AIBU: Elderly parents do not care about their impact on the environment

[Scientistathome]

My elderly parents acknowledge (in passing) that the human impact on the planet is destructive and that their family's future could be jeopardized.
However, they refuse to do anything about it. They burn gas and electricity in summer to keep warm (extra jumper? Nooo!), Will not Install solar panels (they can afford it), take unnecessary flights, ... the list goes on.
They flaty refuse to change any habits despite that they know they should and could.
I get quite mad with them!
AIBU?
I know it is their choice, not mine but it affects all of us (their grandchildren are quite disgusted with them).
Are other people's parents like this?
(I know that some parents cannot afford eco-friendly choices like solar panels)

This. What an ignorant, narrow-minded, ill-informed comment @OilOfRoses 'The UK has excellent public transport' is probably the most hilarious thing I have read on the internet for WEEKS. Are you having a laugh?! Even if you don't live rurally, public transport is shit! Trains are super expensive, and dirty, and so packed you can rarely get a seat (and that's if the trains are bloody running!)

AND bus services have been cut left right and centre. My market town - 3.5 miles away - only has buses that go around the bloody town now. You're basically fucking trapped in the town if you have no car. No way to get to bigger towns, or any family that lives in other towns or cities, no way to go on any day trips to the beach or the cities, or the zoo, or a theme park, and no way to get to hospital appointments ... (The nearest hospital is 20 miles!) And our nearest train station is 15 miles away!!!

It's a fucking disgrace. And it's been like this for 6 or 7 years since all the buses were pulled. The bus companies reckoned they weren't making enough money as not enough people were using buses. Bullshit. Multiple 100s and 100s of people - (possibly running into a couple of 1000,) have no car in this town of 15,000, and NEEDED those buses.

Me and DH could never go without a car - ever. Our village has fuck-all transport, as it was stopped 10 years ago! The 5 shops that were open when we moved here (12 years ago) have shut too over the past 12 years... Little convenience store, butchers, bakery, hairdresser, and a little flower shop that sold gifts, and cards etc..., And 2 of the 3 pubs have gone too. Oh and DH works shifts, and works 18 miles away.

Saying everyone should get public transport is a pathetic thing to say, when public transport is utterly SHITE! And many people do shift work, and start early/finish late...

Posters may be referring to OP's identifying as such on other threads.

My elderly neighbours installed solar panels and were thrilled at the reduced environmental impact etc.
Their old renovated cottage caught fire and the fire service decided the electrocution risk was so high that they couldn't deal with it, the cottage burnt to the ground and they lost everything.

£10. Sarcasm fail 😃

YANBU

MN posters are a contrary lot. If you’d posted this that you were elderly and so didn’t give a shit about your environmental impact because you were going to be dead for the worst of it you’d have your arse handed to you.

You can’t force your parents to do any of these things but sadly it’s this don’t give a shit attitude from many people of all generations which has contributed to the mess we are in.

God you sound so pompous!

Fucking right I deserve to enjoy it. I worked hard enough for it.

But also because we know that nothing we do on an individual level will make any difference eg flights will not be cancelled just because I am personally not on them. Even if the whole of the U.K. got on board, it would make extremely little to no difference.

Therefore, we would make our lives worse and make sacrifices just to be able to sound sanctimonious on Mumsnet (which, let’s face it, we could do anyway as this is an anonymous forum). I will take my holidays instead, thanks.

My bills are fine… and I don’t have hulking panels all over my
house.

Each to their own

Well done for missing the point

I haven't missed anything, thanks, so take your patronising pat on the head elsewhere

@Spanielsarepainless · Today 09:46

I am 61. I grew up in a time when everyone walked or cycled to school and often to work. My mother didn't have a washing machine. Everything was cooked from scratch and meat, bread and greengroceries bought from small independent shops supplied by local growers . Milk was delivered. Hardly any plastic packaging. I can remember frost on the inside of windows in the winter. No central heating. We never went abroad. No landline till I went to university. They still have the same bedroom suite and dining room furniture they had when they married, almost 65 years ago. I suspect your parents were similar in many ways and I feel sorry for them, having such judgemental grandchildren.

