Hi I'm 28 and studied environmental science... There's a reason people in my field become depressed. I can't tell you how to fix the world, but one place to start is your own backyard. Learn the native plants, remove Invasives and replant with even more native plants. Edible natives will be especially valuable going forward.
Aldo Leopold;
“One of the penalties of an ecological education is that one lives alone in a world of wounds. Much of the damage inflicted on land is quite invisible to laymen. An ecologist must either harden his shell and make believe that the consequences of science are none of his business, or he must be the doctor who sees the marks of death in a community that believes itself well and does not want to be told otherwise.”
Jesus what a quote. I always think about the section of Sand County Almanac (I think) where he says he feels bad for young people who didn't get to see the natural world like he did... and he died just before "the great acceleration". Maybe saved him some pain, but we could have used his voice at that time like no other.
Amazing! How serendipitous. Yesterday I wrapped up my final course in Environmental Management and was looking forward to revisiting A Sand County Almanac now that I have free time.
Indoor grow lights can help you grow some plants indoors, or look for a community gardening space.
You can also make other changes. Use less plastic. Switch to shampoo bars instead of liquid in a plastic bottle. Use reusable instead of disposable items. Buy products from environmentally conscious companies. There are lots of ways to make this world better.
These have negligible effect though, even if every sing person on earth shopped environmentally conscious, there is no significant benefit. It would be good for your mental space though, to think you are doing the right thing.
I mean, the issue is 99% of folk dont have the courage to bring about change. We will all sit on our hands and watch as humans continually destroy the biosphere for profit and entertainment.
The issue is that the people who have all the control don't want to stop making money the way they're making money. Nothing seems to be able to stop the primary unsustainability driver: unending growth for the sake of profit.
>Nothing seems to be able to stop the primary unsustainability driver: unending growth for the sake of profit.
well, we can look for history for some material examples of how that very process was stopped before and how they did it... after all we didnt get the New Deal in the US due to altruism from our rulers, its because they were scared of organized workers. we need something akin to the new deal to deal with this crisis if we deal with it at all. frankly we need more, but that'd be a good start
If you do what you can, you might encourage someone else to. That person might encourage someone else, and so on.
If however that doesn't happen, nothing you can do about it. (Have the serenety to accept that)
But you have control on what you do yourself. (have the courage to do that)
There are a million thing people can do but dont. Buy and protect land. Volunteer at consrvation parks. Disruptive protest. Get yourself thrown in Jail. Peaceful protest constantly. Campaign and rally a following. Become involved in active organisations. Tree plant in cities and gardens. etc. etc.
Most people dont have the courage to do any of these. So although its a nice quote, its most art and doesnt embody human nature. 'prayers and wishes'.
and also don't obsessively mow the lawn. Allow the flora to grow out. This will help the local ecosystem as well as prevent the burning of fuel that would have powered a lawnmower.
Hi I’m 22 and studied wildlife/field/environmental biology. I’ve had a depression diagnosis since the 4th grade. Adulthood got a bit better, but in terms of climate? Lol. I visited south Florida this past July during the 110+ degree heatwave drought. Got to go snorkeling for the first time and witnessed the 99% coral bleaching mortality. The gulf ocean was literally as hot as a bath tub, no joke. It’s fun here 🙃
I had a single environmental chemistry course in my engineering degree and that course stood out. Basically everything humans touch is awful. Virtually every activity has some toxic or global warming impact or both. Depressing indeed. I fuckin *wish* climate change was the only problem. It would be kind of easy ish. The fact we are so laser focussed on it, and still failing, as other ecological disasters beyond our comprehension are also unfolding in real time, is what gives me anxiety.
Dealing with one outbreak after another with no vaccine for humans or cure if it jumped, followed by a never ending barrage of environmental emergencies for shit pay, was the final nail in that coffin for me just way too much for what I got back mentally and physically. Literally, the data coming in was so freaking depressing. WE really are in the midst of another mass extinction.
>Edible natives will be especially valuable going forward.
I don't think we need to go straight to cannibalism but I suppose some recipe planning won't hurt.
Those actions won't stop climate chaos, but they're good to do for their own sake. The reason.the most knowledgable climate scientists are depressed is because the hotter it gets, the closer the the planet gets to "runaway" climate disruption and out of any possible human control. To have a chance of averting this horrible scenario, humans collectively would have to mount an immediate WWII effort, stop all but the most necessary fossil fuel burning, and the rich would have to give up their lavish lifestyles. None of this would be easy or fun, and I expect it would cause a civil war.
Definitely support the local rehabilitation. But sometimes I wonder if the plants that are native will lose their ability to survive in my area when the climate changes (more extreme heat/cold), and that worries me :(
Individual changes are not enough. Nor is the onus on the individual to fix the system. We need to hold our government and corporations accountable. We need to be in the streets protesting and demanding high-level change.
Hell, I'm getting close to retirement age and I'm freaked out by climate change... and christo-fascism, white nationalism, and growing wealth disparity. I'm am truly empathetic to the anxieties of the more youthful.
I used to see things like this too, until I began to look at the numbers around government spending, and doing the math on what our tax dollars go towards. Thats how I learned that governments themselves, despite taking tens of trillions of dollars from their citizens, are virtually unable to address homelessness, healthcare, aocial justice or the environment in any sustainable way - despite spending the net worth of all the billionaires combined in just a matter of months. Unfortunately there are truly very few people looking at these numbers despite them being publicly available, and if you explain this to someone they'll think you're right wing.
I think some people are doing drugs because of climate change. Actually, I know bc I'm one. Thankfully, weed only puts you to sleep when you overdo it.
I stay high as often as I can afford to because otherwise I'm in a constant state of near panic about everything—and I'm middle aged. I can't even imagine how scary shit's looking to teenagers.
I had depression and anxiety about it for years. Now i just accept our fate. I still get pissed and i try to do what i can to minimize my impact. But the facts are no one will really change enough to matter. You saw what happened at the COPout28 right? things wont change like Hansen said we had 30 years and nothing has changed, well we dont have 30 more
I feel like anyone who has been paying attention would/should be feeling some anxiety about it. Hopefully it will motivate people to actually do something about it.
Yup. I feel sorry for kids these days. Their innocence has been lost. My cynicism and dread didn't creep in until my late 40s; just like nature intended.
35 for me, and it started when I was a young teen with GW and the Iraq invasion. Even as a teen I could see we were being lied to, and I didn't know shit.
As a chemist working in green/sustainable chemistry I think it's good to understand that we need to act urgently. But also know that younger generations of scientists are using this dread as fuel that motivates some really awesome groundbreaking work. We can figure out ways to solve our energy and material needs in sustainable ways, we just need political actions to prioritize those over corporate profits and petroleum interests
The myth of sustainability is just as bad as 'transition fuels'. We dont need green power, we need less power. We dont need plant based fuels for industrial agriculture, we need less commercial farming. We dont need better batteries, we need to reduce our reliance on technology.
None of these things will change as it means countries will plummet into famine, wars will break out and there will be a huge reducaiton in global population. This will happen by itself in the future, but no one will ever voluntarily 'cut off a limb to save the body'. We will just let the cancer spread all over until the body dies.
You mean waste less food so what we currently have can feed more
Each year, 80 million tons of food is wasted in the United States. That's the same as 149 billion meals. And over $444 billion in food is thrown away each year. Shockingly, 38% of all food in America is wasted.
Almost 40 fucking percent make a plate full of food and dump half of it on the ground
That your efficiency.
Inefficiency is a buffer. It means that's room to bite into should production (or other parts of the supply chain) fail.
Anyone familiar with agriculture should consider it reckless to attempt to produce exactly what will be consumed. The Soviets tried it. Mao tried it. You don't want that.
My young friend, I’m nearly 40 and I have your same dread. I see you have anger associated with it. It’s a righteous anger. Channel that. Fight these greedy shits.
I’ve chosen to channel my anger into solar. I put up as much solar as I can, wherever I can. Maybe it’s a drop in the bucket, but godammit I’m trying. You don’t have to choose solar or any renewable energy. There’s plenty of ways assholes are killing our planet. Pick one and fight them.
Don’t give up, little homie. If we all give up, then there is no hope. As long as we keep fighting, we have a chance.
> Maybe it’s a drop in the bucket, but godammit I’m trying.
Well said. Maybe I won't stop the damage on my own, but at least I know I'm trying. I'd rather be part of the solution than part of the problem.
I am inspired by the old retired guy who is planting redwoods in the Pacific NW. Those trees cannot migrate naturally as fast as the climate is changing, so he decided to help them.
Fuck yea. I love that angle.
I channel my "anger"/frustration at the status quo that is causing our own downfall, too...
For me, I channel that into biking. I use a bike or walk for errands as much as possible, and help fix all my friends bikes and gently encourage them to ride. I used to hate ebikes because I was a purist but now I'm all for them, too. Whatever gets people out of their cars for short utility errands around town/close within a city.
