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?
Someone said to me once “Relax! Nothing is under control.”
Worry about what you can control —which is very little, especially when facing a world crisis like climate change— and accept what you can’t.
The people who should be fixing this mess are not you or I. It’s the big corporations and the Governments that should regulate them through robust, uncompromising climate policies. Vote for Governments with honest, solid climate agendas.
Other than that, contributions from individuals like you and I are but a drop in the boiling ocean of global warming. By all means, keep doing what you’re doing. It certainly doesn’t hurt to lead a more sustainable lifestyle but don’t feel bad if you don’t do everything you’re supposed to do. Don’t let the real culprits here gaslight you into thinking otherwise.
Again, if you’re worried more about your mental health than the problem itself at this stage, it’s ok to feel that way. Many of us do. But the best advice I can give you is to just accept there’s nothing you can really do about the situation. Whatever happens, happens. Easier said than done, I know, but once you “learn” to accept this fact, your anxiety will drop right down.
Everything this guy said.
I’ve struggled with anxiety my whole life. But my anxiety is about things that I can control. I don’t worry about climate change, or wars or pandemics or whatever, because it’s pointless worrying about things that you can do literally nothing about.
You can vote and march. Those are the only small actions that will make a huge impact.
Yep. Fix what you can control, and accept what you cannot. You cannot control what others do, you can only try to persuade. What you can control is your reaction to it.
OP, you may want to try reading some books on stoicism.
The reason I struggle with this rationale is that if everyone did this we’d be even more worse off. Kinda like I struggle to get around the apathy-is-the-enemy philosophy.
The problem with your viewpoint is that it’s little more than a thought experiment. Realistically, you will never get all 8 billion people who inhabit this planet to make the necessary lifestyle changes needed to combat climate change.
https://www.wri.org/insights/4-charts-explain-greenhouse-gas-emissions-countries-and-sectors
This one throws has some good figures: https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/global-greenhouse-gas-overview
Sources we could attribute to individuals:
- Transportation (15%): including public transport
- Buildings (6%): this includes energy usage and waste
In total, 21%. Even if we said that’s still a 21% we could do something about, besides switching to a green energy provider and using an EV instead of diesel cars (which is a good move though sourcing the Lithium-Ion batteries these EVs is a big problem in and of itself), what else is there for the average Joe to do? Companies and governments should give individuals the option to lead a sustainable lifestyle. At the moment, the reality is the options simply do not exist or are so expensive that are out of reach for the vast majority of consumers.
On the other hand, we have industrial and public usage…
- Electricity and heat production (non-residential), which was (as of 2019) the leading source of global carbon emissions, accounting for 34% of the total emissions.
- Industry (24%)
- Agriculture, forestry, etc. (22%)
That’s a staggering 80% altogether.
You ever heard of the Pareto principle? It says that 80% of the consequences come from 20% of the causes. In this case, 80% of the emissions come from a minority of people (industry, corporations, etc.).
Oh there are huge problems with my viewpoint - I wouldn’t even say it’s rational lol! I think that’s probably why I have trouble with the great rational arguments like yours (and many others in this thread).
I didn’t know there was a proper name for the 80/20 rule, thanks!
The earth will be fine. It’s us that are fucked
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First of all, I saw a therapist, and they helped. Truly, if it’s bad enough, go talk to someone.
Now what I personally do? The biggest thing was learning that I can’t carry the weight of the world on my shoulders. I have a habit of doing that. I’m a very empathetic person so when I see climate change I just fall into a spiral that’s hard to get out of. Learning that I need to focus on what I can change is the most important.
So, I do what you already touched on. I am not going to get Shell to stop polluting, but I can change myself, and those near me. I have switched my entire home away from fossil fuels (heat pump, electric water heater), when it was time for a new vehicle I went for an EV, and even then I take the bus and train whenever I can now. I’m looking into an e-bike.
That still wasn’t enough so I’m starting to get into local politics a bit. City council issues, local neighborhood issues, those are things I can help control. My city is trying to push a natural gas ban on new housing, and conservatives are frothing, but it’s something I can push and help with. I’m pushing for more transit in our area, with more bus lines. And my ultimate one, writing letters and trying to ban fucking leaf blowers god fucking damnit just use a goddamn rake they’re so fucking loud and pollute so much.
That helps me personally. And hey, if everyone did these things, we’d make a dent on climate change. I can’t change everyone, I can’t do everything myself, but I can influence those around me.
