Climate change.....it's too late to stop it, isn't it ?

[Banquosfeast]

How long have we been hearing the message to reduce CO2 emissions ? At least 30 years, (Mrs Thatcher the first UK politician to raise with subject, with her 1989 UN speech). Climate change has already happened, as is clear from weather reports from around the world. The rise in global temperatures that have already occurred, irreversible, and will get worse.

Yet, still nobody changes their personal behaviour....at all !

Just today I've witnessed, 1) someone sitting in their car, drinking a coffee.....engine running. 2) twenty people leaving a yoga class, and the room empty.....not one thinks to turn off the lights. 3) at the gym, air-conditioning blasting away....with the windows open ! 4) on the motorway, well it's the Wacky Races out there - nobody driving, as it they are trying to limit their vehicle's CO2 emissions; quite the opposite in fact.

Let's be honest, it's too late.

@Annachristie Precisely, profit over planet. I don’t understand that at all, it is not like the willfully greedy and destructive can jet off to another planet. As for children, I feel very, very sorry for them. They do not have much to look forward to.

@DuesToTheDirt Yes, children of men was a difficult watch, but back then it still seemed like an impossibility. How much everything has deteriorated in less than two decades is frightening. As for nature shows, I avoid them. It is beyond heartbreaking to contemplate the destruction and huge negative impact and misery we humans have inflicted on other species.

@LuckyPeonies, I only saw Children of Men for the first time a couple of years ago, during covid...

@DuesToTheDirt I would not want to (re)watch it given current conditions, too unsettling.

Children of Men , a very hard watch

What do you think life in the UK will look like in 40 years (for kids born now)?

The UK will be at or beyond net zero.

We will be energy or green fuel exporters.

Air travel will be electric, H2 or biofuel.

Automotive will be electric with induction charging. HGV and off highway will be electric, H2 or biofuel.

Shipping will be electric, H2, biofuel or ammonia

Heating will almost ALL be heat pump, some geothermal where appropriate.

Communities will relocalise and be 20 minute places.

The air will be cleaner.

The weather will become increasingly extreme.

Climate change will be the biggest cause of mass migration.

Low lying regions will need either massive coastal defenses or be flooded.

Global populations will fall.

ReleasetheCrackHen · 18/07/2023 15:55
We’ve been hearing the message since the 1960s and have been reducing CO2 since the 1990s. I don’t agree about no one changing personal behaviour, billions of us have done so.

Climate change is a constant. So, no it cannot be stopped. What we are working to reverse is that part of climate change that has been caused by humans. The temperature increases are largely due to the emissions of half a century ago. Climate change is extremely slow when measured against a human life span, even though the human caused climate change we are seeing is extremely fast compared to the natural rate of climate change that is measured in tens of thousands of years.

It’s not too late at all. We have reversed bigger climate change threats in the past like the hole in the ozone layer. We can reverse this too. The actions we take today will benefit our grandchildren”

This.

Seven standard deviations is nothing to worry about, honest
https://twitter.com/EliotJacobson/status/1683535568268050432

Coming back to this as just caught excellent programme on Times radio

A few things

We’re not great at envisaging exponential change and we’ll likely react (ie panic) when it gets bad

Carbon capture should be done by law but it’s hugely expensive, possible though

One of the first things to collapse will be insurance models, which I think a few of us posted elsewhere

Its true that as individuals we might feel that our efforts are futile, but there is evidence that when we all work together we can make a significant impact. For example the global reduction in energy usage from white goods (washing machines, fridges etc) is anything between 8% and 25% due to global companies making more efficient models and us buying them. Obviously if we keep them for longer, repair them when they break etc the impact will be even greater. While it might be ‘to late’ to stop climate breakdown, its always worth trying to make it a little less bad for those who are suffering.