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?

It is that bad. Why are the world’s governments doing next to nothing is the bit I don’t understand.

@ChainJane
Exactly! Finally someone with reason on here.

We must all do whatever we can, on a daily basis. Come on, everyone, do your best!

[quote PlanDeRaccordement]@lannistunut
Speak for yourself. I answered a question clearly and you deliberately misunderstood everything I listed by saying it has nothing to do with climate change, when everything I listed is powered through the use of fossil fuels....electricity, combustion engines to carry bins of rubbish away, plastic to use in hospitals, energy plants to power water treatment systems, water pumps and your taps and flushing toilets. All this is possible because of fossil fuels the #1 enemy to climate change zealots.....how disingenuous of you to suggest they have nothing to do with it when they depend on fossil fuels.[/quote]

You really have lost me, but yes, I am sure you are quite right.

You are all panicking over a completely natural phenomenon and are brainwashed into thinking humans have caused climate change. We haven’t. We’ve only barely nudged it. Not enough to kill us or all life as the doomsayers and fear mongers would have you believe.

wrong

wrong

wrong

wrong

wrong

you are the one who has been brainwshed.

There is natural climate change and their is climate change caused by humans

What is of concern is the climate change that is being caused by humans, which hasn't "nudged" the natural swings and roundabouts, but whacked them way out of kilter.

And yes, by plenty enough to kill us and other life, and has in fact killed much other life already, and will kill more

@Carboholic
That chart is a common piece of SM propaganda that I’ve seen many times before. It saddens me that you are taking a cartoon on a random activist site as serious science.

Look at Greece. Burning in front of our eyes 😱

In terms of China, aren’t a lot of their fossil fuels burned producing things which we in the West import and purchase?

Buy less, use less - it’s the key to a lot of it, but also at odds with economic health.

And yes very telling people won’t accept not flying even in a pandemic. People just don’t consider climate change at all and covid has made it worse. People churning through lateral flow tests every day, wearing disposable masks and gloves - literally hardly anyone gives a fuck.

Yes it's bad.

The problem (apart from big businesses lobbying governments to dissuade them from carrying out measures which are essential for our survival but which would hit profits in the short and medium term) is that are brains haven't evolved to deal with problems like the climate emergency.

We have evolved to deal with immediate threats which are clearly identifiable. So, if ancient humans were out hunting or gathering and a predatory animal or member of an enemy tribe suddenly appeared in front of them, then the threat was visible and immediate. Early man would have the choice of fight, flight or freeze.

Society has changed hugely. Technology has advanced. But our brains have changed very little.

Climate change is a bigger threat to us and to the planet than anything we've ever seen. But the problem, with its multiple causes and effects, seems overwhelmingly complex. And for decades, the changes seemed to be taking place very slowly and the tipping point seemed very distant. We're pretty rubbish at dealing with such big timescales.

I’ve been panicking on and off since the 1970s, which was when we should have started taking it seriously if we wanted to do anything about it with any reasonable hope of success. This is not something that’s only just come to people’s attention, it’s something that governments, organisations and individuals have been ignoring for decades in the hope that it will magically go away.

It's bad, very bad, but human beings are selfish and we won't be able to stop it. I feel so sad for my children but just try to live in the present. We do our best to live sustainably but I know it's not enough. Amazes me how many people don't seem to have any concept of what's coming but in some ways that's probably the best way to be.

I feel the same OP.
That disaster movie The Day After Tomorrow was just on the TV and as we were watching it DH and I spoke about how when it came out years ago now it felt so unlikely, now it doesn't at all. I had to turn it off.

What ChainJane said. 'Nah, it'll be fine 🙂

@HasaDigaEebowai

If you are going to carbon offset by paying someone to plant trees please use the woodland trust and not one of the many organisations that plant a 2cm tree oversea which promptly dies or diverts much needed water resource.

Thanks for the tip. I didn’t know this.

One thing is true about climate change - there is no point talking to deniers about it. They just have to be ignored, while the majority find some way to make progress.

