If it’s that bad, why aren’t we panicking more??

[Nightgardenisodd]

Climate change.
I keep reading posts about it and it’s scaring the crap out of me for my DD’s future.
How bad is it? Anyone have any positivity about it?

We don't need EV, we need less cars of all types, more walking more local businesses, shops, more emphasis on health, so cycling walking to work.

Well, I agree with all that. At least one poster up thread proposed turning shops into homes - I can see the rationale but personally I think it’s short-sighted. No idea how to solve the housing crisis though, other than drastically reducing immigration (not something I’d like to see happen).

This T-shirt is shameful!

It's a t-shirt from New Look saying "Be Kind to our world, there is no planet b".

Buying a fast fashion t-shirt is not being kind to our world

and what about those of use who need our cars for our jobs? I work in community nursing covering a large rural area and peoples needs for community nursing is only increasing

I think there should be exceptions for key transport (and the above scenario would obviously qualify).

Well cars, long haul flights and meat eating are all MASSIVELY trumped by having kids

So IIIIIIIII - did you trump it by having kids ?

We all like to think we're consuming less but obviously since we're on Mumsnet we're not 🤷‍♀️

I do everything I can but I need my car and there isn’t an alternative for me currently, as I say I live rurally, that won’t be changing. I work in community nursing covering a large rural area, that is not going to change either. I can’t use public transport as it is unreliable and wouldn’t take me half the places I need to be to visit the amount of patients I need to see in a day. The NHS will not provide pool cars for every member of staff, we currently only have 1 for a team of 7 and it’s whoever is going the furthest gets it for that day and that won’t get you home either as it has to be returned to nhs property

[quote AlaskaThunderfuckHiiiiiiiii]@jasjas1973 and what about those of use who need our cars for our jobs? I work in community nursing covering a large rural area and peoples needs for community nursing is only increasing[/quote]
Of course, i was talking about their use for example running the kids to school thats 1 mile away, not a community adult support worker.

My point is that the issue isn't fossil fuels, its the amount of cars on the roads, replacing 30m fossil powered cars with 30m EV's isn't the answer and will create more issues than it solves.

@toolazytothinkofausername according to the New Look website, “This piece is part of New Look Kind: styles that are responsibly sourced and friendlier to the planet.”

I’d like to know exactly what they mean by that.

@jasjas1973 where I live is no where near school, doctors shops etc and I do drop offs on my way to work. Actually when I really dig to the bottom of it any car journeys are mainly for work, yes on weekends we will use the car to take the children out for the day but outside of my job the car is hardly used

I think it might have been on R4s Money Box live but it was suggested that moving your pension to a Ethical Sustainable fund provided more carbon saving than stopping flying and giving up your car.

As this forces companies to change their behaviors... share price being king.

@LaurieFairyCake well yes, if no one had kids ever again and the human population died out, that would certainly solve the problem in one fell swoop!

@HasaDigaEebowai yes but not in the timescales we are talking, plus it doesn’t solve the problem for those of us with no driveway

I understand the issues currently but the infrastructure to help deal with this can be created fairly quickly. If those who DO have driveways and garages switch then it will make a massive difference. The current low tax rate for company EVs is helping.

@Elephantsparade

Does anyone know if there are things being prepared for mitigation. Like developing crops that can grow in harsher climates or town planning that takes account of flooding, or upgrading sewer systems to cope with flash floods, or have to deal with mass migration from uninhabitable areas.

In Britain? Land of laissez-faire, neoliberalism, the place that praises brave and free capital?

www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-504539/Coastal-areas-abandoned-flood-defences-cut-back.html

A phrase I heard round about either the 2014 or 2016 floods was “abandoned by default”, applied to homes, land and people living in these areas who can’t afford anything area. I can’t find it immediately. It chilled me to the bone.

Its tragic because people will never change. Nobody will have less children or make less money until the earth is burning around them.

[quote AlaskaThunderfuckHiiiiiiiii]@jasjas1973 where I live is no where near school, doctors shops etc and I do drop offs on my way to work. Actually when I really dig to the bottom of it any car journeys are mainly for work, yes on weekends we will use the car to take the children out for the day but outside of my job the car is hardly used[/quote]
My belief is EV is a stop gap until we get Hydrogen vehicles

But ultimately, we need less cars on the roads, i also live rurally, its bloody hard not having a car.

My point is that the issue isn't fossil fuels, its the amount of cars on the roads

Its both. But the car issue is much diminished if they’re evs

I think it might have been on R4s Money Box live but it was suggested that moving your pension to a Ethical Sustainable fund provided more carbon saving than stopping flying and giving up your car.

“I think it might”…”suggested”…

Also, that sounds like the same kind of rationale as rich people who fly in private jets and pay for X amount of trees to be planted in Africa to offset. Happy to be proven wrong but I’m sceptical.

@HasaDigaEebowai

My point is that the issue isn't fossil fuels, its the amount of cars on the roads

Its both. But the car issue is much diminished if they’re evs

Thats debatable and how the region they are in produces electricity, also the recycling of the batteries.

Plus as i said, the infrastructure, so how big would a m/way service station have to be to accomodate all those EV vehicles needing to be charged and cabling required to handle the current needed?

@jasjas1973 I know and public transport has been dire for as long as I remember. The village I grew up in had one bus that went to either the nearest city of the nearest town, If I wanted to go anywhere else I had to change buses etc it was awful! Thus why I learned to drive. The village I live in now isn’t far from where I grew up and the buses are far better and more regular but still only run to certain places albeit better options than I had

@jasjas1973 I had also wondered this about services etc, and what about if there is a big accident on the motorway or the hours long traffic jams? There is going to be a lot of flat cars needing towed.

My grandad had a leaf and went hill walking maybe November time one day, when he came back the car only had enough charge to get him home, no heating or anything. He switched back to petrol

I read the reason cities started was due to scarce water supplies. Perhaps people will have to densely pack into smaller areas so there is less travelling about apart for food production.

Thats debatable and how the region they are in produces electricity, also the recycling of the batteries.

It isn’t debatable, the work to measure the effect has been done. Read “there is no planet B” Evs are far better in climate change terms

Another major problem is that people have become so conditioned into believing that they need to buy things to solve problems that they probably can't get their heads around a situation that they can't buy themselves out of...

@WallaceinAnderland

It will make no difference. There is nothing individuals can do to stop the inevitable. It needs massive change from all governments across the globe. They won't do it because a) it costs too much, b) they will all be dead by the time it's a problem and c) they don't care about future generations, just what can keep them comfortable in their lifetime.

That's all governments in all countries. They have only ever cared about themselves and that won't change. It has always been thus. We're not panicking because there's nothing we can do about it.

Pragmatic and true. Lots of great ideas on this thread, but within a decade, there won't be enough food (or, more precisely, affordable food - those with money and influence will still eat) to sustain the global population.

No point in panicking, blaming, tinkering - but also we should not abandon hope or good practices - whatever level of humanity that survives will thank us for any ideas we can come up with now.

Let’s hope they all buy solar panels, evs, air source/ground source heat pumps, extra insulation and many many trees..

There is no point panicking about it (at least that is what I keep telling myself!). The best thing to do is adjust your lifestyle to be as eco friendly as possible.
We just have to hope that we hit our carbon targets and failing that, they start geoengineering as a short term solution until we can bring our carbon emissions under control.