@Hadalifeonce · Today 09:53

Not sure how 'elderly' your parents are, but it's quite possible, they spent a huge chunk of their lives not travelling by car, but on foot or public transport, their milk probably came in glass bottles, which were give back to the milkman for reuse, their soft drinks possibly the same, they might well have taken their own bags to the shops to buy vegetables and meat which did not come wrapped in plastic. I doubt clothes were bought and disposed of weekly. So all in all their carbon footprint might never equate to your's and your children's.

All of this. ^ I bet you @Scientistathome and your precious children who seem to be as judgy as you, have already affected the environment a lot more than your 'elderly' parents ever did!!!

Your children are 'disgusted' with your parents? OMFG! Who do they think they are? Who do you think YOU are?

I feel sorry for your parents. You AND your children sound horribly judgemental and scathing towards them.

I have a couple of elderly relatives like this. They've actually said that they couldn't care less about climate change because they'll be long dead anyway. I think they just say it to wind me up when I try to get them to recycle instead of just putting everything in the rubbish.

Fair enough. I accept it might have changed since I lived there, and I was near London. No car needed.

I wouldn't be without a car with present family needs. I'd miss out on too much.

This is going to be interesting 😑

i just about scrape into Gen X: the boomers and us grew into our adult years petrified that we'd end up in a nuclear war. And that the hole in the ozone layer would expand so much we'd all fry to a crisp.

I'm in Germany. There is a lot of reusing going on (bottles) and recycling (some of which is greenwashed i think) and a massive push to reduce packaging, aimed at manufacturers (it's creeping back up again unfortunately, but the law is that each retail outlet has to give the consumer the opportunity to dispose of packaging in store)

As for the comment above about the house burning down - I've never heard of or experienced such a thing. And about 50% of the houses where i live and the surrounding towns/villages have solar panels. The fire brigade manage to put out fires perfectly well.

Thank you. Sorry if my post came across a bit ranty. It just jarred me coz all of our buses have gone! And we have no train station for 15 miles or so. So it just narks me off when anyone says 'everyone should just get the train - or bus!' I am like 'ARGH!'

Appreciate the response. 😘

Yeah. The fact you have kids and are on Mumsnet on an electronic device means you’ve lost this argument.

My parents did worry about so much plastic and were never a fan of supermarkets , but when little independent shops disappeared or taken over by the bigger stores, they didnt have much choice where to buy their food.
It's market forces and the free market Economy that has driven so much waste and ( I suppose) climate change , not to mention cheap travel and a desire for holidays abroad that became easier to obtain.

I feel sorry for your parents.

You do realise that raising little Puritans means they will eventually turn on you when you are old? Will you/they be happy to take their money when they die or will they donate it to charities which benefit the environment?

Op, you are using electricity to post and read on a message board. Surely that isn’t a complete necessity and you should consider the environmental impact of your actions.

If you are anything like the OP, I would imagine your elderly relatives ARE saying shit to wind you up. I would.

With the flights comment, if you mean going on holiday, then I absolutely disagree with you - good on them enjoying their retirement. Most people take 1 or 2 flights a year. I’ll probably take more when I retire.

I do think its pointless burning gas/electricity when you can put a jumper on and other than people with health conditions, no one needs to turn the heating on at this time in the year - ever! I would have solar panels but its way down the list of things to do to the house but would love to have them. Perhaps the thought of the work is too much for them?

The best thing we can do as a country with solar panels is offer incentives to have them installed and make it compulsory all new builds have them. No point pressuring your elderly parents!

This post has made me want to put my heating on even though it’s very warm here, and book lots of flights.

I have a train station about ten minutes walk down the road. Yet I've taken the train somewhere once in the past year. With a car I can run to my own timetable and get there so much faster. If my days weren't so full maybe I'd take it more.