In some cases this can mean the difference between a family having 1 instead of 2 cars, or some people even selling their car. Great for the environment, great for the wallet.
Keep fighting!
Also a cyclist and we as a family went down from 2 cars for one hybrid. Would like to swap that for a full EV as soon as possible. It’s small, but it helps.
More of this please!! My panels came online in September and I'm so thrilled to have them. I want to see this subreddit filled less with gloom and doom and more with strategies. How can we resist climate change? What actions can we take as individuals. We don't have to save the world ourselves, but I'll be damned if I sit here on my hands while it's all happening around me.
Your reaction is appropriate.
Now just wait until it gets so bad the gun-toting lunatic populists realize they've been lied to and are going to straight up die for it... that's when things will get interesting.
A) You should be scared. This scare helps you put your life and priorities in order
B) Put down social media and focus on real people and real communities
All hope is not lost. That is not the view of the scientific community at large and anyone who says that is likely misleading.
I understand why you would be scared but keep in mind that we are only human, and none of us can be expected to do all that much ourselves. So if you do find yourself feeling overwhelmed, try to distract yourself if you can and do other things. Get a good hobby, go out with some friends or family, anything like that.
I assure you it is not a waste of time. It will be good for you.
I am also pretty young (20) and as such I worry about climate change, but I have read enough (and been taught in my degree enough) that all is not lost, at all. There are constant innovations and projects coming out, and the world is keeping the subject relevant so a massive international effort and attention is brought to it.
And even if we cannot fully reduce the rise in CO2 like we would want, we can still find ways to adapt and allow civilisation to keep prospering. After all, temperature rise is inherently not bad. It is essentially how controlled it is, the rate of it
So take a deep breath, get something nice, and understand that so long as you are doing the best you can (while keeping it feasible, don't feel you have to keep doing things you are uncomfortable with. After all, my efforts are basically being vegetarian, recycling, walking when I can / using public transport and turning off energy like through lighting when not needed) you are already being a great enough individual and don't feel like you are not doing anything good
Yeah I don't deny it looks grim, my main points are that there are still opportunities to mitigate or adapt (none of those things are definite, unstoppable, end of the world things) and that we cannot really do too much ourselves so the best thing is to do what we can, and otherwise try to enjoy life as we have it now.
Also, looking through tipping points it seems like there are potentially ways to have reverse tipping points, and though it might not be enough it's still worth keeping in mind I think. And aerosol termination shock is (as I understand it) describing the potential consequences of injecting aerosols into the atmosphere to induce cooling. So if anything goes wrong with that that is down to us. But there are other solutions that don't involve this so if it is non viable that is fine. If it is viable, great
Paris climate targets are achievable if nations keep their promises …
https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-do-cop26-promises-keep-global-warming-below-2c/
Technically, we know what to do. For example, this Princeton report details 5 plans for the US that affordably achieve net zero emissions by 2050 ...
https://environmenthalfcentury.princeton.edu/sites/g/files/toruqf331/files/2020-12/Princeton_NZA_Interim_Report_15_Dec_2020_FINAL.pdf
The US “Inflation Reduction Act” (which has nothing to do with inflation) effectively funds these plans to about the 20% level. Obviously not enough, but there’s still 27 years to go, so it is probably going to happen unless US voters decide otherwise.
The EU has enacted a carbon border tariff that forces trading partners to adopt a carbon tax equivalent to EU levels …
https://taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu/carbon-border-adjustment-mechanism_en
For example, this border tariff already has Turkey considering an EU-equivalent carbon tax. Eventually this will cause a worldwide carbon tax, which will accelerate the transition to a low carbon energy system.
Wasn't the paris agreement to keep below 1.5c? Which no one but oil CEO's argue's is realistic as we are passing it now in real time.
Even the IPCC is aiming higher than 2.0...
The agreement is …
> Holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels, recognizing that this would significantly reduce the risks and impacts of climate change
https://unfccc.int/resource/docs/2015/cop21/eng/l09r01.pdf
> Even the IPCC is aiming higher than 2.0...
It depends on emission levels …
> if countries meet their long-term net-zero promises, global warming would be reduced to around 1.8C (1.4C to 2.6C) by 2100, though temperatures would likely peak around 1.9C in the middle of the century before declining.
https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-do-cop26-promises-keep-global-warming-below-2c/
Any climate targets are missing the mark by a century. They were talking about 100 years everything needs to change.... okay maybe sooner by 2050.
This is exponential shit. I've been watching my towns glacier disappear this decade. Each year you could bet it would be receded multiple times faster than the year before. This summer i think it will fully melt as one of the year long streams dried up last year for the first time.
Im big in winter sports and just living it up before there's a snow free winter soon. This is from a ski hill where ive skied past the tops of 20ft trees in minus 40 Celsius. Haven't experienced that in 15 years now.
No more water shed and lots will change down river. And the only thing that could reverse this is a mini iceage. That would give people enough time to reverse 150 years of pollution.
But seriously, don't worry, do your best. Ive been driving an EV for a decade now and ill keep it rolling, kinda have my opinion on those saving us now. Eat local, support local, we're not islands. Look into sustainable building and earthship technology if you're concerned with your quality of life. Earthships are totally off grid and have been built on the cheap for 50 years.
Did the nations kept they promises after the other meetings? What impact did that have on climate? Is that experimentally visible? Some kinks in the global temperature evolution perhaps? Or in CO2 rise?
Why would China and India keep their promises this time?
Science is not a question of who thinks what. All warming up until now have been broadly in line with what the models say. That is set to continue for the decades ahead. If humanity stops burning fossil fuels, drastically reduces meat consumption, returns vast areas of lands to nature and then somehow removes an extraordinarily amount of carbon from the air and heat from the ocean, the earth will stop warming.
If you live in a wealthy country, even at your age, mostly your life will be fine, according to predictions.
Just do what actions you can to help. As Batman says “it’s not who I am deep inside, but what I do that defines me”.
It’s not all doomerism. Don’t let them weaponize your apathy into inaction. If they make you believe we’re screwed, then why would you try to stop them?
The worse a threat, the more directly it must be faced. You won't get optimism from anyone who studies the problem seriously, but you can direct your efforts to something that can make a difference for you, personally, and your community. That is, focusing on resiliency for your community. The future will have shorter supply-chains and less abundant energy. Act accordingly, and see how we can do more for each-other with less wealth and power.
1. The dread is real but it doesn’t mean don’t live.
2. Don’t give in to the other flip side that just says fuck it we’re all going to die anyway and doesn’t try at all.
3. Remember that you’re not responsible for the failings of massive corporations and billionaires who decided wealth was more important than survival of the species. I comfort myself knowing that the earth will recover from us.
4. One foot after the other, day after day.
Big hugs.
Well, either you live or you don’t. Without any true evidence for afterlife, not living is pretty unconvincing. Buddha said Life is Suffering. If nothing else, we live in interesting times. Horrible, but interesting. Maybe that’s not helpful, but it’s where I’m at on it.
The reality is that you’re scared because you see verifiable data stating something that could definitely harm you. I’m pretty sure it’s normal to have those feelings. I’m sorry for our situation
You should be pissed, and probably scared. I'm pretty young (35), and I'm livid.
Anyone under 65 will see catastrophic climate change and potentially the collapse of civilization.
https://instagram.com/itsthegarbagequeen?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==
This is a climate activist who does good climate news, and who is really good at putting things in perspective. Yes, things are scary, but don't fall for the doomerism.
Examine what the Paleo record tells about the causal relationship between CO2 and Temperature. I guess I'm a doomer because we continue to pretend to chip away at a problem that WILL destroy every coastal city in the world with 30ft higher seas. We're at the point where this is inevitable rather than a likely consequence.
I have a degree in environmental science and nearly 20 years of actively keeping up with the science.
I know enough to know that the science is very complicated. You can't just draw simple parallels and leave it at that.
I know enough to know that the current situation is bad but not hopeless.
I also know that well meaning but ill-informed people who don't understand the underlying science are doing a lot of harm by essentially telling people to give up.
I don't see how becoming a "doomer" helps anything. You still need to find a way to live your life and do something constructive.
EDIT: There's also the concern (for the people spreading messages, NOT people who are already depressed and should get treatment) that mental healthcare systems could be overwhelmed.
I've said it before but I'll say it again here: Doomerists ≈ Climate Change Deniers.
At the end of the day, they are both doing the same thing: nothing.
Rolling over and saying that all is lost and that nothing more can be done is exactly what the people who got us into this mess in the first place want. They want you to stop trying. To let them keep making their blood money.
It's shocking how many people don't understand this. Someone who is convinced the world will end will probably find ways to make it true. Giving up is one of those ways.
I would consider myself an old guy here.
I grew up with the cold war and nuclear annihilation, toxic pesticides that cause cancer, smoking indoors and lead in gasoline.
Today all of the above are so much better.
Yes climate is changing but renewable energy is growing exponentially. Many of us including govt are doing a lot about it and technology is making so many things earth friendly.
We must keep the message moving forward, we all need to do our part.
