If you don’t have kids, do you care about climate change?

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I’m genuinely interested

YABU - I still care about climate change even though I don’t / can’t have children

YANBU - It doesn’t affect me - I don’t really care

I know the vote will polarise but also interested in comments. I can’t have children (long struggle, finally come to terms). I do try and act in the interests of the planet but frankly I am sick of the “think of your children and grandchildren” prevailing rationale - what does that mean for those of us who can’t have that?

YABU - I don't have kids, but I have nieces & nephews, godchildren and friends who have kids. Plus, you know, just because something might not effect me personally, I still care about it!

Besides which, I'm in my 30s - I suspect the effects of climate change will be having real bite in my lifetime therefore effecting me anyway!!

YABU. I'm childfree not sociopathic.

@EnterFunnyNameHere I totally get that. For the avoidance of doubt I’m not saying I DON’T care, but that the rhetoric maybe needs to change a little.

I also don’t think the people blocking the m25 are really helping matters. If anything, they are turning people off??

@grapewine

YABU. I'm childfree not sociopathic.

Yes exactly

I probably phrased this all wrong.

There just seems to be so much emphasis on ‘future generations’. Those of us who have less of a connection may need another heartstring.

I can't lie. I have kids but still don't give climate change a single thought or worry about it in the slightest

@Forgetaboutme well thanks for being so honest. Is it just because you’re focused on the present or because you don’t believe it or another reason?

YABU. This idea that childless/child free people are selfish monsters needs to stop.

I care deeply about the environment and the affects of climate change (which, by the way, are already being seen and felt around the globe).

I have empathy for the people affected now and am concerned about what the future may bring; and am actively engaged both professionally and privately to try and reduce environmental harm.

I have kids but later in in life. I do my bit. I haven't eaten meat since the age of 12, I don't personally drive (but DH does) I recycle and grow my own veg but I can't get that fussed about climate change. It has become hysterical of late.

The 80s were full of stories about disappearing ozone layer. I stopped using spray deodorant and hairspray because of CFCs. Now the ozone layer is healing. In 1957 The Thames was declared biologically dead - a stinking drain and unable to support life. In 2021 there are 125 different fish varieties and a thriving seal population. When I think back to my 70s childhood, the pavements were covered in ring pulls from cans, cigarette butts and dog poo. It's much better nowadays. It's not perfect but just small examples of how things can change.
A good many people are working hard behind the scenes to make a change. My trust is in them.

Climate change is one of my reasons for remaining childfree.

I find this whole thing really wonky.

The main causes of climate change are-

(Google)

'Causes for rising emissions
Burning coal, oil and gas produces carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide.
Cutting down forests (deforestation). ...
Increasing livestock farming. ...
Fertilisers containing nitrogen produce nitrous oxide emissions.
Fluorinated gases are emitted from equipment and products that use these gases.

I have noticed for a long time that here, the do this or kill the planet things. Seem usually to be things that realistically will mainly impact women esp ones with children.

Like-
Use washable nappies
Switch to washable/ reusable sanpro
Washing pushed to go cooler temperatures which imo is often less effective AND means using more powerful detergents (polluting) to get things clean/ not still smelly
Ditto really long washing/ dishwashing cycles
Lower powered electrical goods often less effective and more effort/ time to do job
Constant media society sniping about women driving school run
Etc

While. Men don't get targeted like this.
They drive around plenty.
At work it's the women who have bags on hand for lunchtime shopping/ buy lunch while men carry on as usual.
And so on.

And what impact will this have? Really?

Fuck all in the scheme of things.

What needs sorting is a global issue related to trade, capitalism/ market, big industry, destruction etc getting cheap materials.

Currently in news lots of yay! Brilliant. Reporting of mega rich men having the ultimate 'mine's better than yours' and blasting passenger vehicles into the upper atmosphere. Where iirc any pollution impact is multiplied due to atmosphere etc. Vast amounts of fuel etc essentially for men to play my toy car is faster like children. (Torn as Kirk going up great but... The things I just said).

What about bitcoin mining using as much electricity as a medium sized country?

But no. It's all. Women! Do this that.

No thanks.

@VodselForDinner

Climate change is one of my reasons for remaining childfree.

Same here.

I can't say I care too much though about whether the human race survives. It's done enough damage. I do care about other species though.

I have always felt that we are a disaster as a species.

Too successful, destructive, violent.

If we could just be gone bosh. Ok.

However-

Nothing to guarantee next dominant species won't be worse.

