To feel really worried about climate change in this heatwave

[Fulbe]

This heatwave has been caused by climate change but there seems to be hardly any discussion about this at all. It seems that people are focused so much on getting air con or massive paddling/ swimming pools without thinking how that might be actually contributing to the problem. People outside the school gates idling their engines to keep their air con turned on whilst creating more pollution.

I think I remember reading somewhere that we've released 6 million years' worth of CO2 in the past 150 years. Something needs to stop but consumption and car use seem to be increasing.

Am I the only one to be concerned about this and that we're just slipping into a future of more dangerous heatwaves?

Elon Musk (worlds richest man) is heavily pushing clean energy

YANBU but we need to be worried all the time, not just when it’s hot. We need to worry about it and we need to change our behaviour; all of us.

@6ate9

Does she? I thought she had stopped flying entirely.

Just looked it up, she last flew June 10, 2025 from Israel to Paris.

What industries are being destroyed?

There is abundant evidence that investments in the net zero economy will not only avoid losses from climate change impacts, but will also boost growth and productivity in the UK, while creating many new jobs to replace those lost in high-carbon businesses.

In addition to this we have a reputation as a global leader in climate change. It’s easier to influence others if we do the right thing. Not to mention our cut of emissions has directly impacted our air quality which has significantly reduced the number of deaths associated with pollution.

Manufacturing, data centres. Energy intensive industries, they're not exactly all loving the high energy costs they pay.

Look at our energy prices.

Elon Musk could take a fraction of his wealth and provide clean drinking water for everyone on the planet who needs it ($114 billion).

The US pledged $3 billion to the green climate fund before his mate Trump pulled out. He could contribute 100 times that and still be the wealthiest man on the planet.

”Pushing clean energy” is the very least he can do.

On a slightly more quantitative analysis the US defence budget is about 1 trillion USD per year.

The total budget for fusion research in the world per year is harder to pin down, but I would estimate it at around 50 billion USD.

So the US alone spends around 20x per year on military projects compared with what the world spends on fusion research.

This to me is the only technology that can maintain our resource use while preserving our environment. The only other strategies are off worlding large numbers of people and starting up colonies on other planets. Which would be hugely more difficult and expensive.

Elon is heavily involved in clean energy. Good on him. I like his businesses

People act like Elon can solve the world but

Private billionaires have no legal authority or military power to enter sovereign nations to lay pipes, build roads, or reconstruct corrupt local systems.

We could all give up something (flying, material possessions etc) and give a fraction of our wealth too.

People always want “other people” to give their money away!!!

Not going to give up flying. My flights are constrained by my budget. We have money. So we go on holiday

Again, which are being destroyed?

What do our energy prices have to do with climate change? Less than 13% of your bill goes to green policies. The vast majority of the price is based on the cost of a barrel of oil, which has gone up 35% since the invasion of Iraq and closure of the Straits of Hormuz. Even if it opens now, the decimation of oil production facilities in the gulf means prices are going to remain high. If we invested more in renewables, we could be self sufficient and not be beholden to these price rises. The biggest problem with our energy prices is the link between gas and electricity prices. This needs to be de-linked.

Of course people aren’t going to give up things that make their life worth living!!!

We can’t then moan about climate change, when deep down none of us care enough!!!

Renewables are intermittent

We can’t do anything about it, not when huge countries in North America and Asia produce so much waste. So yes, we need to reduce the torture with more aircon

This isn’t about other people giving up their money. This is about one person wealth hoarding which impacts every other person on the planet, and that person being given kudos for something minuscule (pushing green energy). It’s about a handful of people having the money and therefore the power to shape global economic and political policies which mean the rest of us are constantly pushing the boulder up hill to try and affect the changes which secure the future of our planet.

If you were the world’s first trillionaire, and you could give clean water to everyone on the planet, and still be the world’s richest person, not noticing any difference in how you live your life, still securing the future of many generations of your family, can you give me a single reason why you wouldn’t do it? Could you really wake up in the morning with all that money and not think “who will I help today?”

Quite ... we all grind on about climate change then expect to hop on an aeroplane at the drop of a hat when we fancy a holiday. The two do not add up and aviation fuel emissions are a massive problem that we choose to ignore because it does not suit us.

I have not flown for the last 30 years. I had expected that others might do the same when the dangers became very clear, but no.

My DD is always flying off on business trips that could equally well be done online. It is madness.

We have to accept that we cannot just go where we want when we want if we care about the future for our children.

Renewables are also heavily heavily subsided as well.

Green levies, carbon taxes, all make the energy more expensive.

Renewables aren't all bad. Texas does well by having natural gas and renewables both in the energy mix. Very low energy prices!

I've just been told climate change is bogus anyway. So no need to worry!

I despair of some of my work colleagues... Their opinions also include Trump is amazing, we should be accessing all the oil we can to burn, dig for coal, all big pharma is out to get us (don't start them on vaccines), and the level of prejudice is off the scale. 6 of them all egging each other on.

I've learnt the hard way there is no point trying to debate with them. I put in my earphones, turn up my music, and get on with my work.

I was also wondering about emailing MPs. I am genuinely frightened of the heat we consistently have both on a personal and wider level. I think give it five years and even the people sceptical of the current weather warning will be concerned. Obviously too late.

The elephant in room is that this plant has to many humans. Every child is a new consumer. Of heat, light, plastics, food, cars, travel. Think of how much waste a 1st world child produces. Every toy at Xmas. Every nappy. Every box of juice. Every piece of clothing. One more human consumes and produces metric tonnes of stuff that is made by producing emissions in China and which eventually ends up in landfill. We need space to house them. Services to support them.
The human population had DOUBLED in 50 years. That’s not only unsustainable it’s abhorrent.
We need to incentivise people not to have more children who are yet more consumers if we really care about climate change. However governments and industry adore new consumers so they never will.

No they aren’t. Not entirely. Hydro electric dams, geothermal technology, biomass fuel are predictable sources. We could upgrade the grid to allow better transmission, incentivise users to consume energy by having more flexible tariffs and that’s without considering the controversial battery storage sites.

Scotland produces more renewable electricity than it consumes, exporting to England what we don’t use. On average 65% of our power comes from renewable energy with a further 20% from nuclear. Only 15% comes from fossil fuels and that is reducing every year. But even if we get to a position where we have to retain fossil fuels to make up a 5 or 10% gap, that is still a much better position to be in than being entirely reliant on gas prices which are largely dictated by political stability.

This is about not letting the perfect be the enemy of the good.

@Fulbe @RhosynCymru
Chris Hinchliffe MP seems to be the MP working the hardest to bring climate matters to the fore in parliament.
He's got a tough job as most people are so buried in their own selfish consumerism or profit making they can't even hear common sense.
If more MP's join him perhaps there could be some move in the right direction?

Thank you. Not in his constituency but would be it still be worth contacting him?