I agree with you IsisCam in that humans have had some negative impact on the planet.
But I think we must also appreciate that as a species we have also done some incredibly positive things too, and at the heart of that is the same ingenuity and creativity that will help us to solve our current problems. (I think that science, technology and business is what will take us forward, not government restrictions on our individual freedoms.). I find it very interesting that this more positive narrative has gone completely out of fashion.
Our lives today are quite unbelievably luxurious when compared to the entire history of humanity, and I’m not just talking about the Primark factor. For most of human history, life for most people was a non-stop godawful struggle just to survive, and I think we need to always remember that and remember how unbelievably lucky we are to live when we live. Hot water, heating and lighting at the touch of a button, the availability of food, transport, medical care, entertainment - all these things that make up modern life, that we totally take for granted. It’s nothing short of a miracle, and as a race we (and fossil fuels) have created this. It’s so strange that in the midst of this comparatively extraordinary wealth, ease and prosperity, which our ancestors wouldn’t even have been able to dream of, we are now panicking about the end of the planet and pouring guilt and shame upon ourselves about being nothing more than evil, greedy little CO2 footprints.
It’s just terribly complex. All this banging on about CO2 emissions and fossil fuels comes in my opinion from a place of great privilege, from people who already have comfy warm homes, computers and smartphones, fridges and washing machines and lights that switch on when you want them to. Globally more and more people have been lifted out of poverty in recent years (partly due to our consumer culture!) and there’s plenty of evidence that a country’s child mortality rates fall as CO2 emissions increase. Don’t we want that for everyone? People in poorer countries desperately need access to cheap, accessible, efficient sources of energy, and that means fossil fuels because you can bet that given the choice they won’t want to be fannying around with solar panelled light bulbs.
None of this means that on an individual level we shouldn’t all be doing what we can to reduce waste: this seems like a sensible, ethical way to live. But I’m not going to get cross with anyone else - especially people who don’t have as much as I do - for buying cheap clothes or stuff that makes their lives a little easier.
For what it’s worth I do understand why people get so defensive and angry about this topic. I think there is quite a bit of evidence of this on this thread, and it tends to appear as insults, put-downs or just refusing to continue the conversation - but I think this is based on fear, and the way this story is covered in the media does nothing but engender more fear. So it’s understandable. I used to feel this fear and anger defensiveness too, and I too was quick to use the “denier” label, but digging into the topic in more detail has helped me to understand much more about it and have a more nuanced perspective, which also helps me be less influenced by headlines and led more by my head than my heart.