What can we do about climate change?

[georgarina]

I mean who to vote for, who to speak to??

I really feel the need to do all I can.

Relatives in California are on rationed water allowances and that will be coming here soon. Meanwhile everyone I know just avoids the issue or says "the only thing that will happen is some nicer weather."

It's so scary.

If you have a conservative MP then write to them today to express the fact that you as their constituent do care about climate change, even though none of the candidates seem to be talking about it. A lot of them seem to be talking about tax cuts to make fossil fuel use cheaper, and that's a dangerous approach to the cost of living crisis: we should be supporting people who need it but moving faster to a decarbonised system. Net zero target needs protecting.

Nothing. I think it's almost laughable that individuals are pushed to make a difference when the real problem is Chinese factories (used by the whole world), fash fashion and the top businesses. Throw in Will&Kate getting a helicopter out along with all the private jets of the rich/famous/royalty. Little old me is not going to make a difference.

@CredibilityProblem Thank you, my MP is Keir Starmer who as far as I can tell makes the right noises about climate change with little meaningful action to back it up?

@Naenaespet I know, I'm not talking about personal actions which I agree will increasingly take the spotlight so we argue amongst ourselves while the culprits continue to do damage.

I'm talking about activism, writing letters, signing petitions etc.

I think it’s too late, the human race is doomed. The planet will die, people will suffer and no-one cares.
Someone mentioned that water will run out in a London in 4 years.
A friend in the US is already growing her own veg and looking gathering and filtering rain water. This is what average Joe will be doing.

This is a very good thread. Will come back to it later.

In reality I’m not sure how much of the personal low level stuff makes a huge difference, the real difference will be made by banning fossil fuels full stop, stopping plastics and reducing fast fashion industry.

On a smaller scale though:

1. get in touch with your MP, no matter what party they are with. Tell them you want serious change with serious solutions.


2. Switch to an energy company that at least tries to replace energy with green energy. Reduce your consumption where you can.


3. Reduce consumption in general. I know everyone goes on about recycling, but seriously it’s not just household waste. You don’t need to replace a perfectly fine bed plastic water bottle with a metal one just because it’s “better for the environment”. The fact you’re not using single use is what’s better! Don’t replace your phone every year, don’t buy fast fashion, don’t just redecorate for the sake of it.


4. and the biggest one for me: think about your garden and the immediate environment around you in terms of re-greening.

Plant trees where you can- they reduce emissions in the air, capture carbon, create cooling shade, reduce flood risks. Tree planting is one of the biggest initiatives we should be driving right now.

Don’t concrete and fake grass your lawn. It might be “easy” to manage but it’s really really awful for the environment- it has a triple negative effect in that it’s using unnecessary plastics, it reduces biodiversity and it has an insulating/ heat reflective effect!

Increase biodiversity in the garden with planting native plants and flowers, anything pollinator friendly. Don’t be scared of having bees, flies and insects in your garden, you need to recreate an eco system that feeds off itself!

Ask the local council what they’re doing to plant trees and create biodiversity in the local area.

@TheIsaacs thanks so much, these are all great.

I love the idea of a tree planting initiative.

honestly, I don’t know. Everything seems so pointless, and this is coming from a vegan who uses very little plastic, reuses everything, doesn’t shop for new clothes unless absolutely necessary and has a garden full of plants and trees. For every person like me there’s 100s buying a shit ton of chemical laden cleaners, eating meat with every meal, filling their washing machines with scent boosters and shopping at boohoo every week. And I’m trying not to judge those people because all of this gets shoved down our throats by adverts and social media and nobody in our government has anything to say about what can be done.

It saddens me how few responses this type of thread gets too. So many people
just don’t want to know…

Put pressure on MPs about climate change so they realise it will affect voting and that their voters care about this

Plant trees, don't cut down trees

Garden for wildlife, create habitat don't take habitat away

Buy peat free soil

Use FSC wood or reuse wood where possible

Ask your council what they are doing to create space for wildlife, planting trees, encouraging people to walk in their local area and to take public transport

Ask your local council about how they are enforcing their powers under planning rules to increase biodiversity and encourage developers to act more responsibly and sustainably with regards to climate change

Use less plastic, ask shops you shop with to use less plastic, buy reuseable instead of disposable

Recycle

Buy second hand where you can eg clothes/ books/ furniture

Buy local and seasonal food where you can and ask supermarkets and businesses to make this easier

Actively support businesses that try and reduce carbon and act sustainably and tell them why

Walk instead of use your car for shorter journeys, use public transport, get an electric or hybrid car

Teach your dc to act responsibly and to care about climate change and the environment and that they can make a difference

@Naenaespet
Well done 👏

Me too, instead of air con

Plant trees and keep spaces green - rather than pave over

Urge gift to put pressure on Brazil to stop cutting down the Amazon

Stop flying as much

Stop buying clothes you don't need

Try if possible to buy from local countries or uk not China.