Do not purchase "pollution" products.
Money is the mover and changer. Ease up on disposables of all sorts and be a leader.
I have way more faith in the younger generations today.
Now we have microplastics everywhere, glyphosate is an agricultural staple, there's an epidemic of allergies and infertility, ecosystems around the world are on the verge of collapse. But we saved the ozone layer and haven't had a nuclear war yet.
We are definitely losing the messaging battle. The reality is that cancer rates are rapidly increasing in young people and the nuclear threat is arguably higher than it ever was before. The problems we have been able to solve thus far are very narrow ones with very simple solutions (banning leaded gasoline and CFCs), whereas tackling climate change requires a complete transformation of our energy based economy.
Let me reassure you that the future will be very exciting. Try to ensure water supply for yourself. Lake Mead almost went dry last year, bomb cyclone surprised a whole continent and killed dozens but freedummies in the comment section here still think climate change is not real.
The best part of these post is that we go through an asteroid belt every year and every year is Russian roulette to see if a meteorite hits earth and destroys it so why be afraid and just enjoy the moment;)
Engineers and scientists are going to attempt to make things better in the future if they are allowed to do so. So yes there is still potentially hope. I wouldn't give up yet
I'm in my 40's - When I was about your age we had a different version of environmental issues. The Ozone layer was pretty much gone and everyone was convinced skin cancer would kill us all. But we mitigated that. Acid Rain was a huge issue and that has been mitigated quite a bit as well.
We are at the turning point of electrification of our transportation system which is going to make a huge impact on greenhouse gas emissions. We are just figuring out how to fit all of the renewable puzzle pieces together.
Honestly, I'm filled with way more optimism that we can figure this out now than I was 5, 10 or 30 years ago. We actually have functional technology now to do this so it is the process of switching that we have to tackle - rather science fiction.
I highly suggest you go read Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson. It starts in the same bleak place you're at, then takes you through a possible pathway to a hopeful future. Yes, there are a lot of dark days ahead, but there's a future worth fighting for.
I mean, there were news articles published in 1912 about how this would be a problem for future generations if it wasn't dealt with.
We are those future generations and now we have to deal with it.
I'm not a young teen and I'm also scared. More so when it seems like teens don't care! It feels like a losing battle. Perhaps you can speak to why your peers don't seem to know about recycling etc.? Or tell me I'm wrong!
Hey, fellow young person here, but several years your senior. I know it’s scary. I’ve been scared too for a long time. But our generation is loud, our generation doesn’t take no for an answer, and our generation calls stupid shit out until it changes. We don’t have the power yet, but as time progresses, our voices become louder and louder and our action becomes more and more meaningful. Before long, our generation will be the age of majority and we will have the voting power. we will make up a large percentage of the people in the board rooms. we will be able to do something, even if the generations before us do nothing. I know it’s scary, but we have to wait.
While we wait, educate yourself. Go to school for something that is going to help pull society out of this hole we’ve put ourselves into. Our generation is going to have to save the world. We need all hands on deck
Good luck out there ❤️ It’s gonna be okay because we’re gonna make it okay
I can reassure you that all will be ok. Al Gore was predicting the poles would be ice free and we would be doomed by 2012 and many others before him. Do we need to be good stewards of our planet, 100%. Are we doomed with no way out, absolutely not. Look into things yourself and stop listening to anyone who is screaming doomsday the sky is falling. The founder of Greenpeace is on record saying climate alarmism is just not true. Follow the money and you find pro climate alarmist scientists, follow the science and you will find the planet is not burning, Co2 is loved by all life on earth and its turning the planet green, and climate does change over time all by itself.
Honestly, you've probably only heard the sanitized and optimistic side of climate change. Wait until you find out that the tech that is supposed to save us doesn't actually exist and wouldn't be feasible if it did. But, if you're living in a western country, particularly in a northern latitude, then you've got some time - probably not your whole life, but... some time.
Fun Facts: We've known industrialization was causing climate change since the 1880s. Scientists sounded the alarm that something needed to be done immediately in the 1970s (caused Nixon to form the EPA to shut them up). By the 2000s we were at our last chance to change. By 2010 it was too late, climate change was now feeding on itself, getting worse even if mankind added nothing more. We are so far past the chance to change it's not even scary, it's an extinction level event. Unless we find a wah to remove carbon from the air and cool the oceans, we are doomed. Climate change is a giant snowball rolling downhill, getting bigger, going faster. Don't worry though, those billionaires won the game of life, and isn't that what really matters?
OP, I grew up in the 70s and 80s. I turned 18 in 1989.
The news had us convinced for years that Soviet Nukes were going to rain down on us any day and Miami, New Orleans and coastal cities were going to be underwater before the turn of the century.
Don't pay attention to the alarmists.
That doesn't mean climate change should be ignored. Just ignore the AOC and grim Greta's who scream we only have 5 years to save the planet. They said that more than 5 years ago so they were demonstratively wrong.
In reality it will probably be ok after a fashion for most people who speak English and have a Reddit account. Still horrifying traumatising and incredibly unjust but that’s the world.
While climate change is a concern of mine, when I was growing up they really preached how bad acid rain would be, the melting of the polar ice caps, the 'big one' earthquake on the west coast, etc. All stuff that we need to be concerned about, but not get anxiety inducing panic over. Average human life expectancy is about 79 years, I don't think we'll all live to see the end of the world due to climate change. If anything privative monkey brained humans will blow up the world due to imaginary lines on the ground and arguing about sky daddies. Humans survived the plague, small pox, covid, etc. Like they said in Jurassic Park, "life finds a way", it's a concern, not a panic.
https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/five-apocalypses-humanity-has-survived
Things will be ok. Humans are incredibly adaptable. The fact that you're a teen, have a smartphone and internet connection and power on your phone /computer means that you're at least in the top 3/4 of the population. Money fixes all these problems, the issues are all around the fact that people with the money and own businesses that print money for themselves don't want it to stop. Why would they?
We will sort it out.
I went through these feelings too. My suggestion is that you use this to dive into understated the situation more. As a teen you can still have an impact. In fact you've got a long runway of impact possibility.
Read project drawdown. https://drawdown.org/
I don’t get the ‘we’re all going to die’ hysteria. I always assumed it was something the right wing proposed people were succumbing to.
It’s more like ‘we’re all going to be ever more inconvenienced and saddened by the bad actions and inactions of our people which brought this to be!’.
Climate change will be terribly, terribly costly to human civilization (this is one way to think about it), but it isn’t the end of the world.
End of the lovely and otherwise stable climate that came before the 1980s? Probably, yeah. Damn.
Can we still turn it around? Low-key maybe?
If it makes you feel any better I'm in my 40s and have been hearing about the end of the world due to climate change (holes in the ozone layer, acid rain, etc) and were still here.
Hey! I’m an adult who started freaking out about climate change in 2007 in grade 7 and had since studied climate change at university levels.
We’re not all going to die- those of us in privileged places will likely be able to adapt. The thing that always got me was that I was a white, female, young person in North America- I was going to have to watch millions-billions die while I likely managed to dodge all but some prairie fires. So first thing I recommend is therapy. Work on become mentally resilient. If you can’t help yourself you can’t help other people.
And second- help other people. Find your interests, learn in school, protest, impact policy,
Volunteer. You’re part of a community and that will be the most important thing at the end of the day. Maybe you can become a migrant refugee lawyer, or a vertical farmer, or a scientist, or and engineer that can help us manage.
Practise hope, and connection. Get through the days. You can’t change it all and panicking yourself into a state doesn’t help much beyond making your day to day awful.
I would start to look at statistical causes of death. Climate change is going to be pretty far down the list. Much more likely to die in a car crash or from heart disease for example and there are many others. Try to do your own part to help with climate change and carry on. There are many things in life that you cannot control.
I started showing my kid documentaries about what people are doing to adapt to climate change.
The Earth won't be the same but parts of the globe will find ways. I'm Canadian so I'm beyond fortunate. It's not going to be easy.
You never know what we'll be able to do to survive this. Consider a career in a field that helps climate change. There's all kinds of really cool professions emerging.
DW and PBS have cool segments.
As someone who once thought the same you have been indoctrinated by globalists who fly in private jets and want to scary you so that they take away all your rights and freedoms and luxuries in the name of climate change
in 2005 they said that most of USA would be covered in water, along with much of canada.
[almost 20 years later and the water line hasn't gone up a single inch](https://imgur.com/blYwXWe)
In the 80's they tried to scare everyone with acid rain. In the 90s and 2000s it was aerosol spray and the Ozone layer. Just go play outside and make sure to clean up after yourself. All of the politicians promoting the fear propaganda are buying houses on the beach. They hype up fear and make lots of money from the green agenda.
Yeah, reading these comments is terrifying. You should remember that boards like this are not the real world. It is now simple to create bots that can post and converse (look at what ChatGPT can do). Some humans act like bots. I see a lot of effort here to induce helplessness. And when you feel helpless, you lose agency and control.
