To think we’ve already f****d it up when it comes to the environment.

[MynameisWa]

Am I being unreasonable in thinking we’ve already passed the point of no return when it comes to the environment and that it’s just no one in power or in the know wants to be the one to admit it?

I think we're at the last chance saloon, unfortunately COP 26 has been a bloody joke!!
We need action now, and not promises for 10 or 20 years time.
As Greta and the royals said, its all blah blah blah..

Squeezita

I read that the planet will survive, it’s just humans that will disappear off the face of the earth.

Good riddance.

This is the most hateful and terrible thing I have ever read

Really??!!

So I calculated my carbon footprint and it’s about two thirds the U.K. average. So I don’t drive a lot, don’t fly, am vegetarian which I guess helps.

But I do drive a bit and then the other stuff which increases my footprint is heating and then buying clothes, using a mobile phone, electrical equipment.

I don’t understand how I can get to zero without stopping buying clothes, replacing a Tv or whatever when it needs to be replaced. I do try, I’m not one for cheap fashion. My tv is 15 years old, I have dresses which are 25 years old which I still wear. But yes I do buy stuff and can’t imagine I’ll ever be knitting my own knickers. So how do I get to zero.

@bebanjo You’re right they won’t be providing company vehicles if the economics don’t stack up. People who need care and live rurally will either have to pay a fortune to cover the staff travel, or won’t be able to access care services.

CovidCorvid

So I calculated my carbon footprint and it’s about two thirds the U.K. average. So I don’t drive a lot, don’t fly, am vegetarian which I guess helps.

Sounds like you are doing loads already. Buying reconditioned electric goods when you need them could be an option. We buy second hand - only once had to return.

Cut down on dairy?

I think zero is pretty impossible without really giving up all mod cons.

We need to address plastic use next. We were doing well but have moved and there isn’t a local zero waste shop so that’s the next project for us. When we move into our own house we plan to grow our own as much as possible and get solar panels and ground source heat if possible. Still lots for us to work on but it feels good to try.

Yes I have plant milk but normal cheese. Maybe secondhand goods could be an option.

I read that the planet will survive, it’s just humans that will disappear off the face of the earth.

Sadly we're taking others with us. So many endangered species - in no small part because of human encroachment on their habitat and destruction of their food sources.

We need to encourage smaller families. Education around and access to birth control would help us to better live in harmony with wildlife, marine life, and nature.

Re cars. Beeching was an idiot wasn't he.

We need to massively improve public transport across the UK.

Can anyone answer me this..
Re. electric cars, where does the electricity come from? - unless its from a renewable source surely it counteracts the whole idea??

The idea is that the electricity will come from green sources

The uk has made great changes to how we generate electricity so it is much cleaner than ten years ago, and getting better all the time

Further , it is possible to manage ev charging to actually help that transistion to green electricity

@Hollyhead

I don’t know why everyone is suddenly handwringing now as though it’s a new thing, my Blue Peter Green Book outlines it all quite clearly in 1991, we’ve had loads of time.

I had that book too. Feel like no-one else read it, tbh.

bordermidgebite I've been reading a lot about 'greenwashing', and although the government promised an investigation into tightening up the rules (Sept 2021) i.e the prevalence to purchase cheap 'green' certification to offset other sources.. it hasnt been done yet..
I cant see the local charge points in my council car park being 100% renewable somehow..

Jellykat I agree about greenwashing being a big problem. One particular annoyance of mine is "biodegradable" things that just aren't. Like nappies or wipes. A "biodegradable" nappy chucked into anaerobic conditions in landfill isn't going to break down any more than a normal nappy, yet people are using them and spending a lot of money on them thinking they're being eco friendly.

There are some things they could just ban right now without any backlash e.g. foil wrapping paper, plastic packaging around multipacks of tins, plastic on fruit and veg. I don't understand why they don't do this today.

However, I really think if they're going to have any effect, the government(s) are really going to have to go hard-line and actually ration and ban and legislate things rather than just suggesting stuff or promising to do stuff by 2050. Ration air miles and red meat, increase prices of flights and petrol and offer incentives for alternatives. But they won't, because many people wouldn't like it and they only care about votes.

@Bringonthepjs

Squeezita

I read that the planet will survive, it’s just humans that will disappear off the face of the earth.

Good riddance.

This is the most hateful and terrible thing I have ever read

Really??!!

If you feel it is right to say good riddance to all the people of the earth I doubt your real humanity. Kind of the ultimate of man's inhumanity to man.

Surely we can do better than wishing ourselves extinct.
'

The local charge points will be 100% renewable once the grid is fully green

You currently have some control over how green your charging is

If you charge at home on a charger connected to. Smart control system you can be charging when there is an excess of wind ... more likely overnight when homes and industry are shut for the night

But yes green washing is a huge problem

Apparently, hydrogen is the future, but needs an entire new network/infrastructure of pipework as the existing gas pipelines aren't suitable (something to do with size of gas molecules). So how much emissions/pollution will be caused with all the thousands of road diggers/trucks etc needed to install new pipework throughout the country, digging up thousands of miles of roads/pavements/driveways, disposing of the soil dug up, etc?

@DdraigGoch Personal car ownership will need to become a thing of the past.

In rural areas, personal car ownership is more environmentally friendly than massively increasing the number of buses/taxis etc which is the alternative.

In areas with strong public transport, car ownership is much lower

Rather than ban things , provide good alternatives

@bordermidgebite

In areas with strong public transport, car ownership is much lower

Rather than ban things , provide good alternatives

I fully agree. That's got to be the first step before making life harder/more expensive for car owners.

In our village (7,000 inhabitants, not a tiny hillside hamlet), we lost our village bus service back in 2005 (Under Labour local authority). It went through the village centre so was ideal for school children, commuters, OAPS to go shopping or the hospital, etc. Firstly, they reduced it from hourly to just twice daily (first 10am so useless for schools/commuters), then they removed the weekend service completely, and finally removed it fully citing "lack of use" - well hardly surprising when it was useless for schools/workers!

We now have to walk/get a lift to the by-pass for an hourly service to small town B, where you have to change at the bus station to get a bus to big town A. So school children have to leave the house around 7.30, to get to school in time for 8.50 registration. Oh, and the bus passes cost hundreds per year, so parents of 2 or more children just drive them instead as it's much cheaper.

People living in big towns and cities with good public transport need to do a little research to understand how bad it is in smaller towns and more rural areas before they spout the "use public transport" nonsense.

@CovidCorvid

So I calculated my carbon footprint and it’s about two thirds the U.K. average. So I don’t drive a lot, don’t fly, am vegetarian which I guess helps.

But I do drive a bit and then the other stuff which increases my footprint is heating and then buying clothes, using a mobile phone, electrical equipment.

I don’t understand how I can get to zero without stopping buying clothes, replacing a Tv or whatever when it needs to be replaced. I do try, I’m not one for cheap fashion. My tv is 15 years old, I have dresses which are 25 years old which I still wear. But yes I do buy stuff and can’t imagine I’ll ever be knitting my own knickers. So how do I get to zero.

And a volcano erupts somewhere and all our efforts go up in smoke.

Volcano might cool things off

Get a load of this from bbc today. So the onus is on the top 1% to check themselves,. I’m !

I actually don’t know what to think about this. If this isn’t a case for some deep reflection into what it is we value and how wealth gets distributed, I don’t know what is.

news.sky.com/story/wealthiest-1-polluter-elite-are-driving-global-carbon-emissions-says-new-report-12274350

De Caprio can just piss off with his preaching.

YANBU sadly. It's totally fucked. And we're looking to capitalism to fix it, which it can't.