How often do you think about climate change, and how worried are you about it?

Posted by baby--goats@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 326 comments

I'm a climate researcher who works way too many hours each week so it's in my head most of the time, was wondering how often it crops up in your minds Btw I'm not scalping information for my work or anything, just genuinely curious

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326 Comments

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Saelaird@reddit

I can't have any impact on it. I do have concern for my descents, but meh... they'll adapt and figure it out. Head North, stay cool.

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Temporary-Zebra97@reddit

Don't think about it much, and not worried in the slightest, however I do a bunch of greenish shit but my motivations are different.

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Longjumping_Win_7770@reddit

Barely ever. Not at all. I can do next to nothing about it and have very little tangible impact on the situation regardless of what I do.

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Jacktionman@reddit

Every day, multiple times. I find it amazing that most people are perfectly happy to plough on to what will be a total disaster for tens (hundreds?) of millions and absolutely hammer our UK standards of living in the not-too-distant future.

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ConsciousHamster8249@reddit

More worried about the measures they are bringing into the u.k, geo engineering, carbon capture, mammals are bad for the environment, huge solar windmills being made by china using - yep coal etc. and slave labour. If the u.k were really interested in net 0, it would be investing in making stuff here, and new tech, such as creating energy from water. So yeah, worried about solar on farmland, forever chemicals being pumped out, insects dying, fake foods, but not so much climate change. Wondering whether it will end up being similar to the hole in the Ozone - big way for people to make money and control people, eventually using carbon credits etc. So yeah - Net 0 worries me.

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_Skin_Jim_@reddit

I don't worry because this planet has gone through many, many, many climate changes, and life on this earth still exists and thrives. This planet is getting more green, which doesn't sound like a bad thing. Desserts are shrinking, that sound good to me.

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TheCommomPleb@reddit

I don't like it but I'm less worried as time goes on The ice caps are literally gaining more ice now than they have in fuck knows how long I still think it's a serious issue but I do think scientists have missed a few key details and it's not going how we think it is Either way, cut down your beef, buy a bike and plant all sorts of shit in your garden, your great grandkids will thank you

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1FlamingBurrito@reddit

Probably most days at least one thought. Climate change / ecological disaster

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taureanpeach@reddit

I do think about it now and then, I’m 26 and a lot of my peers are very (hate this word) woken

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Rochambeaux69@reddit

I live in Massachusetts USA, and according to weather records going back as far as 1893, the weather/temperature cycles are fairly consistent, with definite patterns of varying lengths. Weather/temperature outliers almost every year, warm day in the winter or cold day in the summer. https://www.extremeweatherwatch.com/cities/boston If you scroll to the bottom, you can access each individual year. It’s a fascinating rabbit hole. So yeah, I do think about it. Regardless, we should all endeavor to have the smallest impact possible.

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ItsDominare@reddit

Occasionally, and not very worried. Humans are highly adaptable, we'll figure it out.

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Puzzleheaded_Rub5562@reddit

There is hope! But why should we leave it to the "others" to kindle it? 😋

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ItsDominare@reddit

The priorities are completely out of whack. Fully 75% of the plastic in the oceans is from the fishing industry, but we have to pay 10p for a carrier bag. We all have to switch to EVs, but one jet liner flight emits the same CO2 as several hundred car trips. Etc, etc. I'd be more willing to think about making changes if they were targeting the biggest offenders first, but they don't.

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_Pencilfish@reddit

Are you really upset about the extra unnecessary single-use plastic bags costing 10p? Personally, I find it fucking embarrassing if I forget to bring a bag for the shopping that I'm doing. One jet liner also carries several hundred people. In fact, the average airliner gets better mileage per passenger than a single person in a car. Think about the time per year you spend in a plane vs a car.

