AIBU to be really scared of Climate Change

[MagnificentDelurker]

Everything seems to have accelerated with heat dome in pacific causing 1 billion creatures dying to the floods in Germany, etc.
We are running out of time and stuck with politicians that will not lead.

www.motherjones.com/environment/2021/07/heres-what-climate-scientists-are-really-saying-about-this-catastrophic-summer/

Also, I think far too many people think it won't happen in their lifetime. That it's some far off future problem that somehow isn't real

We aren't really that great at the deferred gratification thing and are pretty damned selfish creatures for the most part. Go without so future generations will be ok? Not bloody likely. It won't change because we won't change until it is far too late and we are suffering unmistakably and then it will be WHY did governments not act? And like pp said, because folks would never have voted for them. 🤷‍♀️ So we'll destroy ourselves because as a species we are incapable of not putting our immediate needs and wants first.

I mean you only had to read almost any thread about travel during covid on here to see the absolute outrage and indignation if someone suggested a holiday abroad wasn't a necessity.

That's the tide we're fighting against. People are too wed to their luxuries. Their parents generation had it so they damn well want it too.

I'm not scared, but that is because I will be dead when it all properly kicks off.

Me too - sadly western liberal democracy isn't designed to encourage leaders who need to make really unpopular decisions

It’s not just western liberal democracy. Do you think the governments of China or India will ban air conditioning or flying or any of the other factors which contribute to climate change?

I know it sounds selfish , but any travel abroad will be priced out for normal people ; the cheap flights for a stag / hen weekend away will all be a thing of the past ditto the family holiday once a year.
The rich will still fly around in private jets and the poor will have to make do with a 'stay cation ' or an expensive trip to a place in the UK for a break anywhere.
Some might say this is a ' good thing ' maybe it is, but the resentment will build that only the rich will be able to still travel anywhere and still go on holiday.
More division won't help the climate change cause and any talk of ' in it all together' won't wash either because we won't be ( as we were not during the pandemic)
It'll be so hard on the tourist industry , where will all those people find work ?
Makes my head spin thinking about it all :(

@XenoBitch

I'm not scared, but that is because I will be dead when it all properly kicks off.

So, when exactly is it supposedly properly kicking off? I thought it was happening now. Or do you mean when it starts to affect people in the UK? When does that start happening?

I’m terrified and that is not a statement I make lightly. However, I would like to believe that there is still hope. The climate is going to change and the impact is going to be shattering, but it is still possible to limit and mitigate the effects.

Humanity is inherently selfish and there is far too much of the “why should I do x when so and so is still doing y” mentality but you can act, everybody can.

• Really assess where you can reduce your own consumption and encourage those around you to do the same. When you really think about want vs need, it’s staggering how much excess we consume. I’ve drawn a line and said we shouldn’t be doing wider family present exchanges anymore. We all just get a load of tat we don’t want. I’m working my way through all aspects of our life and getting strict on it. We have a stark choice - either have less or ultimately have nothing.
• Don’t have any (more) children. The biggest thing an individual can do is limit family size. Unlimited procreation may be a right but that certainly doesn’t make it responsible.
• Write letters and emails. I’m currently composing a letter to Bojo - he probably won’t read it but somebody will and if it changes one mind a little bit then that’s one step closer to change.
• Let your garden grow wild.
• Understand what you’re eating. If it’s from the UK and in season, it’s probably better than if it’s from Peru and not. Don’t buy into all of the radical vegan bollocks either. We do need to eat a lot less meat but well managed permanent pasture (which does need livestock) sequesters carbon. Australian or Argentinian beef is often produced by burning and clearing forests to create pasture. Certain interest groups don’t differentiate between the two systems because it suits their purposes to paint all farming as evil. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas but it only lasts 12 years in the atmosphere, unlike CO2, which lasts hundreds. If you’re going to drink a milk substitute, pick oat milk, some of the others have horrendous environmental impacts.
• Read Jonathan Dimblebys report on the future of food.

If you find ways to act, it will help you feel more empowered and less helpless. You can make a difference, even if it is small. And at least you will know that you tried.

Of course YANBU.

People are incredibly selfish : getting anyone on board to change their ways won't be easy at all.
I include myself in this too , I like my home comforts and holidays.
How can you persuade people to change?

I have been very worried and scared for years. I've changed jobs twice to work for organisations trying to solve it (5 years at solar developer and 6 years in public sector). Cut back flying massively (no long haul for 10 years), cut back on eating meat, mostly commuted by bike for 6 years, low emissions car - now looking to buy electric. Still all feels like tide is going the other way. I don't believe we are out of time yet though

It's a bit dated now but 'heat' by George Monbiot is a good read for setting out what we changes we need to make. I think Jonathan Porrits new book might do similar. It's not too late but it is 11th hour. Do what you can. Sign. Vote. March. Make good choices in your own lives and then talk about them.

