Jenny and I do whatever we can to avoid over-consumption, atmospheric pollution, long-distance travel, global supply chains and all that, but at the end of the day there's only so much we can do as two individuals.
Our contribution to climate breakdown is miniscule. The real offenders by far are manufacturers, big corporations and the very wealthy, and they're the ones that need to drastically change their perspective and their belief that they can exploit the planet's resources indefinitely. Sadly there's little sign of their doing that.
I could spend all day obsessing about what more I can do to reverse climate breakdown, and drive myself totally neurotic with anxiety and fear and self-doubt, and it wouldn't do much for my mental health.
But the media contribute to the idea that we should all be scrutinising our every purchase and every activity and asking ourselves if there's more we could do to save the planet and curtail our selfish and extravagant spending patterns.
An entirely hypocritical stance of course, as the media do everything they can to increase our consumption levels with their pages on property, motoring, fashion, travel, home furnishings and all the rest.
Given the general head-in-the-sand attitude and lack of urgency on the part of the biggest polluters I don't see any realistic chance of climate breakdown being reversed, and we might as well prepare for the worst. Many people have already had a taste of the worst in the form of extreme weather events like floods and heatwaves.
And there are still people who deny climate breakdown is even happening.
Yes, Nick. A drop in the ocean doesn't come near to how little I contribute to waste. I recycle as best I can. Trying to quell any thought that it'll land in landfill anyway. It pains me so much I have to muster all my Zen, breathe in/breathe out, to keep my equilibrium and banish guilt.
ReplyDeleteHowever, and I would love to hear dear late Ramana on the subject, when in nihilistic mode I think to myself: "What the hell does it matter anyway? Let the world go to hell in their homemade handcart." Dinosaurs died out. Why not human beings? What's so damn precious about us? And anyway, remember Noah having to build an ark, and Lot having to flee (was it Babylon?) and his wife who couldn't resist turning back to have one last look being turned into a statue of salt. Plagues. You name it. Not to forget locusts decimating the land.
Too little, too late, Nick. Still, AI will survive. No soul but functioning. Great, isn't it?
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Ursula: Too little too late indeed. Climate breakdown is now well under way and only token gestures being made to reverse it.
DeleteLike you, we attempt to do what we can, but as you said, it’s not individuals causing the most harm. I often lament the fact that our cities here did away with all of the public transportation besides buses in the 1950’s, once the average person could afford a car.
ReplyDeleteBijoux: Cities with no public transport except buses? That's ridiculous.
DeleteUntil India and China stop their level of pollution anything else is a drop in the ocean.....mark you, govrnments should stop private enterprise from ruining water supplies, etc, but a fat chance of that while lobbying continues. I'm blowed if I will eat insects while Bill Gates uses a private jet.
ReplyDeleteFly: Absolutely, India and China are causing massive environmental pollution. China is rowing back on things like coal-fired power stations but it's a drop in the global ocean.
DeleteChina still runs steam trains burning coal. Rail fans make trips to China to see what is now history in the USA.
ReplyDeleteLinda
Linda: There are still a lot of private steam railways in the UK. But they're pretty insignificant in terms of pollution generally.
DeleteWe have a few tourist trains running steam in the USA but China is running lots of freight trains using steam. Just regular trains.
DeleteLinda
Linda: China needs to move faster energy-wise. Renewables are gradually taking over in Northern Ireland. At he last count we had 15 wind-powered plants.
DeleteDo what you can and the rest is up to China and India and manufacturers. And airplanes.
ReplyDeleteJoanne: Air travel seems to be getting more popular not less - despite all the glitches air passengers have to contend with.
DeleteDemz wot Rulez us keep kicking the can of climate change down the road of never never land. Our whole economies are based on fossil fuels in one form or another. So I just carry on but absolutely dread the impact on my descendants.My little plastic bag makes not a whit of difference.
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WWW
www: Indeed, everyone kicking the can down the road. I shudder to think what the young will be facing in a decade's time.
DeleteNick, no time to comment we are leaving for Morocco with a Médécins sans Frontières team to help after this terrible earthquake. Our planet is splitting in.pieces and we are all responsable with our misbehaviour.
ReplyDeleteHannah
Hannah: Good luck with your work in Morocco. It looks terrible - 600 dead already.
DeleteI feel guilty about my contribution, but yep, minuscule in relation to big industry, etc.
ReplyDeleteI was pondering why the media dump all of this on us - why are we made to feel so wretched, vulnerable, and helpless? How is this helpful? There must be a conspiracy theory about this that I can buy into - as it's certainly an emotional manipulation to make me feel awful.
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Ms Scarlet: Well, I think in relation to climate breakdown, we do indeed feel vulnerable and helpless because the big polluters are happily polluting away regardless.
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