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ItsDominare@reddit

lol I *knew* someone would jump on the specific examples and miss the overall point. > Are you really upset about the extra unnecessary single-use plastic bags costing 10p? No, because in the grand scheme of things it's an irrelevance. That's the point. > One jet liner also carries several hundred people. Sure; if it's a large modern plane, and is full, the CO2 per passenger might be a little below what it would be if they all made the same journey driving individual cars. Unfortunately for those who love to trot out that little statistic, most commercial flights aren't full, most airlines use older less efficient planes, it ignores all the millionaire arseholes flying around on private jets, etc etc. Again, the point here is that they want to tell all of us down at the wide end of the wealth pyramid to make all these life changes, meanwhile they continue to do whatever they want. You're blind if you don't see that.

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_Pencilfish@reddit

Well, it's an irrelevance, but it did significantly reduce the amount of plastic bags bought. Imagine if we could get rid of all the plastic packaging on vegetables, for instance. Sure, it's not going to change much, but it will change a bit. And when there's literally no reason not to, why not? > commercial flights aren't full, most airlines use older less efficient planes, it ignores all the millionaire arseholes flying around on private jets, etc etc. They're not full, but they're pretty close: https://www.oag.com/hubfs/Free_Reports/OAG%20Take-Off/October%202017/OAG%20Global%20Take-off%20Dashboard-2017.pdf?hsCtaTracking=14fcc7cb-e79a-4dc3-965a-1db784277802%7C64c80a52-3ff2-41cc-b7ac-ce6c9d989173 typically seems to hover around 80% full, only one is below 70%, Ryanair gets 91% with easyjet not far behind at 85%. Plane efficiency hasn't changed massively for a while - they get better, but slowly. Private jets are a problem, but to scale, they're a pretty small one. Fundamentally, cars release a lot more CO2. It's true that it's "them" BUT it is also "us". And if we hold off all action because of "them", absolutely fuck all will happen.

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ItsDominare@reddit

I thought I was pretty clear there's no value in quibbling about the small handful of examples, from very many, that I happened to choose to illustrate the point. And yet, you're still doing it. Look, I buy my 10p bags and put my stuff in the recycling same as the next guy. Just don't kid yourself that it's anything more than a placebo to distract you from the fact the megacorps and billionaires are still fucking up the planet to a far greater extent than anything you or I ever did. They could ban e.g. private jets TOMORROW dude, but they won't - because nobody's actually serious enough about fixing the problem to inconvenience rich people. That's why I don't give a shit.

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Puzzleheaded_Rub5562@reddit

It does start on a personal level though, from the bottom up. If it doesn't start on a personal level, it won't materialise well at a higher level, or it might but with higher difficulty. If as an individual you can teach your own children, family, friends, etc. about the good lessons (try not to kill key species, try not to waste, recognise what is good from nature - like medicinal plants or forage material - don't empower the worst climate offenders, etc.) then it's much easier to implement such ethos as a senior in a company, as a director, as the head of a city... A bunch of people get together and they can make a good time for others or a sh*t time, depending on their life philosophies that they've been implementing so far.

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ItsDominare@reddit

> Big corps will totally save the planet at the expense of our own profit guys, but you have to go first. We'll do it later, we promise. This is you right now. I wish you were right, I really do... but in the real world, they will continue to not give a tuppeny fuck right up until we're all on fire.

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Puzzleheaded_Rub5562@reddit

The post you quoted is being sarcastic and essentially agreeing that one can't wait for big corpos to not think about profits for a second 😂. Especially if run by people who don't want to rock the boat, status quo, or lose their position by being "too ethical".

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ItsDominare@reddit

I paraphrased in a sarcastic way to make my point, that's not what they originally wrote. I dunno why they deleted it.

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Much-Fall-9515@reddit

I used a bus/train/bike for most of my life, always recycled when I can and what has changed? Nothing. Until the corpos do something then we are all fucked. But yes I do care about climate change.

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Logical_fallacy10@reddit

I used to - but now I don’t care and don’t think of it. China and America and India don’t care - so why should anyone else.

