Yes, many of us have had very fortunate lives compared to younger generations who are facing any number of challenges - tuition fees, soaring rents, soaring house prices, falling salaries, welfare cuts, a crumbling NHS and all the rest. We've done very well and we're shocked at how bad things have got for the young. We always confidently assumed their lives would be even better than ours.
And now I realise that all these years we've had another benefit that we never recognised at the time but is now becoming glaringly obvious - we never for a second worried about how our behaviour might be bad for the climate.
We happily drove thousands of miles, flew thousands of miles, ate meat every day (well, not me, I'm a vegetarian), enjoyed log and coal fires, enjoyed oil and gas central heating, and bought things that had been flown across the world. We never saw anything wrong with what we were doing. We took it all for granted.
Only in the last few years has it sunk in that we're facing a massive climate breakdown and need to radically change our lifestyles to put things right.
Suddenly I have to examine everything I do and consider if it's harmless or if I'm damaging the climate. If I'm doing damage, I have to ask myself, is it really necessary or can I do without it?
No longer can I just mindlessly follow my whims without a thought for the consequences. No longer can I casually whizz around the world, or crank up the central heating. All that innocent indulgence is a thing of the past. And something forever denied the young.
Yes, we are all now condemned by the present generation to hell for having destroyed their future.
ReplyDeleteRamana: Which of course haven't. It's mainly the politicians who have made all the bad decisions that have made life harder for the young.
DeleteI don't feel bad for them. The Millenials we know live much more lavish lifestyles than we ever did. Exotic trips to Thailand and Tahiti, expensive meals at popular chef's restaurants, and every new technological gadget that Apple comes out with. I don't know where they get their money, but I suspect they are all in a lot of debt and hope that politicians will come along and make their student loans disappear like magic along with giving them a money tree.
ReplyDeleteBijoux: Indeed, where do they get the money from? Especially for all those expensive smartphones and fancy gadgets. I suspect you're right that they're piling up huge debts.
DeleteWhat a mean attitude. My milennials don't live like this at all but even if they did, the. Planet. Is. On. Fire.
DeleteKylie: Well, I'm not saying all millenials are the same. And you're right, the planet is on fire. We all need to do more to protect it.
DeleteWhile I was working in the early years I had no money for eating out, coffee shops, expensive holidays by 'plane. I took the train and the bus. Later I had more money...but no time. I would occasionally take a taxi.
ReplyDeleteI grew up with recycling - returnable glass milk bottles, for example, food waste going to dogs and poultry, grew my own fruit and veg, did not buy food flown in from other continents, so feel no guilt whatsoever.
I suggest the people blocking central London take a train to China and ask their government what they intend to do to reduce their carbon footprint on the earth,
Fly: Me too. When Jenny and I were short of money in the eighties and nineties we hardly ever ate out or took costly holidays. We had big mortgages to pay for. I remember that returning bottles to the shops (or the milkman) was the norm when I was a kid.
Deleteobviously a hot button topic!
ReplyDeleteif everyone would just do their small part in conserving resources and be mindful of the planet and their place in it... would it change the world? doubtful. there are too many of us now and everyone alive (except thee and me!) seems to hanker after "their own slice of the pie." I tend to agree with the late George Carlin.
he pretty much said it all (in very colorful language)… "too much STUFF!"
which of course gives meaning to that well worn adage: "too soon old. too late smart."
Tammy: Everyone bangs on about climate change, but the real problem is the rocketing world population, which means more and more pollution and an increasing shortage of resources. And as you say, everyone wants their slice of the pie regardless.
DeleteI would also add the oil companies which will not change and neither will we in our demand for it. Plastic elimination would be a start along with doubling the price of gas and investing this in public transit. We have to start somewhere rather than thumping our breasts in shame.Political systems nearly everywhere are owned by corporations. Democracy is an illusion.
ReplyDeleteXO
WWW
www: Yes, and most of the corporations couldn't care less about climate breakdown, all they're interested in is profit.