Urge supermarkets to offer seasonal fresh goods

I would ration water to a point of fair use
I would ration electric to a point of fair use and yes I'd ration gas too.

I'd urge all western counties to plant trees in urban and non urban areas

I'd stop mowing roundabouts and plant wild flowers. Same applies to other verges.

We need clear rules politics and task forces committed to fighting this as war

We have family in Australia. We're experiencing record high temperatures and they're having their coldest winter since 1940.
I'm quite shocked at how much the highest temp in UK has gone up in 3 years. I would have expected a change of a few decimal points not nearly 2 degrees.
Sorry that doesn't answer the question!
And then a lot of the ways to keep cool (fans, aircon etc) are using fuel and adding to the problem. No idea where you would start to make an impact!

I think we've had it too 😡

My heart breaks for our children and grandchildren.

What we really need is an immediate ban on imports, flying, cars, out of season food, processed food, fashion, 'things', travel, and more than one child per couple - AND wordwide.

We need to stop capitalism & consumerism. We need to reverse economic & population growth.

If the UN or some other worldwide organisation would allocate resources equitably and everyone agreed to back track fast on the worldwide population then at least in a generation we would need far less land and resources. Even then it would take decades to reverse the warming trajectory.

We need drastic, immediate change but it's not going to happen.

Of course there are things we can do individually, and we definitely shouldn't give up and decide all hope is lost

• consume less (buy less stuff, drive less, fly less)
• put pressure on your politicians. Not just at a national level but also at a local level. Hold your local councillors to account , county and district councils have huge budgets and how they spend them can make a huge impact. Yet rarely is there more than one or two people at a council meeting
• donate to environmental charities,- those that campaign and educate, or those that preserve habitats.
• think about your savings and investments - vote with your feet and put them in funds that invest ethically
• put pressure on schools and community groups and businesses etc to be mindful of the environment when they plan activities - again they can have a considerable impact.
• look into solar panels, or just buying your energy from a renewable company
• "green " your gardens - less paving/AstroTurf and more wildflowers and trees

Those are just a few quite easy suggestions

One thing is (and I can't remember what the expression for it is) is things manufactured or designed to last a finite amount of time, and then need upgrading or replacing. I'm not into gadgets or phones. I have a middle of the road samsung. It's nearly 3 years old but the battery life is horrendous....so I'm thinking about getting another one.
Similarly I have had laptops that simply stop working properly after 3 or 4 years. My last fridge lasted just over 2 years (and we paid to have it repaired at least twice in that time) and dishwashers have broken after 2 or 3 years and not cost effective to replace parts. To be fair the washing machine is about 14 years old.

When I was a kid, granted we didn't have tech like laptops or mobiles but white goods lasted way longer.

I think personal action coupled with government/international/business commitment does work. Consumer behaviour adds up , look how quickly the shelves cleared when shopping habits changed during Covid. And look how quick the national response was when there was a clear object. It could be done.

It’s been a very sobering day watching the news footage of our country burning, and at the same time in despair when members of the public describe the heatwave as ‘nice weather’.

Tackling climate change successfully requires a paradigm shift in global politics and economic policy. But main problem is there are no viable alternatives to capitalism. Nearly every advanced country in the world glorifies neo-liberal, free market driven economies. Capitalism is incompatible with a thriving planet and eco-system. The sad truth is that ‘it’s easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism’ (Slavoj Žižek).

I was so badly hoping you were going to be proved wrong!

"Capitalism is incompatible with a thriving planet and eco-system. "

I think there is a halfway house though. There has to be. We can't just admit defeat.

The positive side of a capital society is that as consumers we do have the power to effect change by the choices we make in how we spend and save our money.

Yes the logic of capitalism will always be to encourage greater and greater consumption, but we don't have to give in to it. None of us have to buy lots of new things all the time.

The other side to capitalism is it can foster innovation

I do feel a bit funny today as I can only see increased spending for comfort adding to the problem but maybe it’s an off day and we’ll see some good too

I’m afraid I’m increasingly feeling like it’s too late. Really, nothing much is being done on anywhere near the necessary scale to even make a dent. And society is mostly not willing to accept the radical changes needed, if they are aware of them at all. It makes me feel sad and hopeless for our future generations and for animals too.

It all seems so hopeless, if every single person in the UK did their bit, would it actually stop what’s happening to the world when the countries such as USA and China are doing very little? Genuine question.