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SurroundParticular30@reddit

Considering that China is [beating their climate goals by 5 years](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-06-28/china-s-solar-wind-build-to-crush-target-global-energy-monitor), they seem to be more enthusiastic than we are

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_Pencilfish@reddit

Unironically, there's a good chance that China saves the world. They produce an insane amount of solar panels and batteries, and they use them. China installed 280GW of solar power in 2024 alone. They're now at 880GW. For reference, the USA has 139GW total. The entire energy generation capacity of the UK is <80GW.

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Logical_fallacy10@reddit

Well if China is finally doing something - cool. England has 60million people. It does not matter one bit what they do. We could all drive around in tanks and it wouldn’t make a difference to the world.

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_Pencilfish@reddit

I would say there are some things Britain could do. historically, Britain has always punched well above its weight in RnD - we should absolutely be investing hard into developing green technology (it makes economic sense, if nothing else. Xi Jinping made the conscious decision that China would dominate the world's renewables, and I'm sure that's because he could see a market). We still have a high global carbon footprint per capita, and could conceivably influence the rest of Europe (I'm sure the French wouldn't want us winning the green competition). The trains should be sorted out - it's ridiculous that it's often cheaper to fly the length of the country than go by train. etc etc. One really really easy thing the average person can do is use Ecosia. Rather than funnelling money down Google's throat, it can be used for environmentally friendly purposes instead.

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Logical_fallacy10@reddit

England is failing as a country on every front these days. It needs to fix these problems before trying to be front runner of anything. England shouldn’t be investing in anything right now - other than fixing the broken country. But they love to waste funds helping other countries like Pakistan and Ukraine. Not to mention the billions they now spend on illegal invaders. Yes trains are too expensive - which is just one thing that’s broken. But you think this is down to the environment. I don’t see the connection. Europe does not care about England. But I agree with you that they do have the childish mentality of wanting not wanting to be beaten by others. But France also has more important things to solve before the environment. The two things that should be focused on and solved are illegal immigration and the alarming growth of Islam in Europe. Because if that is not solved - there won’t be a Europe.

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SurroundParticular30@reddit

[Wind and solar PV power are less expensive](https://www.carbonbrief.org/solar-is-now-cheapest-electricity-in-history-confirms-iea) than any fossil-fuel option, even without any financial assistance. This is not new. It’s our best option to become energy independent It is [more expensive to not fight climate change now](https://youtu.be/2i0XJDNQ3GM?si=7AqAi9VUrkQ5Mlj_). Even in the relatively short term. Plenty of studies show [this](https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-023-01173-x). [Here](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-41888-1). And [here](https://www.nber.org/papers/w32450). Not to mention, climate change will cause more migration.

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Logical_fallacy10@reddit

They are less expensive when built and operational. But it’s very expensive to change everything. Yes I agree - it will get worse - but that still has nothing to do really with England as they don’t contribute much. Yes maybe more people will migrate - which is just another reason to close down Europe and the west and keep them out. Personally I don’t really care as this will all happen after I am gone.

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RobertGHH@reddit

I don't worry about it. Humans are excellent adaptors and the main fuellers of climate change (if it's real) are those in the developing world and there is no chance in hell we are getting them to stay poor and hungry.

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SurroundParticular30@reddit

The developing world would most likely have a much easier time transitioning to renewables than we will. They don’t have an established energy infrastructure to make fossil fuels competitive or an energy grid that needs replacing. Not all places have modern solar PV and not all countries can take full advantage of solar, but African countries definitely can with minimal cloud cover. And once they build it, they don’t have to compete with developed countries over oil. Solar technology will continue to improve and become cheaper. Fossil fuels will not https://webstore.iea.org/world-energy-outlook-2020

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RobertGHH@reddit

Renewables are unreliable and unreliable energy is expensive. You can't progress as a country with unreliable energy.

