Do you care about climate change?

[julieca]

Not just in an abstract way. But would you be prepared to accept radical changes to your lifestyle to reduce climate change?
Or do you think continuing to live your life the way you want is more important?

YABU - No I don't and I want to continue living life as I want
YANBU - Yes I do and would accept major changes to my life

@WanderingFruitWonderer

Neither the poll findings nor the narrative in the comments really surprise me. All the people saying 'others are worse', 'I'll do it when the rich do it', 'there's no point if we're all going to die anyway' all point to one thing: "I am not interested in playing my part".

The people (not) saying this fall into two camps: those who simply don't give a shit, and those who assuage their consciences with tokenism. You reference George Monbiot upthread. I normally find him sanctimonious, but he has an expression for this - 'micro consumerist bollocks' or MCB. MCB is concentrating on plastic cotton buds, which make no difference to climate change, and ignoring the big picture.

The three biggest contributors to climate change for which we are directly or indirectly responsible and have any agency over are warming ourselves, feeding ourselves, and moving ourselves around. What you wear is the fourth for most people.

Recycling your yoghurt pots and buying refill shampoo is an issue for waste management and land contamination but makes no difference to climate change and just isn't good enough if you also live in a poorly insulated home with a gas boiler and aren't prepared to change that, never mind actually be able to. It's pissing in the wind.

No. I didn't have children, I'm vegan and I don't commute. I feel I've done more than my bit and I'm not willing to make any other changes.

@ASinisterPlot

No. I didn't have children, I'm vegan and I don't commute. I feel I've done more than my bit and I'm not willing to make any other changes.

Did you want children?

I have a degree in this arena. I would change more and I have changed and I wouldn't moan if more was enforced on me.

I fully except global warming is very real. Very very bad news in our immediate future. But I'm not terrified at all. I'm 100% accepting of the facts.

How long do people think the human population will last with a few years of major crop failures for a start? So do I worry about 2060 and no fossil fuels? No. Because another 40 years of worldwide floods, fires and droughts a lot of us will be dead. How long can we live without grain? Can we propagate under cover enough crops to sustain billions of humans? So no I dont lay awake thinking about coal fired power stations in 2060.

Humans think we can fix anything while forgetting what it take to grow our food. Without crops no sea walls or electric cars run on wind power will stop billions starving to death. Simple as that

Did you want children?

It's irrelevant whether I wanted them or not. I didn't have them - therefore I've saved the environment those potential humans' carbon footprint.

I feel bad saying but not really. I don't have children to worry about a future world though - so that's probably why.

And I'll be dead before it impacts me I imagine.

I listened to a really interesting podcast today. One of the things it talked about was how humans have not evolved to care about things that are perceived to be in the distant future. We are evolved, designed by nature, to care first and foremost about what’s happening in the near future: putting food on the table, getting to work, making sure our children do well at school, keeping our jobs, securing the basics of food / water / warmth and then fulfilling our personal goals. As a species, we are really bad at looking beyond the short to medium term.

So it’s a big ask, and probably a hopeless one, to expect humans to really care about something we perceive to be far off in time. We aren’t wired that way.

It doesn’t really make me worry for me but when I think of my dc and theirs if they have any I feel a bit stressed

I know I can’t control it so try not to be but some posts make me think gnbbbg

To a point yes. I work for one of the top green energy companies in the world. As a company - we are doing a lot - personally I am doing what I can. I won’t reduce my travel - I have to (I travel for work and my family are in another country - on average I’m on a plane every 4-5 weeks). As a family, we eat less red meat, cycle where we can etc.

I would like to drive an electric car. But at £20k plus. It's just too expensive. And there are still issues about the disposal of batteries and chemicals in them. Hell will freeze over before i give up
Meat and I don't want a heat pump instead of a boiler..

I care and I do the things I can do painlessly or that save me money, but feel my little bit is insignificant compared to industry and the rich jet setting around their multiple homes in their new outfits for every occasion? so don't feel it's my duty to do much more than make a tokenistic gesture

There was news today about the wealthiest 1% being responsible for more than double the total production from the poorest 50%

It's irrelevant whether I wanted them or not. I didn't have them - therefore I've saved the environment those potential humans' carbon footprint.
Well, the thread is about if you’re willing to make drastic lifestyle changes because of climate change – not having children you wanted is a drastic change. Not having children you weren’t going to have anyway isn’t a change.

