We don’t yet have a thread devoted to the impending end of the world as we know it. That seems weird.
Some things:
If you are under 34 you’ve never experienced a month of below average temperatures.
All the things that climate scientists have been predicting for a few decades now are happening
I try not to feel helpless on an individual level about climate change. But curious if other people feel like a lingering sense of despair about the future? Are we going to be ok? Probably not, right.
What are some things on a practical level we can do to make a tiny difference?
I’ve made a few donations recently to Landcare, the Australian Wildlife Conservancy and the Intrepid Foundation. But always open to other worthy organisations I could support in my small way.
The Guardian does a better job of covering the Climate Emergency than most I feel. Majority of the news is not good or positive and it can be highly disheartening and worrying, and rightly so at this point. However this article gave a glimmer of hope so thought worth sharing…
Does anyone think that the two party system is to blame?
I believe there are many people who don’t want to vote for the Liberals but do because of their economic policy but disagree with their immigration/environmental policies.
My partner and I have been wrestling with ways to reduce our waste, including particularly plastic consumption, as part of this and the things that have really worked for me are:
We also bought a small food scrap composer that sits in our kitchen which is great but also not for everyone.
Plus one to all those things from me, though its slightly depressing that its probably going to make no difference to the impending Mad Max Future that we are destined to inhibit.
Most of the ‘green’ habits we try to do around the house are about trying to instill a good sense of environment into the young fella.
Yeah, I do some of thus stuff, but I didn’t know about the Red Recycle thing, so will check that out.
I’ve done a few similar things to what you’ve mentioned:
I know this is all little stuff, but it makes me feel like I’m treading a little lighter on this earth.
Nice @Schoolboy_Errors. Toothbrushes and better soap is a great shout.
I’ve been trying to incrementally improve for about 18mths.
Oh thats another one - I carry a stainless steel water bottle with me now in my bag. Not only way better for the environment, but it keeps water cold for so long, it’s brilliant.
On the topic of things you can do, a colleague made me aware of ‘Ecosia’ today. It’s basically a search engine that will use 80% of profits to plant trees.
I haven’t started using it yet, but I found this review which sounds promising:
If it is legit (which it sounds like it is), then its another small contribution which really causes no significant inconvenience.
I find stuff like this quite heartening too:
This is awesome to see. City of Sydney made a similar announcement about their commitment to renewables this week. Given we have a criminally negligent federal government when it comes to the environment, action is going to have to be driven at state and local level, as well as by businesses who see the massive opportunity in this country for Clean energy.
Partially.
If you think that about 45% of people will vote Labor and about 45% will vote Coalition, it’s that 10% that hold the balance of power. And they hold that balance of power in a marginal seats, like Lindsey in Western Sydney. Howard really figured out how to tap into fear in the marginals and the rest has been a race to the bottom.
Labor hasn’t done anything to distinguish themselves from LNP and has allowed LNP to control the debate. Social Welfare for individuals is bad, Social Welfare for Corporations is great. 200 jobs at a mine in Central Qld is more important than 200 jobs for bus drivers in a metro transport system. You could create a lot of jobs in regional areas if you invested money in regional public transport. There’s a shit load of unused railway lines around.
We are an incredibly rich country, and where we spend our money is just about political will. The blue bloods have managed a new and hugely effective way of manipulating things to their advantage. The Palmer Party preferencing LNP is barely even the surface of it.
I’ve worked with a number of entities over the last few years to become certified carbon neutral.
From a governmental perspective, local is your best way to make a difference and be an influence.
6 local governments around the country have become carbon neutral certified with a couple more to come shortly.
Every individual can make a difference personally. But pressuring your local government to start making a difference is a good way to get something bigger going.
Nice one, good to hear that. I feel like the momentum is unstoppable now, despite what this federal government and the likes of Matt Canavan want.
At a State and Federal level we’re unlikely to get much action. They’re trying to hard too save their jobs and are catering to the lowest common denominator in that quest.
At a local level though, you’re dealing with a far smaller population in an attempt to get re-elected and you often find the majority of a local government council will hang around for multiple periods.
I don’t know, I feel like most State governments across the country are making a lot of changes, particularly in the funding of clean energy. There is a real and tangible advantage for States to get ahead of the others in clean energy generation that Federal governments don’t have to deal with.
Just developing on some of the thoughts I had in my previous post, time mark 15 secs to about 30 secs is, I think, relevant to this topics. Don’t worry about the particular subject matter in this vid. (Unless you’re into it, this guy offers a more interesting look at the topic if you’re into it.)
“We all need to listen to, and support, the good solid people in our communities. That’s what we have to get back to doing and that’s very, very important, because if we don’t do that, we’re nothing.”
And that’s what is, in my opinion, happening. We’re not supporting the people who can guide us out of this. We’re allowing politicians who are owned holus bolus by ‘them’ to destroy our future for ‘their’ short term benefit.
We need to find a way to reach the people who are held in sway by the silver tongued devils.
Thought this would be the best place for this
Anything that annoys the federal government on the environment is a good thing for the planet.