To think that no one will give a shit about climate change when they're freezing this winter?

[Turnandfacethestrangechanges]

Just that really. When we have a choice of spanking out £650+ in January for gas and electric or slowly freezing, will people will be less sympathetic to 'green' measures?

Will net zero go out the window when we realise how bloody miserable it is to live without modern comforts and there is civil unrest as a result?

YABU - Don't be ridiculous, climate change is the most important issue
YANBU - How true, I predict a riot

Oh they will

It is their religion

It is theor rock of life

Plus which most people who care about stuff like this are the wealthier people.

Some of those people are frightened to little pieces.

But a lot are making money out of it all.

Yes I agree to some extent but isn't our economy built on buying things in all honesty

I work with teens and I despair when they have a drink and can't even put the plastic bottle in the recycling bin let alone reuse it. They look at me like I'm mad.

Power stations have already been given the nod to do what they have to.

This is why there should be more support for nuclear power stations.

The new Suffolk plant is being opposed by Greens atm and probably other local communities

Good discussion on the Briefing Room on R2 yesterday about climate change etc. The modelling is having to be revised. No one expected 40 deg temperatures this decade. It was very interesting and worth a listen. Nuclear energy sounds great until they build the plant or the waste ponds on your street.

A little harsh!

Choosing green alternatives is an economic issue and people need to be able to afford to do these things, it isn't always that straightforward.

Public transport in many localities has been cut so that for some it's no longer an option for getting to work and they have to have a car, which may mean they have to use it for more than 3000m pa.

Refillable options for consumables is also location dependent -theyre not widely available. Chain stores are only beginning to trial them in certain areas and zero waste shops still don't exist in every settlement.

Not to mention, your judgement overlooks those with health issues or disabilities (hidden or visible) for whom public transport can be too exhausting and painful. Or those who are physically unable to do the literal legwork involved in buying as much of their produce as they can from small businesses and markets who do offer refillable options.

Electric cars are expensive, until they filter down the secondhand market most people are still unable to afford them. Electric cars aren't really the answer either, they're a money spinner.

The onus on fixing climate change is with the very rich, governments and huge corporations. Ordinary people can apply pressure through voting and ethical consumptive choices wherever possible.

So, although I understand where the op is coming from - and they have highlighted the moral issue ordinary people will be facing this winter - everyone must do their best to continue to do their bit in order to keep pressure on governments, stop them ducking responsibility, encourage businesses to see the value in offering green options, etc.

I think the difficulty with sea turbines (they have looked at installing them in the Severn esturary for example) is that it totally screws the wildlife population in the area because you change it beyond all recognition.

But e.g. you can have things that are like giant snakes, part filled with water and enclosed from the sea, that sit and float on top of the sea and create power from waves. I don't know why we don't use those.

And I know there are issues with solar panels, but they have been around since I was a child. If 20 years ago someone had started upgrading all the electrical systems to cope with it then most of them would be ready by now. They could at the very least have mandated solar panels on new builds including offices for about 15 years now. It could have been mandated for every council or HA house which needed it's roof replacing anyway. They could have been set up on stilts over things like supermarket carparks - massive ground space, not shaded, stops cars getting too hot in the summer and means people don't have to walk through the rain in winter. Already terrible for the ground monocultures/concrete spaces so can't get any worse.

As an individual I don’t care about climate change. I’ll wait for the big corps to change their behaviour before I give up my once a year trip to Spain thank you very much.

This is why there should be more support for nuclear power stations.

Seems to be how the French are managing not to cripple everyone financially.

But one of ours closes on Monday.

What on earth have passports got to do with climate change?

Not passports alone... but what they represent. The international travel business. Flights, ferries, cruise ships etc. Both leisure and business use.

Ah. As a nondriver, a passport represents the ability to prove who I am and function in society. It's rather difficult to get by these days without government issued photo ID.

If not now, when?

Worth watching Big Oil on BBC. The oil companies have known about climate change for 40 years and the Govts too.

Well, it's hardly been a secret!

I'm mid 50's. We did project on it at primary school. There have been a lot of vocal people over the years.

people stuck their fingers in their ears & ignored it.

@user1497207191 interestingly there is a man on YouTube who lives in a cabin in the woods He has a small turbine/ motor to power his home (very small, however there is a trend for tiny homes and small living) and he powers it from the local stream which I think (I could be wrong though) dries out sometimes so he's investing in batteries.

BUT if an individual can do this with limited funds and self research, why cant multimillion / billionaire companies who's job it is to 'do power' work it out?
I get that people will lose jobs, but again why? Surely people could transition into local renewable work?

it all seems so obvious. I feel as though I could fix the world if only I had access to the funding.

@yardstickbarbedstick

it all seems so obvious. I feel as though I could fix the world if only I had access to the funding

in the nicest possible way, I think we feel this way when we don't have ALL the information.

Earlier on I read a thread about letting NHS go to the front of the queue in hospital cafes. I agreed, no brainer right!

then someone posted, who ran one where the proceeds goes to helping patients & she said they'd tried this & separate queue & various other things, but it wasn't faster overall & so they lost money & couldn't help
patients. The best option was to just serve people, as they come, as effiently as possible.

best 'overall' isn't best for NHS staff, isn't best for patient funds. Doesn't inconvenience this already queuing though.

so I think we need to accept every climate 'solution' is 'best' for some, worse for others & neural for some too. (Some being people/countries/planet/now/future).

@WinterMusings I agree nobody can have all the information but the Information we do have available to us (general public not just experts) is that we are literally walking into a disaster where resources could become scares quickly.

Energy from the sun and wind and everything else definitely won't be scared. As the sun shines every day. Right?

Soil is degrading. I have a vegetable patch and it's shocking how bad the soil can look after just one year. You need to look after it , feed it and keep it fairly untouched.
We need more small market gardens. Big farms are losing soil basically.

Loads of problems seem like no brainers.
Why can't farmers who are struggling rent their 20 acres to 20 different marekt gardeners? Thats income coming in. 20 new businesses. everyone needs to eat. the soil could be less disturbed by individuals working rather than massive machines.
Hasn't the price of fertiliser shot up?
I just feel like it's obvious.

Different, scary but obvious we cant carry on riding until the horse is lame, we might have to get off and walk for a bit.

You don't understand why it might be a bit tricky to get everyone to start living in a microhome powered by a local stream? Can I politely suggest that you haven't given it very much thought?

Haven't rtft but you miss the point that the gulf stream is on the way out and not only will we have cripplingly hot summers, we'll have extreme winter storms and low temperatures.

Humans as a race may survive, but billions will not. And those that do will live a very very different life to that we know.

To check I thought the Gulf Stream issue, if it happens, would cause a lowering of temperature across the board in U.K.?

ahh we are doing the 'I'm going to take a tiny portion of what you said and twist it to make you look stupid' all the while making yourself look stupid.

Why can't the big energy companies use renewables large scale when individuals are proving that it works small scale.

If you really can't see why things become harder logistically when you scale them up then I don't think you're as well placed to offer advice on how to solve climate change as you imagine, and I'm guessing you don't have much real-life experience. Lots of things work well for an individual but would be hopeless on a mass scale. Similarly almost everything looks very simple when you don't know much about it.