No bosh gone. Slowly increasing inhospitality. More and more extreme natural events. Will surely mean. More desperation to get somewhere less affected. More violence. Massive suffering. War, civil unrest. Gradual breakdown of everything from water supplies to food supplies to.. everything.

That prospect to me is awful. Is it 6 billion people? No thanks.

And even lots of women in UK using mooncups will do sod all. Ditto not having children.

It needs international co-operation on an unprecedented scale. Including industry, business, those who supply raw materials.

Can't see it happening.

In the end there are a few outcomes-

• If we end up making it so inhospitable we all die. So will most animals and prob most plants etc. New things evolve.

• More likely some survive in small pockets. Live as per millions years ago. Gradually increase. Whole thing starts again

• Sort it out quicksmart and all is well.

Plus the thing to bear in mind is. In the scheme of things we have been here for no time at all. Hit by big asteroid/ massive volcano eg Yellowstone goes boom. Other things. As per dinosaurs. Pretty much game over for all but the hardiest species and that's not us.

Earth will recover. Whatever happens it will recover. And we almost certainly won't last forever.

At some point sun starts dying and that's that for solar system.

I don’t have DC, I do care about climate change.

However, the small changes I can make will, as pp said, do fuck all. I’m sick of being criticised for certain things too, as I was on a similar thread.

The reason I’m up at this time is that I have to set out on my drive to work soon. I would love to work locally, but the jobs in my town are all minimum wage care/factory/retail. No decent pension, no progression and either zero hours or 12 hours x 4 days. I have an injury/disability that means I can’t do lifting/repetitive tasks; I can lift shopping bags from the car, for example, but not continually all day.
I’d love to live nearer to my work but I can’t afford it.

Some people also don’t get that in a lot of places, you need a car to do even basic things. I’m a member of a club, it’s 4 miles away. To get there by public transport is a 20 minute train ride, then a 15 minute walk. The last train however is at 7pm and the club doesn’t finish until 7pm, some nights it’s later. Buses (would mean getting 2 and taking ages) are also a lot less frequent in the evenings and it would probably take over an hour to get home. So I drive.

I don’t live in a particularly remote area but outside of large cities my situation is replicated over and over. Lots of towns have no direct connections to each other and require multiple buses/trains meaning it’s quicker and easier to drive.

At the point those with children stop driving their 'little darlings' everywhere, I'll give more consideration

Interesting thought possibly but when I read the title I assumed you would have kids and were wondering if people who didn't have kids, who some would describe as having no investment in the future were concerned about it. Which I thought was a weird and unfair question.

I completely agree with you. I do have children but I am fed up of this rhetoric. It's unfair to people who dont have children and We should all care about the future. I personally think you either do or you don't and it has nothing to do with your ability or choice to have children.

When I see oblique aerial views of London and how low it is, it makes me sad to think two thousands of years of history and culture underwater and lost. And that's just one city in one country.

And having to move the centre of government, finance, transport and hundreds of thousands of people out somewhere else, how would that even be done?

Caring about climate change is WHY I don’t have children. It’s going to be awful.

Also, having kids is the number one biggest contributor to climate change. Therefore, I opt out.

@VodselForDinner

Climate change is one of my reasons for remaining childfree.

This.

@grapewine

YABU. I'm childfree not sociopathic.

Seconded!

@NiceGerbil

I have noticed for a long time that here, the do this or kill the planet things. Seem usually to be things that realistically will mainly impact women esp ones with children.

Like-
Use washable nappies
Switch to washable/ reusable sanpro
Washing pushed to go cooler temperatures which imo is often less effective AND means using more powerful detergents (polluting) to get things clean/ not still smelly
Ditto really long washing/ dishwashing cycles
Lower powered electrical goods often less effective and more effort/ time to do job
Constant media society sniping about women driving school run
Etc

While. Men don't get targeted like this.
They drive around plenty.
At work it's the women who have bags on hand for lunchtime shopping/ buy lunch while men carry on as usual.
And so on.

And what impact will this have? Really?

Fuck all in the scheme of things.

What needs sorting is a global issue related to trade, capitalism/ market, big industry, destruction etc getting cheap materials.

Currently in news lots of yay! Brilliant. Reporting of mega rich men having the ultimate 'mine's better than yours' and blasting passenger vehicles into the upper atmosphere. Where iirc any pollution impact is multiplied due to atmosphere etc. Vast amounts of fuel etc essentially for men to play my toy car is faster like children. (Torn as Kirk going up great but... The things I just said).

What about bitcoin mining using as much electricity as a medium sized country?

But no. It's all. Women! Do this that.

No thanks.

I don't have enough bells to put on this.