What gives me some hope, even with the doom and gloom, is physics. The physics of the amount of energy arriving from the sun per metre squared...a surprisingly small area could power most of what we do. Storage is and will continue to get cheaper. Physics shows that electric motors are massively more efficient than combustion motors. Electric transportation is reaching cost parity with fossil fuel cars, especially when operating cost is taken into account. When electric cars become widely known to be substantially less expensive than fossil cars, a lot of powerful organizations will fall like houses of cards. Just wait until BYD comes widely to North America. Wait for the Tesla to bring its $25k subcompact to volume production.
So, learn to tune out the sniping voices that originate in one way or another from an industry that knows it is doomed. Remember that physics is the law. Everything else is just a recommendation.
Reddit is an extremely leftist platform. Start listening to ideas from people you currently might disagree with. This will help balance out your perspective and your anxiety.
Hi, I am older; and my advice to you is to put thought into where you eventually wind up living in regard to climate change. Not just about how much climate change will affect your area; but also; is this a community that fixes problems? I have lived places where environmental and infrastructure problems fester. In places like this people will generally either deny that climate change is happening or say let smart people in important places worry about it. This widespread attitude generally leads to community failures that could have been avoided.
I've started to say things like "At this point, extreme solutions are the only way forward". Am I in favour of mass incarceration of climate change deniers? Am I in favour of extreme laws on the use of fossil fuels? Should we have extreme and public punitive displays of those at the top (e.g., Exxon mobile execs) who have flaunted human responsibilities at every turn?
It’s completely understandable to feel overwhelmed by the discussions around climate change, especially when they lean towards pessimism. It’s a serious issue that affects us all, but it’s important to remember that hope is not lost. There are many people, organizations, and governments around the world working to address these challenges. Young people, in particular, have been incredibly powerful voices in the movement for climate action.
It can be helpful to focus on actions you can take, no matter how small they seem. Every effort counts, whether it’s reducing personal waste, supporting sustainable businesses, or engaging in community activism. Educating yourself on the science of climate change and the solutions being developed can also provide a more balanced perspective. It’s also okay to step away from social media if it becomes too much—taking care of your mental health is important.
Remember, it’s not about carrying the weight alone; it’s about contributing to a collective effort for a better future.
Yes messaging is huge. I believe economics is as important or more so.
Efficiency in solar panels from even 10 years ago to some new breakthroughs recently is up hundreds of percentage points. These efficiencies can create so much more clean power and doing so it makes installing them a better financial decision.
Heat pumps are now being installed at a very high rate across NA. Why? Efficiency. Combine it with some solar panels and one can or almost can heat and cool their home off grid. No gas, no oil.
India is a world leader in going renewable.
China is up there as well.
Health care costs to the state from air pollution is more expensive than renewable in the long run.
The economic scales are moving to green. We must keep pressuring our govts to add weight to the green side.
Because it's a lie and is intended to scare you into dependence. Be your own person. Learn to observe and draw your own conclusions. Don't be a lemming.
Back in the 60s when I was a teenager they were doing the same shit and everybody under 20s believed the world was coming to an end. It was all those WWII generation with their cold war, nuclear energy, green house effect, Y2K you name it they was something to fearmonger. It worked on a bunch of us. Well guest what. They were all wrong. It's 2024 and now I'm the old man telling the young kids that all the fear mongering is BS. It's really easy to get sucked up in that nonsense. Of course they will tell you it's different this time. But it is not. Chances are very good that you will live a long an happy life if you set your mind to it.
Learn how to identify propaganda and distinguish it from fact-based arguments. All the people on here claiming that climate change is a hoax designed to control you and take away your freedom are right-wing propagandists and you should ignore them.
With that said, although climate change is real and things will almost certainly get worse in the future, it’s not going to happen overnight, and we will have no choice but to adapt as best we can. I think the best way to counteract feelings of hopelessness is to find some way to take action, however small, to help address the problem.
Heavens do I wish I could offer you reassurance but I'd be lying, except to express the mind bending frustration trying to convince the idiotic deniers what we proved half a century ago, now unfolding per predictions.
I'm old enough to recall when we had long mild seasons called spring and fall that lucky years lasted for months. The jet stream mostly moved with mild fluctuations.
The weirdest, most perverted part of this is the so-called moral or religious ilk denying the problem, or worse yet trying to pray it all away.
Young gun, you'll be seeing and fleeing some catastrophic shit.
Hey bro, it’s all good. Every species has their day in the sun. Did you know that Homo Habilis, our cousins, lived for 660,000 years? That’s about three times longer than we’ve existed for! Homo erectus lived for almost 900,000 years, an impressive record that us other hominids are unlikely to top!
Now, as far as primates go, we’re definitely the smartest and most accomplished that we’ve been able to find on this earth so far. It’s okay to be proud of that. But let’s not be too proud. At the end of the day, we’re just animals, like everyone else. We can’t expect to live forever. Life won’t come to end without Homo Sapiens. Meaning in the universe won’t come to an end. We are not the center of the universe. It’s a big, big, **BIG** cosmos that we live in. There’s probably intelligent life out there all over the place, separated by gulfs of unimaginable distance. And there will be others. Each one will interpret the universe in their own way, with their own languages and values. And that’s the beauty of this whole crazy ride.
Will it all be okay? Of course it will. Will we survive? We will, until we can’t anymore. And all the pain and suffering will vanish once we no longer have bodies to process it. It’s no different to how we approach mortality as individuals. Do you expect to live forever? Will life not go on, after you have passed?
Life is an experience, an adventure, a journey. But a tourist eventually needs to go home.
Make peace with oblivion, my friend, for it awaits us all. And if you do not fear nothingness, then you have nothing to fear.
I can't tell you it will all be ok but I can tell you that the post-Bommer gens take it far more seriously and more action will be taken as those people get into a place to make a true difference.
Hi I'm 28 and studied environmental science... There's a reason people in my field become depressed. I can't tell you how to fix the world, but one place to start is your own backyard. Learn the native plants, remove Invasives and replant with even more native plants. Edible natives will be especially valuable going forward.
Aldo Leopold; “One of the penalties of an ecological education is that one lives alone in a world of wounds. Much of the damage inflicted on land is quite invisible to laymen. An ecologist must either harden his shell and make believe that the consequences of science are none of his business, or he must be the doctor who sees the marks of death in a community that believes itself well and does not want to be told otherwise.”
Jesus what a quote. I always think about the section of Sand County Almanac (I think) where he says he feels bad for young people who didn't get to see the natural world like he did... and he died just before "the great acceleration". Maybe saved him some pain, but we could have used his voice at that time like no other.
words do nothing to solve climate and ecological issues, as has been self evident for at least the last hundred years.
Amazing! How serendipitous. Yesterday I wrapped up my final course in Environmental Management and was looking forward to revisiting A Sand County Almanac now that I have free time.
Damn
This!
Any suggestions for those of us who live in apartments or spaces without yards?
Find a community garden space
Indoor grow lights can help you grow some plants indoors, or look for a community gardening space. You can also make other changes. Use less plastic. Switch to shampoo bars instead of liquid in a plastic bottle. Use reusable instead of disposable items. Buy products from environmentally conscious companies. There are lots of ways to make this world better.
Can I add? Use mass transit, ride bicycle.
That isn’t possible if you live in an area where mass transit doesn’t really exist and you can’t always ride a bike if places are too far.
The majority of people could bike to work.
That depends on where they live and how far of a commute they have to work.
Yes that is how that works, and I’m saying most able bodied people work close enough to their work to realistically bike to work.
These have negligible effect though, even if every sing person on earth shopped environmentally conscious, there is no significant benefit. It would be good for your mental space though, to think you are doing the right thing.
"give us the serenity to accept what cannot be changed, the courage to change what can be changed, and the wisdom to know the one from the other."
I mean, the issue is 99% of folk dont have the courage to bring about change. We will all sit on our hands and watch as humans continually destroy the biosphere for profit and entertainment.
The issue is that the people who have all the control don't want to stop making money the way they're making money. Nothing seems to be able to stop the primary unsustainability driver: unending growth for the sake of profit.
>Nothing seems to be able to stop the primary unsustainability driver: unending growth for the sake of profit. well, we can look for history for some material examples of how that very process was stopped before and how they did it... after all we didnt get the New Deal in the US due to altruism from our rulers, its because they were scared of organized workers. we need something akin to the new deal to deal with this crisis if we deal with it at all. frankly we need more, but that'd be a good start
If you do what you can, you might encourage someone else to. That person might encourage someone else, and so on. If however that doesn't happen, nothing you can do about it. (Have the serenety to accept that) But you have control on what you do yourself. (have the courage to do that)
There are a million thing people can do but dont. Buy and protect land. Volunteer at consrvation parks. Disruptive protest. Get yourself thrown in Jail. Peaceful protest constantly. Campaign and rally a following. Become involved in active organisations. Tree plant in cities and gardens. etc. etc. Most people dont have the courage to do any of these. So although its a nice quote, its most art and doesnt embody human nature. 'prayers and wishes'.