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SurroundParticular30@reddit

Excess power from renewables can be stored via hydro. This creates backup for when solar and wind are down. It is already conceivable to reach [near 100% renewable energy](https://www.worldfuturecouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/WFC_2014_Policy_Handbook_How_to_achieve_100_Renewable_Energy.pdf). [Wind and solar PV power are less expensive](https://www.carbonbrief.org/solar-is-now-cheapest-electricity-in-history-confirms-iea) than any fossil-fuel option, even without any financial assistance. This is not new. It’s our best option to become energy independent It is [more expensive to not fight climate change now](https://youtu.be/2i0XJDNQ3GM?si=7AqAi9VUrkQ5Mlj_). Even in the relatively short term. Plenty of studies show [this](https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-023-01173-x). [Here](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-41888-1). And [here](https://www.nber.org/papers/w32450).

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RobertGHH@reddit

Cool, are there enough suitable hydro locations in Africa for this to happen? How much will this cost to build, how long will the hydro backup last? What about in drought years?

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SurroundParticular30@reddit

Yes. Africa has the highest untapped hydropower potential globally, with only 11% being utilized. The vast majority of existing dams in the US, more than 90%, don’t produce electricity. They just hold back water. A [2012 Department of Energy report](https://www.energy.gov/articles/powering-america-s-waterways) identified a total of 12 gigawatts of new hydropower to be built by retrofitting non-powered dams. Some of Africa is in a [similar situation](https://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?pid=S1816-79502023000300005&script=sci_arttext&). https://preview.redd.it/5n28im3a6zye1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=664d3320db924bc6b656e3e46cf6c470d55d1c4c The Kandadji Dam on the Niger River will generate 130 MW of electricity and support irrigation and water supply. The project is expected to be completed by 2025. The Angololo Multipurpose Dam (Kenya and Uganda) will expected capacity of 1.75 MW. Construction began in April 2023, with commissioning anticipated in 2026. The Ruzizi III Hydropower Project (DRC, Rwanda, Burundi) will be 206 MW Retrofitting 1 GW (\~1,000 MW) continent-wide could cost $2–4 billion, depending on scale and grid integration costs. Hydropower is long-lived and reliable, lasting 50-100 years depending on maintenance [https://www.hydropower.org/region-profiles/africa](https://www.hydropower.org/region-profiles/africa) Prolonged droughts can reduce hydropower output, but usually with droughts comes plenty of sunlight, which is good for solar. Droughts, of course, make building hydropower extremely important, as pumped hydropower dams also store water for drinking, irrigation, and industry and buffers seasonal water shortages downstream.

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RobertGHH@reddit

Now ask your AI how much power Africa needs to modernise.

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SurroundParticular30@reddit

One Google search will tell you , [according the IEA](https://www.iea.org/reports/africa-energy-outlook-2022/key-findings), Africa needs to add 300 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030 to modernize. They need to invest over $190 billion annually, with two-thirds going to clean energy Which honestly is a steal, considering how much expensive it was to build our energy infrastructure

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RobertGHH@reddit

Great, when do they start?

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SurroundParticular30@reddit

Already started baby https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genale_Dawa_III_Hydroelectric_Power_Station

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RobertGHH@reddit

Great, 254MW, only 299.75GW to go then.

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ClydeB3@reddit

Quite a lot. I always try to go for more environmentally options but it's just depressing how many other people just don't seem to care - or worse, are actively against doing anything positive. Out of curiosity, how did you get into climate research?

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namur17056@reddit

I’m quite frugal with electric usage and I rely on public transport. I’m already doing all I can and I’m not worried because honestly I think it’s too late to do anything meaningful

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ratemychicken@reddit

Don't think about it at all.

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Robotniked@reddit

So for me it’s a low level background concern, I do what I can with recycling, conserving energy etc but fundamentally I know that anything I can do is effectively meaningless whilst China keeps burning fossil fuels, in that context it’s just not worth worrying about. I also think that reporting around climate change has been so over the top for so long that it’s very difficult for an average person to know how seriously to take it. I remember in the early 2000’s when the scientists were telling us that Britain would be a desolate frozen wasteland by 2025 and cities would have sunk below the waves. There’s only so many times you can credibly claim that the world is about to end when it then doesn’t.