An odd thing that makes me feel oddly comforted too. World birthrates are dropping. Conservatives are also frothing at the mouth over this because iNFiNiTe GrOWtH but to me, I view it as another form of evolution. Have we realized as a species we’ve reached the limit of what Earth will support? Fewer and fewer people are having kids. Idk, in a weird way it feels comforting, like evolution is still at play and something very biological in us as a species is like “nope, can’t do any more”
I fucking hate leaf blowers!
Another name for leaf blowers is air brooms and air brooms are useful for big jobs. They now come as battery powered which is better on two fronts as they are quieter but more importantly they are not using 2 stroke motors. Apparently the 2 stroke is the most polluting of internal combustion engines whose design hasn’t really improved since they were first invented.
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. :)
Go vegan.
Any climate activist who isn’t vegan is just a virtue signalling poser.
if it were effective at reducing industrial impacts you might be right.
spotted the valor stealing hypocrite
Earth’s time has started to end. Its death is inevitable.
Even in a worst case scenario life will continue on earth. It’s honestly doubtful that humanity will end. This is not controversial among climate scientists. Don’t get me wrong, societal collapse, mass human deaths and a huge extinction event are all on the table, but there are many lifeforms that will thrive.
Yeah I know. It’s just what I told myself to cope about it.
I smoke weed and play vidya.
This guy gets it.
Take a break from the internet for a bit. I got offline as much as possible for two weeks a few months ago and it did wonders for my mental health.
Unfortunately this is some of the best advice. I think different people are more susceptible to existential anxiety - or moreso anxiety over things that will never be able to change or control. Some people can channel that emotion into advocacy, volunteer work, etc while others mentally drown in thought loops. As rude as it sounds, sometimes it really is a ‘touch grass’ type of thing. You HAVE to watch out for your own mental health and oftentimes that means disconnecting from triggers and focusing on your own life and interests. Play a game, watch something, read a book, go to the zoo, meet up with friends - live in the moment and outside your head. I also recommend using the internet purposefully and not just to kill time - use social media for discovery and research of specific topics and not for just general consumption.
This is the way.
Social media will jump from one super important and stressful thing that we all need to lose sleep over to the next with or without us. Yes, these things might be important, but a lot of online activism seems to be about who can scare more people into supporting X, Y, or Z with zero regard for the reader’s mental health, the rhetoric used, or even being 100% factual.
It doesn’t hurt to disengage every so often.
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
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.
I want to get some trash burning power plants running to help limit methane emissions and be able to scrub the stack - how crazy is my idea in the broad strokes?
You didnt mention children, so im assuming you dont have any. If so, keep it up. Staying child-free is likely the most effective personal decision you could make to reduce your environmental impact. Obviously, that doesnt mean you should feel free to dump your used motor oil in the street, but you also arent adding a lifetime worth of consumption to the pile. Further, even if you lived in a cave the rest of your life, someone is one broken condom away from invalidating your (lack of) contribution.
Further, the argument could be made that what we’re doing to our environment is the “natural” way of things. Stick a bacteria culture in a petri dish and what does it do? It expands to the limits of its environment and consumes all available resources until there is nothing left it can use. Earth is our petri dish, and we’re just going through the motions.
Staying child-free is likely the most effective personal decision you could make to reduce your environmental impact.
How do you reach this conclusion ?
If a person doesnt exist, they don’t consume anything. No food, no air travel, no electricity needs, etc…I’m not saying that anyone who has, or wants to have, a child is some kind of asshole, its our biological prerogative after all. Just saying that when comparing individuals and their contribution to climate change, those who sired children are subsequently responsible for a lifetime, or possibly several lifetimes, of carbon emissions.
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.
“Evolution had given a bit more thought to species survival”.
… that’s not how evolution works, unfortunately. It requires us to do the thinking.
I completely changed my lifestyle to reduce my part and put significant effort into it.
This is the source of your problem. Individual action will cost you a lot while accomplishing virtually nothing. Donating some small part of your income to green nonprofits has a greater impact, at a much lower cost to your quality of life.
A climate disaster is going to make us all make sacrifices we don’t want to make eventually, no matter what you sacrifice now. If these are the final days of a healthy planet, don’t deprive yourself while the billionaires are taking joyrides in their gigayachts. Just accept that this horror wasn’t your fault, because if everyone lived with your likely very small footprint, this probably wouldn’t be happening.
A story that’s always stuck with me is: “at a party someone told the group that there wasn’t enough pizza for everyone to have 2 slices, and some people took one slice, and some took three - and that really describes humanity.”
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.