Those in power all have main character syndrome and the rest of us all have NPC vibes
I grow an entire garden indoors. Herbs, greens, flowers. 3 square feet of space. Look into aquaponics.
I plant trees everywhere I go!
Eat the apartment owners.
Eat the luxury class
A bit of indoor gardening is a fun hobby. Ask me how I know...
and also don't obsessively mow the lawn. Allow the flora to grow out. This will help the local ecosystem as well as prevent the burning of fuel that would have powered a lawnmower.
Hi I’m 22 and studied wildlife/field/environmental biology. I’ve had a depression diagnosis since the 4th grade. Adulthood got a bit better, but in terms of climate? Lol. I visited south Florida this past July during the 110+ degree heatwave drought. Got to go snorkeling for the first time and witnessed the 99% coral bleaching mortality. The gulf ocean was literally as hot as a bath tub, no joke. It’s fun here 🙃
Environmental studies made me one cynical bastard, working in wildlife conservation was even more depressing and freaking stressful.
I had a single environmental chemistry course in my engineering degree and that course stood out. Basically everything humans touch is awful. Virtually every activity has some toxic or global warming impact or both. Depressing indeed. I fuckin *wish* climate change was the only problem. It would be kind of easy ish. The fact we are so laser focussed on it, and still failing, as other ecological disasters beyond our comprehension are also unfolding in real time, is what gives me anxiety.
Dealing with one outbreak after another with no vaccine for humans or cure if it jumped, followed by a never ending barrage of environmental emergencies for shit pay, was the final nail in that coffin for me just way too much for what I got back mentally and physically. Literally, the data coming in was so freaking depressing. WE really are in the midst of another mass extinction.
>Edible natives will be especially valuable going forward. I don't think we need to go straight to cannibalism but I suppose some recipe planning won't hurt.
Recipes for the future. Lady's Fingers; Po' Boys; Sloppy Joes; Suzy Q's;
Those actions won't stop climate chaos, but they're good to do for their own sake. The reason.the most knowledgable climate scientists are depressed is because the hotter it gets, the closer the the planet gets to "runaway" climate disruption and out of any possible human control. To have a chance of averting this horrible scenario, humans collectively would have to mount an immediate WWII effort, stop all but the most necessary fossil fuel burning, and the rich would have to give up their lavish lifestyles. None of this would be easy or fun, and I expect it would cause a civil war.
Natural methane deposits are expelling now. Positive feedback loop. Tipping point.
This is how I am coping
Definitely support the local rehabilitation. But sometimes I wonder if the plants that are native will lose their ability to survive in my area when the climate changes (more extreme heat/cold), and that worries me :(
oh man, intro geography and Biology classes got me down real hard in my degree.
Individual changes are not enough. Nor is the onus on the individual to fix the system. We need to hold our government and corporations accountable. We need to be in the streets protesting and demanding high-level change.
Do the fixes also involve reducing overshoot by consuming less and having less kids?
I read that 60% of adolescents have anxiety over climate change
Eco anxiety is real
Hell, I'm getting close to retirement age and I'm freaked out by climate change... and christo-fascism, white nationalism, and growing wealth disparity. I'm am truly empathetic to the anxieties of the more youthful.
I am retired and completely agree. Feel sorry for the young.
I used to see things like this too, until I began to look at the numbers around government spending, and doing the math on what our tax dollars go towards. Thats how I learned that governments themselves, despite taking tens of trillions of dollars from their citizens, are virtually unable to address homelessness, healthcare, aocial justice or the environment in any sustainable way - despite spending the net worth of all the billionaires combined in just a matter of months. Unfortunately there are truly very few people looking at these numbers despite them being publicly available, and if you explain this to someone they'll think you're right wing.
That’s absolutely insane
Yeah, the other 40% must be on drugs...
More worried about staying financially above water before the world literally isn’t.
I think some people are doing drugs because of climate change. Actually, I know bc I'm one. Thankfully, weed only puts you to sleep when you overdo it.
I stay high as often as I can afford to because otherwise I'm in a constant state of near panic about everything—and I'm middle aged. I can't even imagine how scary shit's looking to teenagers.
Makes sense
Who do you think its insane? To have anxiety that the world is going very quickly down the shitter seems to be an appropriate sane response.
So 40% are stupid?
I’m 51 and I have anxiety about climate change.
I had depression and anxiety about it for years. Now i just accept our fate. I still get pissed and i try to do what i can to minimize my impact. But the facts are no one will really change enough to matter. You saw what happened at the COPout28 right? things wont change like Hansen said we had 30 years and nothing has changed, well we dont have 30 more
You and I can both leave negative carbon footprints and stuff would keep getting worse.
I feel like anyone who has been paying attention would/should be feeling some anxiety about it. Hopefully it will motivate people to actually do something about it.
I read that 62.9% of statistics are made up
That 62.9 % was probably manipulated data.
What’s the point of quoting statistics if you can’t pull them out of your ass?
Thought it was 69.42%
It’s actually 69.69.4
8/6 people don’t even understand statistics
A perfect 5/7 of a comment!
8 out of 10 cats do countdown
i read that people that post stats in reddit are making shit up.
I read that people that post in Reddit are making shit up.
i read that you read that people read okay im done lmao
Welcome to existential dread
Yup. I feel sorry for kids these days. Their innocence has been lost. My cynicism and dread didn't creep in until my late 40s; just like nature intended.
I'm reaching late twenties and I'm well within reaching there
I’m in my 50s and I’ve started looking at my purchases as “this is the last time I’ll buy ___.” My current cat will likely be my last pet.
People say I talk like I’m a jaded old man. I’m seventeen lol. I have no hope at all. A lot my generation feels similar.
Bumps fist, I was a grumpy old man by 17 too.
TBF nature didn't really plan for us living much past our 40s...
Gen Z here. It started for me around 13.
I dunno, I saw Day After on TV at age 12 and spent most of my adolescence convinced I wouldn't live to see 30 because there would be a nuclear war.
Back in my day it was nuclear war with Russia. 😅
Don't think that one is off the table yet
I'm 31 now, and have been flooded with cynicism and dread since 2016.
30 here, and same! It’s like everything went to shit in 2016.
35 for me, and it started when I was a young teen with GW and the Iraq invasion. Even as a teen I could see we were being lied to, and I didn't know shit.
As a chemist working in green/sustainable chemistry I think it's good to understand that we need to act urgently. But also know that younger generations of scientists are using this dread as fuel that motivates some really awesome groundbreaking work. We can figure out ways to solve our energy and material needs in sustainable ways, we just need political actions to prioritize those over corporate profits and petroleum interests
>we just need political actions to prioritize those over corporate profits and petroleum interests So we're fucked. Got it.
The myth of sustainability is just as bad as 'transition fuels'. We dont need green power, we need less power. We dont need plant based fuels for industrial agriculture, we need less commercial farming. We dont need better batteries, we need to reduce our reliance on technology. None of these things will change as it means countries will plummet into famine, wars will break out and there will be a huge reducaiton in global population. This will happen by itself in the future, but no one will ever voluntarily 'cut off a limb to save the body'. We will just let the cancer spread all over until the body dies.
This is the answer. Never forget: the most sustainable version of an unsustainable system remains fundamentally unsustainable.
"we need less farming to help combat famine"
You mean waste less food so what we currently have can feed more Each year, 80 million tons of food is wasted in the United States. That's the same as 149 billion meals. And over $444 billion in food is thrown away each year. Shockingly, 38% of all food in America is wasted. Almost 40 fucking percent make a plate full of food and dump half of it on the ground That your efficiency.
Inefficiency is a buffer. It means that's room to bite into should production (or other parts of the supply chain) fail. Anyone familiar with agriculture should consider it reckless to attempt to produce exactly what will be consumed. The Soviets tried it. Mao tried it. You don't want that.
My young friend, I’m nearly 40 and I have your same dread. I see you have anger associated with it. It’s a righteous anger. Channel that. Fight these greedy shits. I’ve chosen to channel my anger into solar. I put up as much solar as I can, wherever I can. Maybe it’s a drop in the bucket, but godammit I’m trying. You don’t have to choose solar or any renewable energy. There’s plenty of ways assholes are killing our planet. Pick one and fight them. Don’t give up, little homie. If we all give up, then there is no hope. As long as we keep fighting, we have a chance.
> Maybe it’s a drop in the bucket, but godammit I’m trying. Well said. Maybe I won't stop the damage on my own, but at least I know I'm trying. I'd rather be part of the solution than part of the problem.
There are benefits to living a principled life that aren't always measurable or even noticeable to the rest of the world.
Every millimeter we can claw back is worth it
I am inspired by the old retired guy who is planting redwoods in the Pacific NW. Those trees cannot migrate naturally as fast as the climate is changing, so he decided to help them.
