said it's the elephant in the room that no one is prepared to talk about because in effect, any suggestion of official population control is breaking people's human rights, but he is in no doubt about it.

We're fucking up the seas, we're fucking up the forests, we've polluted this planet, we've destroyed countless species when we have no more right to walk it than anything else. And the fact remains is that most of the damage has been done in the last 200-250 years. That's a tiny fraction of the time we've been on the planet.

Look at the figures:

In 1804 there were 1 billion people on the planet.
In 1927 there were 2 billion (taking 123 years to increase by 1 billion).
In 1960 there were 3 billion (taking just 33 years to increase by 1 bn).
In 1974 there were 4 billion.
In 1987 there were 5 billion.
In 1999 there were 6 billion.
In 2012 there were 7 billion.
In 2027 there will be 8 billion.
In 2046 there will be 9 billion.

At least the rate of growth between billions is decreasing, but just look at those figures. Since contraception started to become far more readily available in the 1960s the growth rate actually sped up considerably.

In case you're wondering, no, I don't have children.

I find it difficult to stay positive and not just despair for the future, and for what my child may face in their lifetime

You're right to be concerned, but having done as much as you can, this is not a healthy response.

We can only make changes to our own life

Since contraception started to become far more readily available in the 1960s the growth rate actually sped up considerably.

I don't think it has anything to do with contraception. More likely that people are surviving to a much older age now, and surviving illnesses they never would have before.

I try not to overthink it tbh, I've too much going on right now in my own life.

Things I have changed in our family.

Walk or use public transport to go nearly everywhere (car only used once or twice a week)
Use bar soap instead of shower gel.
Use refillable shampoo & conditioner glass bottles.
Buy my cleaning products from Splosh.
Majorly limit my bleach use.
Wash clothes at 30 instead of 40 and towels /bedding at 60 instead of 90.
Turn thermostat down and wear another layer.
Use grape seed oil and face cloth to remove make up instead of wipes (my skin has never looked better & the make up comes off quicker)
Use cleaning cloths that can be washed instead of wipes / kitchen roll.

Things I need to work on;
Buying new things / clothes far too much.
Foreign holidays (I live in the west coast of Scotland and can't quite bring myself to sacrifice getting some sunshine once or twice a year)
Actually cut down on meat & dairy instead of paying lip service to it.

People keep saying that we have too many children, but in the N.Hemisphere, we are not having enough.
We need workers, but older people are deemed 'not economically active', so they are put out to pasture.
Why do you think the pension age keeps put back?
Either we have less old people and all the problems of old age or the government will start to cull the 'uneconomic to keep alive'.
It seems that they are starting to do that with PIP and UC.
Scary world for the old in the future.

At least the rate of growth between billions is decreasing, but just look at those figures. Since contraception started to become far more readily available in the 1960s the growth rate actually sped up considerably.

I'm not sure why you've linked contraception to human population in this way. The birth rate is declining in some places.
Far more babies are surviving infanthood, ditto mothers and childbirth. And people are living far longer. Nothing to do with contraception.