To wonder when someone will stop us from destroying the planet before it is too late?

[Ohdoleavemealone]

Last night I watched a documentary about how the biggest threat to our oceans is the fishing industry. Worse than plastics (and actually 46% of the plastic is fishing nets), worse than killing sharks for fin soup or putting animals into captivity.
The bycatch from fishing means we are killing thousands of species for the few we want. We have depleted the oceans resources and killed the seabeds with the harsh methods used.
Of course this is on top of our piles of rubbish, fuel polution etc.
We have been destroying our planet for years but have really accelerated in the last 50 years as corporate companies have no moral compass and the rest of us are just sheep. We believe that we need all the consumer driven shit they tell us and we fund the industries killing our planet.
So how does it stop? Is it too late? Do we just accept it or do we try and fight for it? Are we little people enough?

Full disclosure: I do not do enough on a small level to do my bit but I am looking for ways I can.

I know of this documentary. If you swap the word 'sea' for 'cow', you will find another equally informative documentary.
I wish the resolution was as simple as recycling our plastics, reducing the time we spend in the shower and fixing leaky taps, but unfortunately, that is merely pissing in the wind.
There are too many human beings metaphorically putting their fingers in their ears and shouting la la la la la. As a species, we seem to thrive on waiting until it's too late to do anything.
Now is the time!
With no changes made, in just 10 years time, we wont be able to ignore this issue any longer, but I fear it will be too late to make a difference by then. We are wiping out species of fish at an astronomical rate, including the blue fin tuna that's been mentioned.
We are destroying the amazon rainforest at a rate most people would be astonished by. In less than 25 years, that will probably be gone!
Most of the deforestation in the Amazon is because of logging and agriculture, the demand for meat is so high!
If people can reduce their consumption of fish and meat as much as possible, this would have an enormous impact on the environment!

Is that enough for you to be satisfied and fulfilled in life? I want to visit Japan. I want to eat mangos, and beef, and fish, and aubergines. I want to see the Mosi-oa-Tunya. I want to have children. As much as I know those things are detrimental to the environment, I don't think I can be satisfied in a life where I am a small-holder, never leaving my small town, never experiencing other cultures... Fair play to those of you who can sacrifice all those things, but I am not alone in finding the idea of that life entirely miserable. Fear of the future isn't enough for me to let go of joy in the present

Agree
Im happy with my life, i value convenience and fun. Ive been through enough shit and sacrifice in my life before i was 20 to shun fun and ease now.
I have no desire to make everyday life harder, more tedious, going to 10 diff shops to find everyday stuff or using bar soap on my skin only to have it go all eczema flare up or spending my days rinsing rubbish, picking it apart, sorting it, saving it up for a full drop off load

We about to move, sure i could spend 6 months sorting, selling and donating or i can go and hire a huge skip bin and just fuck off all the shit we dont want

We plan on putting 1000s of km on our diesel 4x4 driving aus cos we want to

Be a cold day in hell before dp gave up meat and seafood/fishing, same for me with meat and dairy, why give up foods we enjoy

We cant wait to go gold fossicking in Qld and test out our sluice and detectors properly

I stopped eating meat and fish 🤷‍♀️ you could do the same

@Ineedcoffee2021 me, me, me...

The future has never been brighter for humanity, poverty levels have never, ever been lower and more children have survived infancy and lived to adulthood than ever before.

The thing with collapse is things get steadily better and better until it suddenly all comes crashing down.

@Ineedcoffee2021 the rest of us have been through plenty of shit too and wrecking the environment isn’t going to change that, in fact it’s going to put a whole lot more people through shit like flooding, wildfires and becoming climate refugees. The ‘why’ is caring about something other than your own fun... which is something that adults are supposed to do. Your post sounds like it was written by a teenager.
Also I have eczema too. Bar soap is better for eczema than liquid soap or shower gel because it doesn’t contain SLS.

Individually doing your bit is utterly pointless, you'll change nothing.
Buying your groceries and using a paper bag will do the sum total of fuck all.

Big companies, industries , governments need to make the changes.

[quote DdraigGoch]@Ineedcoffee2021 me, me, me...[/quote]
yep
least im honest
i value the ease and joy i have in life now, so far removed from the abuse, neglect and homelessness when younger. I have no desire for hard or doom and gloom in every thought

I stopped eating meat and fish 🤷‍♀️ you could do the same
Meat nah, fish, dont eat, im allergic but no way id tell dp he has to stop cos 'environment'
Plus seafood is one of the few healthy things dd likes and chooses to eat and guess what comes first to me

OP you have your answer here really. Take @Ineedcoffee2021 's answer and multiply that by the millions of equally selfish people on the planet who just wouldn't listen to/stick to any kind of intervention by the government or whatever kind of union you could possibly get together for this. We would never have enough resources to effectively punish people who saw their need for things as more important than the planets so there really isn't an awful lot that can be done.

Humans are selfish, and always will be. At an individual level we will never be able to do enough to actually "save" the planet.

@Tossblanket

Individually doing your bit is utterly pointless, you'll change nothing. Buying your groceries and using a paper bag will do the sum total of fuck all.

Big companies, industries , governments need to make the changes.

It’s not pointless. It may not be enough on our own but I think it’s a cop out to say there’s no point making changes as an individual.

@Tossblanket

Individually doing your bit is utterly pointless, you'll change nothing. Buying your groceries and using a paper bag will do the sum total of fuck all.

Big companies, industries , governments need to make the changes.