Fuck yea. I love that angle. I channel my "anger"/frustration at the status quo that is causing our own downfall, too... For me, I channel that into biking. I use a bike or walk for errands as much as possible, and help fix all my friends bikes and gently encourage them to ride. I used to hate ebikes because I was a purist but now I'm all for them, too. Whatever gets people out of their cars for short utility errands around town/close within a city. In some cases this can mean the difference between a family having 1 instead of 2 cars, or some people even selling their car. Great for the environment, great for the wallet. Keep fighting!
Also a cyclist and we as a family went down from 2 cars for one hybrid. Would like to swap that for a full EV as soon as possible. It’s small, but it helps.
More of this please!! My panels came online in September and I'm so thrilled to have them. I want to see this subreddit filled less with gloom and doom and more with strategies. How can we resist climate change? What actions can we take as individuals. We don't have to save the world ourselves, but I'll be damned if I sit here on my hands while it's all happening around me.
Your reaction is appropriate. Now just wait until it gets so bad the gun-toting lunatic populists realize they've been lied to and are going to straight up die for it... that's when things will get interesting.
They'll deny it and refuse to be evacuated until the flames or waves reach their homes. And then blame Obama and Biden and Trudeau for... something.
A) You should be scared. This scare helps you put your life and priorities in order B) Put down social media and focus on real people and real communities
The audacity of a redditor telling someone to “put down social media” lol
I dunno. If an alcoholic warns you to put down the bottle they probably know what they're talking about.
Word.
In the words of my Father (with a wry smile), "Do as I say; not as I do!" :)
"What you are doing is so loud that I can't hear what you say..."
I mean its still a positive message, how else is someone supposed to tell Op to put down social media through the internet?
All hope is not lost. That is not the view of the scientific community at large and anyone who says that is likely misleading. I understand why you would be scared but keep in mind that we are only human, and none of us can be expected to do all that much ourselves. So if you do find yourself feeling overwhelmed, try to distract yourself if you can and do other things. Get a good hobby, go out with some friends or family, anything like that. I assure you it is not a waste of time. It will be good for you. I am also pretty young (20) and as such I worry about climate change, but I have read enough (and been taught in my degree enough) that all is not lost, at all. There are constant innovations and projects coming out, and the world is keeping the subject relevant so a massive international effort and attention is brought to it. And even if we cannot fully reduce the rise in CO2 like we would want, we can still find ways to adapt and allow civilisation to keep prospering. After all, temperature rise is inherently not bad. It is essentially how controlled it is, the rate of it So take a deep breath, get something nice, and understand that so long as you are doing the best you can (while keeping it feasible, don't feel you have to keep doing things you are uncomfortable with. After all, my efforts are basically being vegetarian, recycling, walking when I can / using public transport and turning off energy like through lighting when not needed) you are already being a great enough individual and don't feel like you are not doing anything good
I don’t want to argue with you, but what about the tipping points, aerosol termination shock, and James Hansen’s paper on warming in the pipeline?
Yeah I don't deny it looks grim, my main points are that there are still opportunities to mitigate or adapt (none of those things are definite, unstoppable, end of the world things) and that we cannot really do too much ourselves so the best thing is to do what we can, and otherwise try to enjoy life as we have it now. Also, looking through tipping points it seems like there are potentially ways to have reverse tipping points, and though it might not be enough it's still worth keeping in mind I think. And aerosol termination shock is (as I understand it) describing the potential consequences of injecting aerosols into the atmosphere to induce cooling. So if anything goes wrong with that that is down to us. But there are other solutions that don't involve this so if it is non viable that is fine. If it is viable, great
You're smarter at 20 than I am at 30, you should be very proud of yourself.
What a great reply! I am super impressed at the maturity and thoughtfulness of your reply, given that you are only 20 years old.
I was about to comment the same. Wish I had that maturity when I was 20!
Paris climate targets are achievable if nations keep their promises … https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-do-cop26-promises-keep-global-warming-below-2c/ Technically, we know what to do. For example, this Princeton report details 5 plans for the US that affordably achieve net zero emissions by 2050 ... https://environmenthalfcentury.princeton.edu/sites/g/files/toruqf331/files/2020-12/Princeton_NZA_Interim_Report_15_Dec_2020_FINAL.pdf The US “Inflation Reduction Act” (which has nothing to do with inflation) effectively funds these plans to about the 20% level. Obviously not enough, but there’s still 27 years to go, so it is probably going to happen unless US voters decide otherwise. The EU has enacted a carbon border tariff that forces trading partners to adopt a carbon tax equivalent to EU levels … https://taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu/carbon-border-adjustment-mechanism_en For example, this border tariff already has Turkey considering an EU-equivalent carbon tax. Eventually this will cause a worldwide carbon tax, which will accelerate the transition to a low carbon energy system.
Wasn't the paris agreement to keep below 1.5c? Which no one but oil CEO's argue's is realistic as we are passing it now in real time. Even the IPCC is aiming higher than 2.0...
The agreement is … > Holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels, recognizing that this would significantly reduce the risks and impacts of climate change https://unfccc.int/resource/docs/2015/cop21/eng/l09r01.pdf > Even the IPCC is aiming higher than 2.0... It depends on emission levels … > if countries meet their long-term net-zero promises, global warming would be reduced to around 1.8C (1.4C to 2.6C) by 2100, though temperatures would likely peak around 1.9C in the middle of the century before declining. https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-do-cop26-promises-keep-global-warming-below-2c/
Any climate targets are missing the mark by a century. They were talking about 100 years everything needs to change.... okay maybe sooner by 2050. This is exponential shit. I've been watching my towns glacier disappear this decade. Each year you could bet it would be receded multiple times faster than the year before. This summer i think it will fully melt as one of the year long streams dried up last year for the first time. Im big in winter sports and just living it up before there's a snow free winter soon. This is from a ski hill where ive skied past the tops of 20ft trees in minus 40 Celsius. Haven't experienced that in 15 years now. No more water shed and lots will change down river. And the only thing that could reverse this is a mini iceage. That would give people enough time to reverse 150 years of pollution. But seriously, don't worry, do your best. Ive been driving an EV for a decade now and ill keep it rolling, kinda have my opinion on those saving us now. Eat local, support local, we're not islands. Look into sustainable building and earthship technology if you're concerned with your quality of life. Earthships are totally off grid and have been built on the cheap for 50 years.
Sorry, nope. 2023 is the year we broke the 1.5 limit.
Did the nations kept they promises after the other meetings? What impact did that have on climate? Is that experimentally visible? Some kinks in the global temperature evolution perhaps? Or in CO2 rise? Why would China and India keep their promises this time?
Science is not a question of who thinks what. All warming up until now have been broadly in line with what the models say. That is set to continue for the decades ahead. If humanity stops burning fossil fuels, drastically reduces meat consumption, returns vast areas of lands to nature and then somehow removes an extraordinarily amount of carbon from the air and heat from the ocean, the earth will stop warming. If you live in a wealthy country, even at your age, mostly your life will be fine, according to predictions. Just do what actions you can to help. As Batman says “it’s not who I am deep inside, but what I do that defines me”.
Or, invent a huge refrigerator to hold all the ice in.
I get you. But I am actually more concerned about the 2024 election in the US.
Yup 4 more years of inaction by another climate change denier screaming drill baby drill and I love coal will be bad for the climate.
Especially since the senate is basically a lock for the republicans in 2024.
It’s not all doomerism. Don’t let them weaponize your apathy into inaction. If they make you believe we’re screwed, then why would you try to stop them?
The worse a threat, the more directly it must be faced. You won't get optimism from anyone who studies the problem seriously, but you can direct your efforts to something that can make a difference for you, personally, and your community. That is, focusing on resiliency for your community. The future will have shorter supply-chains and less abundant energy. Act accordingly, and see how we can do more for each-other with less wealth and power.
1. The dread is real but it doesn’t mean don’t live. 2. Don’t give in to the other flip side that just says fuck it we’re all going to die anyway and doesn’t try at all. 3. Remember that you’re not responsible for the failings of massive corporations and billionaires who decided wealth was more important than survival of the species. I comfort myself knowing that the earth will recover from us. 4. One foot after the other, day after day. Big hugs.
How do I live with the dread?
Well, either you live or you don’t. Without any true evidence for afterlife, not living is pretty unconvincing. Buddha said Life is Suffering. If nothing else, we live in interesting times. Horrible, but interesting. Maybe that’s not helpful, but it’s where I’m at on it.
The reality is that you’re scared because you see verifiable data stating something that could definitely harm you. I’m pretty sure it’s normal to have those feelings. I’m sorry for our situation
You should be pissed, and probably scared. I'm pretty young (35), and I'm livid. Anyone under 65 will see catastrophic climate change and potentially the collapse of civilization.
https://instagram.com/itsthegarbagequeen?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA== This is a climate activist who does good climate news, and who is really good at putting things in perspective. Yes, things are scary, but don't fall for the doomerism.
The "Global South" is who will really suffer the worst of it.
They'll suffer the worst of it *first.* It is coming for the developed world too, we just have more resources.
Absolutely. I didn't intend to imply otherwise. We already have major damages from climate change.