Climate denial is like covid denial, it is all the same - they ignore science. Ignore the deniers, let them talk to themselves, just get on and do something positive about the issue.

Politics never gets 100% agreement, it only takes a majority to get things done.

I'm terrified about the future and especially the future of my little boy (19m). I just started sertraline because the anxiety was too much. We do what we can as a family - we are vegan, cycle a lot (though still have 2 non electric cars), dont go on international holidays (but do fly to visit family in the UK - train unaffordable), have started using refill products where possible and/or using bar/solid products, email MPs/MSPs/sign petitions, grow some of our own food, and we most likely will only have 1 child, having previously wanted 2 or 3. Long term we are planning to move so that we can avoid flying and we can use the train more, as well as climate proof our house and future a little more.

@CarlottaValdez

The knowledge that we all die, whatever happens

This is what I cling to - in the scheme of things if I die early from climate change well ok. I nearly died of sepsis last year so I guess it’s not that different really. I sometimes wish I hadn’t had a child though. He brings me so much joy but I’m scared for his future.

In terms of children, I’m in my 30s and if I die tomorrow I still think it would have been worth being alive. If it is to be the case that our children’s life expectancy is short because of climate change (and I desperately hope not), it doesn’t mean it would be better for them not to have existed at all. I totally get where you’re coming from because I’m scared for my children too but none of us know how long our lives will be and I just want to give my kids the best for whatever time they do have. That time is worth having even if it’s not for as long as we hope.

@54321nought
Read this article and then tell me it’s not natural...
news.climate.columbia.edu/2014/07/11/what-geology-has-to-say-about-global-warming/

@adeleh there’s an app called Klima where you pay a direct debit to invest in tree planting or solar power and stuff to offset your personal carbon footprint. I pay about £5 a month.

@lannistunut

One thing is true about climate change - there is no point talking to deniers about it. They just have to be ignored, while the majority find some way to make progress.

Climate denial is like covid denial, it is all the same - they ignore science. Ignore the deniers, let them talk to themselves, just get on and do something positive about the issue.

Politics never gets 100% agreement, it only takes a majority to get things done.

Funny, that you think we are science deniers when I’m posting articles published by Columbia University Geology Department and your side is posting cartoons they found on a black lives matter site. Hmmmm.

Oh, I’m Covid vaccinated by the way. Not a science denier here.

Panic achieves nothing

I think the human race will adapt as it occurs, rather than doing enough beforehand to limit it.

Nothing wrong with cutting down your own consumption, nor with making attempts to vote in ways you believe might help.

Having said that, a friend once told me she became very anxious about this after her daughter was born. She went to her GP, who told her she had the choice of entering into politics, or avoiding watching the news too much or reading the papers. Guess nowadays, she’d also have been told to avoid social media with news.

I think there’s an extent to which we are powerless in the face of much of what is happening. We can change our own actions, but not those of other people. Anyway, whatever you do or don’t do, don’t buy a house that’s less than a few metres above sea-level.

[quote PlanDeRaccordement]@54321nought
Read this article and then tell me it’s not natural...
news.climate.columbia.edu/2014/07/11/what-geology-has-to-say-about-global-warming/[/quote]
I don't need to thank you, I have been studying this for 30 years. There is natural change. What is happening now is way outside of that.

I ike many feel reluctant to change our personal lifestyles when you see India, China and Russia do what suits them- we’re fucked anyway

The average Brit has three or four times the carbon footprint of the average Chinese person. That's without considering the fact that China makes half our stuff, which is counted as their footprint when it's kind of half ours. Stop passing the buck.

@Cam77

I ike many feel reluctant to change our personal lifestyles when you see India, China and Russia do what suits them- we’re fucked anyway

The average Brit has three or four times the carbon footprint of the average Chinese person. That's without considering the fact that China makes half our stuff, which is counted as their footprint when it's kind of half ours. Stop passing the buck.

Who’s passing the buck- by 2035 China aims to Open near on 200 more airports than they currently have!