DeleteNo breast beating here -- I was raised Catholic and was fed enough guilt to last me a lifetime. That said, Andy and I were both raised poor and have always led a simple life. I've always been grateful for all that we have. I do sympathize with the coming generation. Not only are they facing hard times, they have the double whammy of having high expectations of what life should be like. I read a neat quote yesterday, "No strong person has ever had an easy past."
ReplyDeleteJean: Indeed, they expect so much but they'll be forced to settle for a lot less. And that on top of the sacrifices they're already making.
DeleteAh, high expectations. We did not have those. That's probably why we have money now in our old age. I know it's not because we saved for retirement at a young age since we didn't think we could afford to save then.
DeleteLinda: That's true, we had lower expectations but ended up with more than we expected. I never saved for retirement because in those days (the sixties) most people didn't live much longer than the official retirement age of 65.
DeleteThis is an interesting story by a person who lives from paycheck to paycheck and doesn't have an emergency fund but still expected to fly from coast to coast for a friend's wedding. There were all sorts of weather problems and it turned into a mess so he's blaming the airlines because he didn't have the money to make things easier for himself. Times have changed from the old days. People now expect to be able to fly to where they want to go. They take it for granted.
DeleteJean: I think air travel is getting less reliable and less civilised by the day. Delays and cancellations and technical problems are rife and as he says, the customer service if something goes wrong is abominable. Then again, is it really necessary to fly across the world for someone's wedding or a conference or a fact-finding trip? People will start thinking, I'm not going to risk all the hassle, I'm staying at home.
DeleteThis is an interesting post. I am also interested that you are considering the impact of such things as flying on the climate. This has only been happening for the last year or so but I'm finding so MANY individuals now trying to help the planet in their different ways. I get the impression it's happening here more than in the US though. I hope that we aren't forced to abandon our environmental laws after Brexit.
ReplyDeleteJenny: Unfortunately if we do leave the EU, I'm sure all the existing environmental laws will either be heavily watered-down or scrapped altogether. And climate breakdown will still be rated a lower priority than penalising foreigners and welfare "scroungers".
DeleteI'm not a baby boomer; I'm a war baby, raised by depression era parents. My parents didn't fall for the upward mobility clap trap. They preached conservation before it became a hippy thing of the sixties. There is little more I can do to save the planet, though what I can, I will. As my parents preached, "You reap what you sow."
ReplyDeleteJoanne: Likewise, my parents had a very modest, thrifty lifestyle. They seldom flew anywhere, my father never even learnt to drive, and they didn't have central heating until I was in my teens!
DeleteMy parents never flew anywhere. Nor did they travel by train. We took only one cross-country driving vacation and we ran out of money and time before we reached our destination so had to turn back. Dave and I have traveled in all those ways. Our carbon footprint is good in all ways except travel. Even that we no longer do.
DeleteLinda: Travel is the big thing most people wouldn't want to give up. We're now so used to exploring other parts of the world that staying put seems like a huge step backwards.
DeleteI agree with Bijoux, I don't feel bad for them at all, most of the whinging millennials jump on band wagons to blame someone. As a young mum I used washable terry nappies, shopped daily buying produce wrapped in brown paper or straight into my hessian shopping bag, walked my girls to school and used buses. We shopped in real shops, bringing items home with us, or waited until they were delivered, not demanding next day delivery. I re-cycle and try not to use plastic but - I will still use my car, fly abroad and travel to holidays here at home. I've done my bit, now it's time to enjoy myself :-)
ReplyDeletePolly: Ditto, that's very similar to the way things were in my family when I was growing up. I think there's a bit of a conflict between the millenials who're committed to reversing climate change and the millenials who just want to enjoy themselves and too bad if they're wrecking the climate.
DeleteI was trying, in my small way, to care for the planet more than 25 years ago.
ReplyDeleteIt's not a new idea
Kylie: It's not a new idea, but it's only recently that so many people have recognised it's a global emergency. Many people were warning about over-population at least 50 years ago, but nobody was listening.
DeleteKylie: I read this morning that population isn't the problem, as the rise in global population is slowing down and will at some point go into reverse. A more pressing problem is the richest 10 per cent of the population who produce 49 per cent of all greenhouse gas emissions.
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