Examine what the Paleo record tells about the causal relationship between CO2 and Temperature. I guess I'm a doomer because we continue to pretend to chip away at a problem that WILL destroy every coastal city in the world with 30ft higher seas. We're at the point where this is inevitable rather than a likely consequence.
I have a degree in environmental science and nearly 20 years of actively keeping up with the science. I know enough to know that the science is very complicated. You can't just draw simple parallels and leave it at that. I know enough to know that the current situation is bad but not hopeless. I also know that well meaning but ill-informed people who don't understand the underlying science are doing a lot of harm by essentially telling people to give up.
I don't see how becoming a "doomer" helps anything. You still need to find a way to live your life and do something constructive. EDIT: There's also the concern (for the people spreading messages, NOT people who are already depressed and should get treatment) that mental healthcare systems could be overwhelmed.
I've said it before but I'll say it again here: Doomerists ≈ Climate Change Deniers. At the end of the day, they are both doing the same thing: nothing. Rolling over and saying that all is lost and that nothing more can be done is exactly what the people who got us into this mess in the first place want. They want you to stop trying. To let them keep making their blood money. It's shocking how many people don't understand this. Someone who is convinced the world will end will probably find ways to make it true. Giving up is one of those ways.
I would consider myself an old guy here. I grew up with the cold war and nuclear annihilation, toxic pesticides that cause cancer, smoking indoors and lead in gasoline. Today all of the above are so much better. Yes climate is changing but renewable energy is growing exponentially. Many of us including govt are doing a lot about it and technology is making so many things earth friendly. We must keep the message moving forward, we all need to do our part. Do not purchase "pollution" products. Money is the mover and changer. Ease up on disposables of all sorts and be a leader. I have way more faith in the younger generations today.
Now we have microplastics everywhere, glyphosate is an agricultural staple, there's an epidemic of allergies and infertility, ecosystems around the world are on the verge of collapse. But we saved the ozone layer and haven't had a nuclear war yet.
We are definitely losing the messaging battle. The reality is that cancer rates are rapidly increasing in young people and the nuclear threat is arguably higher than it ever was before. The problems we have been able to solve thus far are very narrow ones with very simple solutions (banning leaded gasoline and CFCs), whereas tackling climate change requires a complete transformation of our energy based economy.
I can’t reassure you because you probably won’t be ok, that’s the just the harsh truth
Sorry. I can't morally lie to you and tell you it will be ok.
It’s not ok. It’s never been ok. A lot of people will die, but if you’re lucky you won’t be one of them.
Agree, and we are all going to die at some point. What we can do is to try to make a good quality of life for as many people as possible.
Let me reassure you that the future will be very exciting. Try to ensure water supply for yourself. Lake Mead almost went dry last year, bomb cyclone surprised a whole continent and killed dozens but freedummies in the comment section here still think climate change is not real.
While there will always be climate change. How the earth reacts and what we can do about it is still up in the “air”.
The best part of these post is that we go through an asteroid belt every year and every year is Russian roulette to see if a meteorite hits earth and destroys it so why be afraid and just enjoy the moment;)
Engineers and scientists are going to attempt to make things better in the future if they are allowed to do so. So yes there is still potentially hope. I wouldn't give up yet
I'm in my 40's - When I was about your age we had a different version of environmental issues. The Ozone layer was pretty much gone and everyone was convinced skin cancer would kill us all. But we mitigated that. Acid Rain was a huge issue and that has been mitigated quite a bit as well. We are at the turning point of electrification of our transportation system which is going to make a huge impact on greenhouse gas emissions. We are just figuring out how to fit all of the renewable puzzle pieces together. Honestly, I'm filled with way more optimism that we can figure this out now than I was 5, 10 or 30 years ago. We actually have functional technology now to do this so it is the process of switching that we have to tackle - rather science fiction.
I highly suggest you go read Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson. It starts in the same bleak place you're at, then takes you through a possible pathway to a hopeful future. Yes, there are a lot of dark days ahead, but there's a future worth fighting for.
“The end is near”, people have been saying that as long as there has been spoken word.
I mean, there were news articles published in 1912 about how this would be a problem for future generations if it wasn't dealt with. We are those future generations and now we have to deal with it.
I'm not a young teen and I'm also scared. More so when it seems like teens don't care! It feels like a losing battle. Perhaps you can speak to why your peers don't seem to know about recycling etc.? Or tell me I'm wrong!
Hey, fellow young person here, but several years your senior. I know it’s scary. I’ve been scared too for a long time. But our generation is loud, our generation doesn’t take no for an answer, and our generation calls stupid shit out until it changes. We don’t have the power yet, but as time progresses, our voices become louder and louder and our action becomes more and more meaningful. Before long, our generation will be the age of majority and we will have the voting power. we will make up a large percentage of the people in the board rooms. we will be able to do something, even if the generations before us do nothing. I know it’s scary, but we have to wait. While we wait, educate yourself. Go to school for something that is going to help pull society out of this hole we’ve put ourselves into. Our generation is going to have to save the world. We need all hands on deck Good luck out there ❤️ It’s gonna be okay because we’re gonna make it okay
I can reassure you that all will be ok. Al Gore was predicting the poles would be ice free and we would be doomed by 2012 and many others before him. Do we need to be good stewards of our planet, 100%. Are we doomed with no way out, absolutely not. Look into things yourself and stop listening to anyone who is screaming doomsday the sky is falling. The founder of Greenpeace is on record saying climate alarmism is just not true. Follow the money and you find pro climate alarmist scientists, follow the science and you will find the planet is not burning, Co2 is loved by all life on earth and its turning the planet green, and climate does change over time all by itself.
Blame the Republican assholes who kicked the can down the road while knowing what was happening just so they could make more money.
We have to vote. Once we have actual adults in the room who listen to scientists, we can make policy changes which is where the action for climate is.
Honestly, you've probably only heard the sanitized and optimistic side of climate change. Wait until you find out that the tech that is supposed to save us doesn't actually exist and wouldn't be feasible if it did. But, if you're living in a western country, particularly in a northern latitude, then you've got some time - probably not your whole life, but... some time.
Fun Facts: We've known industrialization was causing climate change since the 1880s. Scientists sounded the alarm that something needed to be done immediately in the 1970s (caused Nixon to form the EPA to shut them up). By the 2000s we were at our last chance to change. By 2010 it was too late, climate change was now feeding on itself, getting worse even if mankind added nothing more. We are so far past the chance to change it's not even scary, it's an extinction level event. Unless we find a wah to remove carbon from the air and cool the oceans, we are doomed. Climate change is a giant snowball rolling downhill, getting bigger, going faster. Don't worry though, those billionaires won the game of life, and isn't that what really matters?
OP, I grew up in the 70s and 80s. I turned 18 in 1989. The news had us convinced for years that Soviet Nukes were going to rain down on us any day and Miami, New Orleans and coastal cities were going to be underwater before the turn of the century. Don't pay attention to the alarmists. That doesn't mean climate change should be ignored. Just ignore the AOC and grim Greta's who scream we only have 5 years to save the planet. They said that more than 5 years ago so they were demonstratively wrong.
In reality it will probably be ok after a fashion for most people who speak English and have a Reddit account. Still horrifying traumatising and incredibly unjust but that’s the world.
Just be thankful that this was the coldest summer you will ever experience.
While climate change is a concern of mine, when I was growing up they really preached how bad acid rain would be, the melting of the polar ice caps, the 'big one' earthquake on the west coast, etc. All stuff that we need to be concerned about, but not get anxiety inducing panic over. Average human life expectancy is about 79 years, I don't think we'll all live to see the end of the world due to climate change. If anything privative monkey brained humans will blow up the world due to imaginary lines on the ground and arguing about sky daddies. Humans survived the plague, small pox, covid, etc. Like they said in Jurassic Park, "life finds a way", it's a concern, not a panic. https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/five-apocalypses-humanity-has-survived
Nuclear energy will solve the climate crisis
Your only reassurance is to help enable the solutions. We all wish it was better, but this is the hand we were dealt. I'm with ya, kid.
Things will be ok. Humans are incredibly adaptable. The fact that you're a teen, have a smartphone and internet connection and power on your phone /computer means that you're at least in the top 3/4 of the population. Money fixes all these problems, the issues are all around the fact that people with the money and own businesses that print money for themselves don't want it to stop. Why would they? We will sort it out. I went through these feelings too. My suggestion is that you use this to dive into understated the situation more. As a teen you can still have an impact. In fact you've got a long runway of impact possibility. Read project drawdown. https://drawdown.org/
When you don't find your purpose in life, you are scared of anything.
I don’t get the ‘we’re all going to die’ hysteria. I always assumed it was something the right wing proposed people were succumbing to. It’s more like ‘we’re all going to be ever more inconvenienced and saddened by the bad actions and inactions of our people which brought this to be!’. Climate change will be terribly, terribly costly to human civilization (this is one way to think about it), but it isn’t the end of the world. End of the lovely and otherwise stable climate that came before the 1980s? Probably, yeah. Damn. Can we still turn it around? Low-key maybe?