@Toddlerteaplease with climate change hell won't freeze over but everywhere else will burn!

joking aside, has anyone measured their carbon footprint?

footprint.wwf.org.uk/#

according to George Monbiot mentioned upthread, we need to be on 2 tons a year only!

I think the world is worth saving as its beautiful and humans can be amazing. Also as there would be so much pain for those suffering the effects, then, eventually, us too.

I also worry that often what we away sold as "green" alternative aren't that green at all. Not so long ago a diesel car was the environmentally friendly option, biodegradable plastic bags turned out to be a bad thing indeed and I'm yet to be convinced that big lithium batteries with short lifetimes (plus the fuel needed to make the electricity to charge them) are that environmentally friendly. Even energy efficient lightbulbs have a much higher environmental cost in the production and disposal than halogen bulbs, so which is really best?

@IncessantNameChanger so basically its going to happen anyway.
still sounds like you care though.

@Spiceup yes trust is a big issue here, we get told and sold.

inherently we are obedient people. Time to wake up!

I'm going on a protest tomorrow in London.

@Tumtitumtum

Yes because working in agriculture you can see the changes first hand in food production. But that’s why I also get totally fucking frustrated by the fake care soppy single view policies GO VEGAN! Won’t help at all in this country and all it’s doing is driving investment in monocropping and Silicon Valley tech which is going to destroy our ability to safely feed future generations and for wealth to be spread.

INSULATE - ok with what? Plastic fibres? What? And where from? Shipped from where to shitty old houses you would be better ripping down and building eco including renewable natural insulation.

Electric cars!! Ok the mining for the batteries is ripping the earth apart too? Where do they go where they die? Is the electricity they use green?

It’s why I work specifically with organisations trying to promote more rounded environmental views, the government (and government) is going to take us single policy, individual action is of course important but to be honest if companies don’t drive this (which luckily they are), and we don’t reduce population growth in China and India, and get the USA to wake up, we are pretty much fucked.

Agree 100%!

@ASinisterPlot

Did you want children?

It's irrelevant whether I wanted them or not. I didn't have them - therefore I've saved the environment those potential humans' carbon footprint.

It's relevant to the question of whether you would make changes.

I just did that carbon calculator and for me personally, I am on 9.99 tonnes.

Yes I care, and I make small changes (we live quite a low consumption life anyway). But I'm not willing to make any very big changes e.g. giving up meat, until they at least attempt to make it universal. Because I feel there's no point me giving up meat while everyone else is having sausage for breakfast, ham for lunch and steak for dinner. There's so little effect of me buying wooden toys and recyclable wrapping paper while everyone else is buying 3 tonnes of plastic crap and foil paper.
I really think it will only make a blind bug of difference if we all do it

Acting unilaterally is meaningless. Even taking into account products produced abroad ( altho we are nett exporters of cars ) you could close-down the entire UK and it would make no difference.

It will take the likes of China, the US and India to address the situation serisouly to have an affect.

@Otherpeoplesteens thanks, I'd not heard the expression MCB before. If I'm honest, I'm guilty of it myself at times.
Interesting that you're not surprised by some of the posts on here. I'm flabbergasted by them. I genuinely believed that most people were on board with climate change mitigation measures. I still sort of do. Most of my friends are fully on board, and I'd feel despair if I thought some of the views expressed on this thread are a reflection of reality. Actual despair. This thread has certainly been an eye opener

[quote Stovetopespresso]@Toddlerteaplease with climate change hell won't freeze over but everywhere else will burn!

joking aside, has anyone measured their carbon footprint?

footprint.wwf.org.uk/#

according to George Monbiot mentioned upthread, we need to be on 2 tons a year only!

I think the world is worth saving as its beautiful and humans can be amazing. Also as there would be so much pain for those suffering the effects, then, eventually, us too.[/quote]
That's interesting- I'm a meat eater with a large family but come out at 2 tons below target.

I actually think it's probably more but that makes me feel better.

@WanderingFruitWonderer The poll results are better than I thought they would be. In real life, everyone says they care about climate change, but their actions show they don't really.

Yes I care about it and do my bit but it pisses me off no end that those in power and influence are keen to dictate how the rest of us live our lives, but are unwilling to change how they live ie private jets huge yachts