I agree that there needs to be stronger government action (decarbonising the energy supply, investing in green measures for homes, carbon pricing, banning unnecessary single use plastic etc) but I do think there is a role to play for the individual. Just look at how many vegan products are available nowadays - 10 years ago it was basically just Quorn and Linda McCartney and 10 years before that getting soya milk from a specialist shop! That has happened as a response to an increase in consumer demand, so there is certainly scope for consumers to vote with their wallets and buy the more eco stuff. A lot of people boycott palm oil and now you see a lot of products being labelled palm oil free etc.

@Ineedcoffee2021 maybe you should watch the documentary the OP mentions (Seaspiracy), it turns out that so much seafood is the product of slavery I know it’s difficult with fussy kids but I couldn’t have that on my conscience.

Humans are naturally selfish. I think social media has a lot to answer for, mcbangs yes great idea let's just but an excessive amount of food and stuff your face with excessive amounts of food, way too much for one person,whilst talking about shite and then the amount of people that practically buy a new wardrobe every season and do fast fashion hauls. Then the amount of lazy people that go in their car for the school run is a joke when most of them only live a short walk away. And go green with the grimways dont get me started

Tossblanket, completely agree with you. People are lulling themselves into a totally false sense of security of believing they are making any impact at all by putting their recycling in a separate receptacle, buying environmentally friendly produce or taking their own bags to the supermarket!!
This is so much bigger than that.
As I said before, the biggest impact individuals can make is to reduce their levels of consumption, dont eat meat or fish, and if you cant manage that, at least drastically cut down as much as you can. This is by no means the whole answer, but as far as making an positive impact on the planet, it is the fastest and most effective.
As for Ineedcoffee2021, fish is not really a healthy food anymore due to the crap in the ocean so feed it to your daughter if you choose to, but dont bullshit yourself that you're feeding her healthy food.

Oh yeah that’s a good point, the amount of microplastics and PCBs in fish now is

@safariboot

The future has never been brighter for humanity, poverty levels have never, ever been lower and more children have survived infancy and lived to adulthood than ever before.

The thing with collapse is things get steadily better and better until it suddenly all comes crashing down.

Ok doomer.

You lot were saying this in the 70s and it wasn’t true then and it isn’t true now.

And all the while, global poverty saw unprecedented drops. Child mortality rates have dropped hugely in much of the world, life has never been better for so many.

Those are real achievements

It is regrettable that people still speak of "the future for our grandchildren" What part of "twelve years to tipping point" escapes their comprehension?

It wouldn't matter much if a single species left the planet, but it is different that, before extinction, that single species is bringing/has already brought the destruction of all balanced, functioning systems of biodiversity and is rapidly exterminating almost all of those other, miraculous, perfect species.

Until the human greenfly population explosion, the multitudes of different creatures were living in wonderful biodiverse balance, each taking it's place to sustain every other. Every one of them had been evolved to be beautiful, amazing and absolutely perfect.

It continues, a tiny tweak here and there, to ensure harmony. But just to have forms of life getting to this point took billions of years.

The people saying "ha ha, I don't care" are, by analogy, exploding mini-nuclear bombs instead of fireworks, just for "a bit of fun". Radioactivity is invisible, and they choose not to look at the proof it exists. Therefore, right up to the day they themselves fall down dying of radiation sickness, they will continue exploding their 'fireworks', with increasing belligerence and determination.
They and their uni-think friends will reassure one another their 'fun' cannot possibly hurt them, personally. If anyone irritates them by protesting about their selection of 'fireworks', they will angrily attack, calling the evidence 'fake', the messengers 'liars', and the surrounding coffins 'sham'.

Contraception / one child policy?

Oh no. We couldn’t do that as our economy rests on the workers paying the pensions of the elderly - directly not through any “ investment pot “ ... just for a start.

So maybe pandemics are going to answer this for us and a “ Logan’s run “ scenario avoided .....

Watched the Chris packham programme, think it was called 7.7 billion last night.
Shocked to hear david Attenborough say the world population was only 2 billion when he was young. That’s a huge increase and fuels my pessimism that things will ever really improve.

@CorianderBee

I stopped eating meat and fish 🤷‍♀️ you could do the same

Could, but don't care to.

It seems like a bit of a philosophical problem because to some extent the purpose of life is to enjoy it as much as you can - but by doing that you know you’re not always living sustainably. Do I want to have children if I know they might have to get by on less than I have - less space, less nutritious food, less opportunity to travel? A western life is still likely to still be a good life by comparison to many others but we’re so much more conscious of the impacts now. If the planet’s population is set to almost double again in the next 50 or so years, that’s an enormous change.

The only solution is to have fewer children. Stop using and buying disposable diapers, plastic toys etc. Try to reuse whatever you can. People are too selfish to do any of the above so we can't save the planet.

But how will the South American economy work if no one can rear and sell cattle - what do you suggest the people do to earn a living. All the fishermen who mustn't catch fish, all the airline staff now we can't fly.

It's made to be selfish people not caring when it's ordinary people scraping a living.
Chinese factory workers making clothing and household tat and laptops and phones for us. Let's stop all that - what then for all those employees.
The answer isn't to ban meat eating, fish eating, mining of rare metals the answer has to be a new economy where people make a living doing something else.

I think the answer is to do energy and plastic and food differently, rather than stop enjoying life.

Requiring action by governments, and funded research, and new laws, not by individuals.

Stop portraying "change the environment" as a few environmental nuts wanting us all as individuals to deprive ourselves of anything happiness inducing whatsover, and see it more a technological and political challenge to world leaders to sort it out.

All the fishermen who mustn't catch fish no, the companies which fish doing so without in the process destroying vast amounts of ocean life unnecessarily