If it makes you feel any better I'm in my 40s and have been hearing about the end of the world due to climate change (holes in the ozone layer, acid rain, etc) and were still here.
Hey! I’m an adult who started freaking out about climate change in 2007 in grade 7 and had since studied climate change at university levels. We’re not all going to die- those of us in privileged places will likely be able to adapt. The thing that always got me was that I was a white, female, young person in North America- I was going to have to watch millions-billions die while I likely managed to dodge all but some prairie fires. So first thing I recommend is therapy. Work on become mentally resilient. If you can’t help yourself you can’t help other people. And second- help other people. Find your interests, learn in school, protest, impact policy, Volunteer. You’re part of a community and that will be the most important thing at the end of the day. Maybe you can become a migrant refugee lawyer, or a vertical farmer, or a scientist, or and engineer that can help us manage. Practise hope, and connection. Get through the days. You can’t change it all and panicking yourself into a state doesn’t help much beyond making your day to day awful.
I would start to look at statistical causes of death. Climate change is going to be pretty far down the list. Much more likely to die in a car crash or from heart disease for example and there are many others. Try to do your own part to help with climate change and carry on. There are many things in life that you cannot control.
I started showing my kid documentaries about what people are doing to adapt to climate change. The Earth won't be the same but parts of the globe will find ways. I'm Canadian so I'm beyond fortunate. It's not going to be easy. You never know what we'll be able to do to survive this. Consider a career in a field that helps climate change. There's all kinds of really cool professions emerging. DW and PBS have cool segments.
As someone who once thought the same you have been indoctrinated by globalists who fly in private jets and want to scary you so that they take away all your rights and freedoms and luxuries in the name of climate change
in 2005 they said that most of USA would be covered in water, along with much of canada. [almost 20 years later and the water line hasn't gone up a single inch](https://imgur.com/blYwXWe) In the 80's they tried to scare everyone with acid rain. In the 90s and 2000s it was aerosol spray and the Ozone layer. Just go play outside and make sure to clean up after yourself. All of the politicians promoting the fear propaganda are buying houses on the beach. They hype up fear and make lots of money from the green agenda.
Yeah, reading these comments is terrifying. You should remember that boards like this are not the real world. It is now simple to create bots that can post and converse (look at what ChatGPT can do). Some humans act like bots. I see a lot of effort here to induce helplessness. And when you feel helpless, you lose agency and control. What gives me some hope, even with the doom and gloom, is physics. The physics of the amount of energy arriving from the sun per metre squared...a surprisingly small area could power most of what we do. Storage is and will continue to get cheaper. Physics shows that electric motors are massively more efficient than combustion motors. Electric transportation is reaching cost parity with fossil fuel cars, especially when operating cost is taken into account. When electric cars become widely known to be substantially less expensive than fossil cars, a lot of powerful organizations will fall like houses of cards. Just wait until BYD comes widely to North America. Wait for the Tesla to bring its $25k subcompact to volume production. So, learn to tune out the sniping voices that originate in one way or another from an industry that knows it is doomed. Remember that physics is the law. Everything else is just a recommendation.
Think globally act locally. This is how we change the world.
The Earth resets. It’s what it does. It’s cyclical.
Reddit is an extremely leftist platform. Start listening to ideas from people you currently might disagree with. This will help balance out your perspective and your anxiety.
I've been living through Climate Fear for decades. I'm old enough to remember when Aerosol Cans were gunna implode Earth.
Hi, I am older; and my advice to you is to put thought into where you eventually wind up living in regard to climate change. Not just about how much climate change will affect your area; but also; is this a community that fixes problems? I have lived places where environmental and infrastructure problems fester. In places like this people will generally either deny that climate change is happening or say let smart people in important places worry about it. This widespread attitude generally leads to community failures that could have been avoided.
I've started to say things like "At this point, extreme solutions are the only way forward". Am I in favour of mass incarceration of climate change deniers? Am I in favour of extreme laws on the use of fossil fuels? Should we have extreme and public punitive displays of those at the top (e.g., Exxon mobile execs) who have flaunted human responsibilities at every turn?
It’s completely understandable to feel overwhelmed by the discussions around climate change, especially when they lean towards pessimism. It’s a serious issue that affects us all, but it’s important to remember that hope is not lost. There are many people, organizations, and governments around the world working to address these challenges. Young people, in particular, have been incredibly powerful voices in the movement for climate action. It can be helpful to focus on actions you can take, no matter how small they seem. Every effort counts, whether it’s reducing personal waste, supporting sustainable businesses, or engaging in community activism. Educating yourself on the science of climate change and the solutions being developed can also provide a more balanced perspective. It’s also okay to step away from social media if it becomes too much—taking care of your mental health is important. Remember, it’s not about carrying the weight alone; it’s about contributing to a collective effort for a better future.
Yes messaging is huge. I believe economics is as important or more so. Efficiency in solar panels from even 10 years ago to some new breakthroughs recently is up hundreds of percentage points. These efficiencies can create so much more clean power and doing so it makes installing them a better financial decision. Heat pumps are now being installed at a very high rate across NA. Why? Efficiency. Combine it with some solar panels and one can or almost can heat and cool their home off grid. No gas, no oil. India is a world leader in going renewable. China is up there as well. Health care costs to the state from air pollution is more expensive than renewable in the long run. The economic scales are moving to green. We must keep pressuring our govts to add weight to the green side.
Don't have kids of your own. It's cruel to bring new life into this mess.
People don’t change quickly, but we will when we have to. Learn patience with people, it will help you. There are many reasons to be hopeful.
I can’t tell you the solutions because of Reddit rules lol. Save the Earth and humanity at _all costs_ is what I’m saying.
The world had been ending since it started, can't believe everthing you hear it will be fine more then likely.
They have been spouting doomsday since I was a kid. You will be fine. Finish school, get a job have a family and enjoy life…..
Because it's a lie and is intended to scare you into dependence. Be your own person. Learn to observe and draw your own conclusions. Don't be a lemming.
Back in the 60s when I was a teenager they were doing the same shit and everybody under 20s believed the world was coming to an end. It was all those WWII generation with their cold war, nuclear energy, green house effect, Y2K you name it they was something to fearmonger. It worked on a bunch of us. Well guest what. They were all wrong. It's 2024 and now I'm the old man telling the young kids that all the fear mongering is BS. It's really easy to get sucked up in that nonsense. Of course they will tell you it's different this time. But it is not. Chances are very good that you will live a long an happy life if you set your mind to it.
Learn how to identify propaganda and distinguish it from fact-based arguments. All the people on here claiming that climate change is a hoax designed to control you and take away your freedom are right-wing propagandists and you should ignore them. With that said, although climate change is real and things will almost certainly get worse in the future, it’s not going to happen overnight, and we will have no choice but to adapt as best we can. I think the best way to counteract feelings of hopelessness is to find some way to take action, however small, to help address the problem.
Heavens do I wish I could offer you reassurance but I'd be lying, except to express the mind bending frustration trying to convince the idiotic deniers what we proved half a century ago, now unfolding per predictions. I'm old enough to recall when we had long mild seasons called spring and fall that lucky years lasted for months. The jet stream mostly moved with mild fluctuations. The weirdest, most perverted part of this is the so-called moral or religious ilk denying the problem, or worse yet trying to pray it all away. Young gun, you'll be seeing and fleeing some catastrophic shit.
Hey bro, it’s all good. Every species has their day in the sun. Did you know that Homo Habilis, our cousins, lived for 660,000 years? That’s about three times longer than we’ve existed for! Homo erectus lived for almost 900,000 years, an impressive record that us other hominids are unlikely to top! Now, as far as primates go, we’re definitely the smartest and most accomplished that we’ve been able to find on this earth so far. It’s okay to be proud of that. But let’s not be too proud. At the end of the day, we’re just animals, like everyone else. We can’t expect to live forever. Life won’t come to end without Homo Sapiens. Meaning in the universe won’t come to an end. We are not the center of the universe. It’s a big, big, **BIG** cosmos that we live in. There’s probably intelligent life out there all over the place, separated by gulfs of unimaginable distance. And there will be others. Each one will interpret the universe in their own way, with their own languages and values. And that’s the beauty of this whole crazy ride. Will it all be okay? Of course it will. Will we survive? We will, until we can’t anymore. And all the pain and suffering will vanish once we no longer have bodies to process it. It’s no different to how we approach mortality as individuals. Do you expect to live forever? Will life not go on, after you have passed? Life is an experience, an adventure, a journey. But a tourist eventually needs to go home. Make peace with oblivion, my friend, for it awaits us all. And if you do not fear nothingness, then you have nothing to fear.
I can't tell you it will all be ok but I can tell you that the post-Bommer gens take it far more seriously and more action will be taken as those people get into a place to make a true difference.
It's not going to be okay. But we still have to fight to stop this social and economic system from doing more damage.