how to talk to my kids about climate emergency and extinction

[mikalatuschek]

How do I talk to my children about global warming, that it is dangerous and happening now. That collapse of civilisation as we know it is probable and that we're in the midst of an extinction crisis? Can't leave them in the dark and yet I don't want them to live in fear!
But also can't live with knowing about it myself, feeling the grief and fear myself and keeping it silent. Of course, on some level they know something is not right and not talking about it seems incongruent...

Quick couple of questions. When you ditch your petrol car for an electric one... What's the carbon cost of building the new car vs. keeping the old one on the road.? Second quickie - where does the electricity you power your car come from?

The above was not to simply poo-poo your ideas, but rather to suggest that there will always be a trade off. Carbon zero is not possible.

I do what can be done - within the limitations of a realistic life... But we need to keep our sensible and pragmatic heads on.

You are probably right about carbon zero cars - but do you need one at all? What is a "realistic life" anyway?

Well the UN says we have a tiny window in which to change our infrastructure. Otherwise it’ll be rationing and blackouts. Octopus is amazing for me! Brilliant customer service too. Which recommended. But I’ve heard bulb are also excellent.

Sorry! I’m new to Mumsnet! Can’t work out how to reply. I agree rosemaryrusset re migration. PeevedofPortishead Yes - was thinking about going electric with my car and suddenly realised I just don’t need one. I think there is a carbon trade off for the actual building of the electric car. Someone told me there was a website where you can work it out but I haven’t found it because we decided to go car free - hire an electric one for long trips to parents three times a year, get electric cabs when public transport is impossible and we save about a grand a year. It depends if you have on street chargers for your car but someone on my street just runs a cord out to it and no one objects. Don’t know if that’s possible for you? Lobby your local council to put in a charge point. You can also hire electric cars, though they’ve got rid of the subsidies - lobby! My friend hired a leaf that was basically free to drive so once you added the petrol it was way cheaper - though I think it’s not now - though could be again if we all make enough of a fuss!

Hello everyone! Oh I am so heartened to pop back in here and find some parents willing to engage on this topic!

One of you mention Active Hope by Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone. I highly, highly recommend getting hold of it and reading it, even better if you can read it with some friends as a book group. It has really transformed my own thinking and response to the crisis. Once I have helped get XR off the ground here in Canada I want to focus on holding workshops based on Active Hope.

So yesterday morning I set my alarm for 5.45am and got up to watch the live broadcast of Club of Rome's discussion about global transformation and how to expand the movements for climate action. It was really good and was full of practical approaches to combating the crisis, on a political, economic and personal level. It did dip in the middle with a presentation on an actually wonderful and useful bit of app tech but kinda draggy delivery, but then it picked up again.
I highly recommend finding the time to watch it, take notes and talk about it with your mates.

Because that's what we all need to be doing, getting over our internal aversion to bringing up the unspeakable, sharing in our fears and grief and then looking at ways to combat it, then doing it.

And yes, Extinction Rebellion has a Families with Kids chapter in Stroud, there is nothing stopping any of you starting a similar chapter in your locality. I know it looks like they are all about getting arrested but there is loads of activities and awareness raising and local mp hassling you can do that is entirely un-arrestable.

Have you seen what the amazing Great Thunberg, a 15 year old school girl from Sweden is doing? www.theguardian.com/science/2018/sep/01/swedish-15-year-old-cutting-class-to-fight-the-climate-crisis
She's a legend and she also has Aspergers too.

Climate strike is spreading all over the world, loads of kids in Australia are taking it up!

I think that it would be very powerful if coach loads of school kids started regularly turning up to BBC offices and The Daily Mail and holding mass die-in's on their front steps, highlighting the media's absolutely rubbish coverage of the crisis as fueling the inaction leading to their possibly shortened lives. Of course that line will have to be workshopped into a snapper campaign slogan but you get my drift.

Thanks for the Greta Thunburg article. She certainly is a legend, 'why should I bother to learn and understand if the politicians don't?' Drawing attention to one big difficulty about this whole climate situation, government inaction/ignorance.

Apart from investing in better public transport infrastructure (not HS2) and addressing pollution and waste, (thanks big companies stop making so much plastic rubbish) we really need to be keeping fossil fuels in the ground,...not carrying on as usual and certainly not trying to frack natural gas out of the ground.

The last climate protest I went on, two pictures years ago ended up lobbying my MP in Westminster with several others from his constituency. He, a multi-millionaire, PPE from Oxford, rural county Tory majority, had no bloody idea about climate change, and he had the gall to call me naive about fracking. Plonker.

