I started getting sad about climate change two years ago after seeing Planet Earth and many documentaries. I completely changed my lifestyle to reduce my part and put significant effort into it.
But seeing rich celebrities who use as much as a common man’s lifetime resources in a week or two, and others who barely put in any effort to combat it, and corporations fucking the entire planet for quarterly profits, barely any efforts towards fighting it even though we had known about its consequences 30-40 years ago, I get this feeling that my efforts are even worth it.
Slowly, I told myself that evolution failed itself by giving a bit more individual selfishness over community/species survival. Just like human beings, Earth’s time has started to end. Its death is inevitable. Everything should come to an end. Only if evolution had given a bit more thought to species survival, we would be in a much better place.
How do you all deal with this?
The earth will be fine. It’s us that are fucked
Have you considered eco-terrorism? \s
People saying do nothing, I’m saying do something!
Get out start a community. If one already exists join it. Find ways to improve your community.
Go vegan.
There are so many things you can do. Don’t accept doing nothing, be a stubborn fuck and do something to alleviate the sadness.
“There are so many things you can do. Don’t accept doing nothing, be a stubborn fuck and do something to alleviate the sadness.”
Good words to live by. :)
I realized I was anxious about climate change because I was depressed and not the other way around. I cannot change the world radically but I can do my part, convince others to do the same, vote for the right politicians, pressure companies and politicians to act for climate change… In a nutshell I can do a lot and being depressed or anxious doesn’t help
To be honest I just look at the state of the world and laugh like I’m watching a sad comedy.
And I avoid thinking about how I’m in it and I have basically zero power over it.
I vote for whomever is the least bad candidate and try not to think about it too much the rest of the time.
I work in energy r&d, and have for several jobs over the years now.
My sadness is transmuted into passion for solving these issues from the ground up. Top brass is interested in “stock options” and blah blah blah, I’m just focused on solving technical problems to make efficient, powerful energy production that isn’t hard on the earth.
The money won’t matter if there’s nowhere to live. My efforts may not be enough, ultimately, but I’ll die knowing I tried to help solve the problems we’ve caused.
try and pay attention to China honestly. the seriousness they treat climate change with is the only thing that gives me hope that we’ll beat it. some examples from very recently:
China’s embrace of rail and EVs stalls holiday petrol demand
China adds new clean power equivalent to UK’s entire electricity output
Shanghai to fully switch to new energy buses, taxis by 2027
China is on track to reach its clean energy targets this month… six years ahead of schedule
I’ve accepted that humanity is fucked. Once you get past the existentialism, things get easier. It helps if you’ve had a bunch of estasential crises before this one.
Climate change is a systemic issue: Capitalism is based on always more production. It can’t be solved by individual actions but only by a radical system change. I put some energy in actions that can help - I hope - for this change.
Focus on progress that has been made, solutions to the climate crisis have been growing exponentially over the past decade. And it’s not a binary issue of everything is sunshine and rainbows vs we’re all fucked. There’s more of a spectrum. Also remember the past environmental successes we’ve had with like acid rain, the ozone layer, leaded gas, mercury pollution. We’ve come a long way.
Making any progress, no matter how small makes the future just that much better than it otherwise would be. Yes, systemic changes out of the control of anyone on Lemmy are needed, but if say every person on Lemmy worked towards reducing their own environmental impacts that could have huge ripple effects in the economy of the green transition. Just plan out pragmatically/realistically how much time, mental energy, and resources are worth it to you.
A lot things that individuals can do to help with the climate crisis often also have personal benefits like long term financial savings, less pollution exposure, healthier plant-based diets, etc.
If you plant one tree you will have done more than most people in their lives, and you will likely be dead before the consequences of our actions sink Florida. Momento Mori a man cannot change the world, just himself.
Plant hemp. Plant as much of that weed as you can, harvest the roots and store them somewhere that the carbon can’t get back into the air. Underground in a sealed drum or underwater if you have a trash compactor handy, and can dump it into the deep parts of the Pacific.
You could put more efforts towards making a systemic change rather than just affecting your own life. Protests, promoting green things at your workplace, outreach and education, etc. It’s been ingrained that individuals are the problem and they they should recycle more at home and create less waste but the root is always on things being unregulated. Even if you sacrifice some individual benefits you have been at a small systematic change would likely have a much bigger impact.
I try to watch what I read online, and it truly helps.
Do:
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Keep yourself informed by reading bland articles about climate studies with direct interviews from the scientists conducting them.
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Stay knowledgeable about who to vote for to support reasonable climate policies.
Do NOT:
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Read articles that inject opinions from the web journalist, terrifyingly worded headlines designed to get you to click, or anything written for a secondary purpose (e.g. voter mobilization).
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Get your info 2nd, 3rd, or 4th hand from social media personalities on tiktok, youtube, twitter, or any website with an algorithm than rewards the most extreme takes with more engagement.
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Let fear prevent you from living the life you want to live or making long term plans.
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Notice how public discourse goes round & round in a lively show, but never seems to get anywhere?
This is strawman public discourse, and its largely by design.
Stop thinking, worrying and especially talking about climate change.
Instead talk about pollution & poison
Everyone can see it. It can’t be denied or handwaved or debated away.
STOP POISONING OUR AIR, WATER AND SOIL.
WE NEED THEM TO BREATH, LIVE AND GROW OUR FOOD. (duh)