Oh and yes I really am fucking bricking it about this. I find it very hard to deal with. Regularly cry.

Yanbu at all. I think it will be the mass migration that has already started that will absolutely destroy us. Entire continents of people on the move and still no one is doing anything. We’re fucked.

We need all the countries to be on board, all to implement the same measures.
Unfortunately, they won't.

I know what you are getting at @the80sweregreat but I see it slightly differently. I think our chance is for those countries that do get it to demonstrate that a green revolution is also possible without trashing the economy. But we do need to get there fast

What about North Korea ? Will anyone be brave enough to tell them what to do about climate change? I bet many people who live there don't know it's even ' a thing '
They could be doing all sorts over there, nobody really knows!

YANBU, I have to try not to think about it, which isn’t exactly helpful I know.
But I don’t fly, and I try to buy less stuff generally, recycle, buy second hand, reusable sanitary products, buy local food etc. But it all seems so futile.

I mean you only had to read almost any thread about travel during covid on here to see the absolute outrage and indignation if someone suggested a holiday abroad wasn't a necessity.

I agree with this. A UK holiday is treated like something akin to cruel and unusual punishment. I find the argument that we can’t do things like a flight carbon tax because it would price people out of foreign holidays utterly bizarre. Firstly, that’s literally the point, and secondly, no one cares about the people who currently could not afford a holiday anyway.

Climate change is happening, there is no doubting that.

However, it's just the phrase that we use nowadays. 30 years ago it was called global warming. It's just that we now decided to call it climate change.

Billions of creatures were dying back then too. Not only that, but we also had a knackered ozone layer.

Does anyone really think it’s salvageable? Almost all CO2 emissions come from industry and shipping. Remembering not to overfill the kettle or even an entire country not going on long haul flights is going to make bugger all difference.

@Andante57

Me too - sadly western liberal democracy isn't designed to encourage leaders who need to make really unpopular decisions

It’s not just western liberal democracy. Do you think the governments of China or India will ban air conditioning or flying or any of the other factors which contribute to climate change?

I agree that China and India need to cut but before we put the blame on other countries, first we need to make sure we calculate the contributions correctly. Both India and China’s population is bigger than a billion so is their contribution per capita more than US? Also a lot of goods produced in China is consumed elsewhere and finally how do we address the cumulative contribution of each country?

At the end the blame game will not be productive, what matters is making sure that human needs of each of us is taken care of.

Although I doubt there will be any political will to change and many countries will try to gain upper hand in the chaos.

No, it's not salvageable. Last week's report that the rainforests of Brazil are now emitting more carbon than they absorb is akin to telling the world their lung cancer is inoperable and terminal. Humanity will survive but in much, much reduced numbers - millions rather than billions. Ho hum.

My Son mentioned about the Brazilian rain forest : I had no idea as the news was all about covid.
Surely it's news like this that should be on ?
Why isn't it top billing ? Even the recent floods in Germany seemed to be a footnote to ' other news'.

It is terrifying, all we can do is look after our own sphere of influence, making it as green as possible. If we each do that then hopefully the rate of change can slow down. Take comfort in the fact that the planet will regenerate eventually, new animals will evolve. Also consider that we are one rock hurtling through space and one day our sun will implode and take the earth with it, regardless of human activity, that will be the outcome for the earth. If you are wearing gold reflect on the fact that gold was forged deep within the centre of a sun which exploded, and bits of which flew together, and became trapped within our earth, and that all things are cyclical. One day that gold may be mined on a different planet. We are here just to do the best we can, to find joy and happiness where we can, and to support, help and love and be positive for those around us xxxx

In Britain (I live here so I have observed) and other European countries have done much to reduce the problem.
Conventional cars now use far less fuel than they used to. My experience of cars; 1950s Ford Anglia 30-35mpg. modern Kia Ceed about 50mpg.

We have closed most of our coal fired power stations, and substitute oil then gas each change was a step in the right direction to reduce carbon use.
We now generate more electricity from wind than any other country.
For Europe to change to solar and more wind we need to develop an energy storage system (batteries on a huge scale).

Two big problems are population. When I was 18 the UK population was about 50Mm, now it is 67MM. World wide it is 3X as much as it was.

China is financing 600 coal fired power stations in China and around the world.

China and India are not helping at all and USA and Russia are not doing as much as we have.
It is in those countries that protests will have most effect, we are on the right way and progress is being made.

Actually I'm not too worried about China they are rapidly cleaning up their environmental act. Any my god when they decide to do something it damn well happens.