I sort of gave up a bit after that, in the style of Dads Army 'we're doomed Mr Mannering'. Too many of us hairless monkeys are about short term gain (as mentioned earlier in the thread) rather than long term planning, at the stage where I think its probably for the best that we do overheat! Real damn shame.

Yes it's important to make individual lifestyle choices to help solve the climate crisis but there really needs to be much, much, much, much better informed political leadership if there is any chance of providing a sustainable future for our kids and their kids.

Two or three years ago, not two pictures!

But awareness is growing.
2 or 3 years ago I coudnt get vegan options or compostable pesto containers in my small (though prosperous) town.
Teens are aware a nd they are the new citizens coming on stream.

I keep saying it, for myself as much as for everybody else. But we must not give up hope.
If we do we are totally fucked. But hope keeps up striving and the next generation deserves that.

Some good ideas, advice and discussion here:
m.facebook.com/parentsaction/

You are right 7days. Just on a bit of a blip I think. Bit of Extinction Rebellion is probably what I need

Checking in. I'm another one frustrated with the lack of understanding and engagement with these issues elsewhere on MN.

You know this article?

www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/jul/10/100-fossil-fuel-companies-investors-responsible-71-global-emissions-cdp-study-climate-change

I have an idea that would be very simple for parents or even school groups could do. All our children sending postcards to the CEO's of these companies. Smaller kids could just be encouraged to draw their favourite thing or what they want to be when they grow up, bigger kids who understand climate change a bit more can ask why these f*rs are trading their future lives away. It wouldn't be hard to create a list of head offices and CEO names. You could instagram or tweet your postcards or kids with the postcards before dropping them in the post box for publicity and CEO/company shaming. #postcardsforthefuture. I might just start this myself with my 4 year old tomorrow, who's with me!? ✊

Climate change really upsets & frightens me, it's all I can think about at the moment & I am completely terrified for the future of my DS. I feel nobody is talking about it & nobody seems to get it (nobody I know anyway). I'm actually struggling to get excited about anything like Christmas or the future, it all seems so pointless & hopeless when faced with what is inevitably to come, likely sooner than we realise. Hoping that reading threads like this may offer a tiny bit of hope!

I started a thread yesterday about my out of control anxiety about climate change. I brought 'Active Hope' as recommended on this thread and I'm trying to calm myself down. It's hard though, it's all so terrifying.

Amibambini that's a really excellent idea. I'm with you!

With you on the postcards - need to go back and read all new posts but just wanted to say yes great idea. I’ve been working with scientists for a while and I find it hard to believe how muted it’s all been up to now...yes there have been warnings but something needs to happen to get through to wider public consciousness. Battling anxiety here. Thanks everyone. Don’t feel so out on a limb now

Also checking in as have been suffering similar anxiety for some time, and can't really believe it's taken me this long to really get a sense of what's happening. And the guilt I'm feeling towards my two very small children now is unbelievable.

I can only hope that the natural urge to sacrifice anything you can for the good of your children will translate to this situation for more people, and soon. I want to do more and I hope people who know more than me will continue to share good ideas! I know it's been really easy to switch to a renewable energy supplier and cut out nearly all meat in no time at all - but I'm struggling with day to day rubbish public transport and seeing family that live abroad.

I like the postcards idea too. I am new on mumsnet but it sounds like people are not talking about climate change much here in general. Do you all think there is much scope to use this space to raise awareness, or would it tend to just get shut down by what someone above called "peevish comments"?

I think we should keep talking about it and keep trying new angles. Most people believe in climate change now (thankfully) and want to do something about it. I think the more inspiration and info we can share the better.

Don't worry - they will get it all at school. Lots of times!

I have started pulling the names out of that carbon majors report...slightly disheartening...top 4 are China, Saudi Arabia, Russia and Iran...not regimes famous for being sympathetic to western media or even diplomatic pressure. Govts of those countries all over these companies at the top...but will keep going and share names and addresses when done. At least it may be part of consciousness raising here....

oatmilk4breakfast drop me a dm and lets work on a shared google spreadsheet.

Oh Christ...

This came across my feed - medium.com/@megan_herbert/how-to-talk-to-kids-about-climate-change-3465079793f1?fbclid=IwAR39XgMlv0xBdHZfz43upd0EC5FIi1oeVWDQb-3CSgLJ0GlywEpIvgmYH8c

Looks really good!