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aje0200@reddit

I think it all stems back to the biggest problem of our time. The massive wealth divide. Regular people can’t do much to help climate change, but the large corporations that are richer than ever need to pull their finger out and give a 💩about what they’re doing to the world.

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zephyrmox@reddit

I cannot do anything about it. Even if I am the paragon of virtue, it won't have any impact - so I try to be half reasonable with my environmental impact but don't let it change my life too much. So not much, honestly.

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TheTiredMuse@reddit

I used to think like this and I understand your point, you individually are a drop in the ocean - bur I disagree you can’t do anything about it. You can do something about it. If consumer preference changes towards companies that make an effort from a sustainability perspective, then it becomes a competitive advantage for other companies in that industry to being measuring and reducing carbon emissions. Outdoor gear like Patagonia is a great example. If everyone thinks “oh I can’t do anything so why bother” then we will never hit a critical mass that will encourage change. Ultimately businesses exist to serve a consumer at the end of the chain. So just consume / purchase more consciously and give your money to businesses that are doing the right thing.

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Midnight_Manatee@reddit

This is true but what do you do about corporations as big as JP morgan that have poured 500 billion usd into fossil fuels since the Paris agreement. They are literally too big to boycott and are one of the major contributors to fossil fuel expansion. We are beholden to these greedy fucks and there's no stopping it. Where their stock and investment growth is concerned it's money over everything, they have fingers in too many things to fail to boycotts. We've let capitalism run rampant and there's no brakes now.

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PuzzleheadedLow4687@reddit

You keep going on about it whenever you get the chance to talk to a politician. You bear it in mind when voting. These corporations have huge lobbying operations. Individuals can lobby too, and if governments see that voters care about it then they might do something about it.

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INPUT_INPUT@reddit

I love your comment and that people like you exist. You’re thinking about the future and for the next generation. You’re a rare gem, and that in itself is the problem when considering that much of the 9bn populace of the world doesn’t feel this way. It’s not really their fault, it’s just there’s more pressing economical concerns on their mind. As a generalisation, life on earth is very short term focussed, you see it both in the day to day common interactions and in high level politics. Squabbling over the rearranging of deckchairs on the titanic is the theme.

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Da1sycha1n@reddit

Yes, and what we can contribute to is a shift in cultural attitude towards consumption and environment. I'll always hold onto that

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loaferuk123@reddit

I recycle, buying an EV etc, but realistically I am a tiny impact compared to a US pickup driver or a Chinese manufacturer. I am lucky to live in a country which is far enough north to be OK, or possibly even benefit, but feel sorry for my fellow Europeans facing 40c summers and water shortages.

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Mikenotthatmike@reddit

Running the vehicle you already have is probably better than buying a new EV

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_1489555458biguy@reddit

Incorrect

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Mikenotthatmike@reddit

There are lots of variables. An EV might be a better choice than a comparable new fossil fuel powered vehicle. But there's a lot to be said for continuing to run what's already been produced Vs continuing to build new products. Of course if you're running an old American V8 as a grocery getter, maybe not 😉

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loaferuk123@reddit

I’m not having the current one crushed. I’m lending to my son.

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Bibdabob@reddit

We will not benefit in any way. Collapse of the ecosystem means no food, mass immigration from hotter climates and a global economic crisis.

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OddlyDown@reddit

That isn’t true though - you absolutely can do something about it. Get politically active, stand for election, get elected, and legislate for change.

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UnnecessaryRoughness@reddit

There already are lots of politically active people exactly like this. They didn't get elected, because people like reassuring lies better than uncomfortable truths.

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OddlyDown@reddit

There are hardly any. I am a Green councillor. We run local election campaigns with maybe a dozen active people and that has got councillors elected. With another dozen we could get another two councillors. Every single person who gets out there and helps makes a difference.

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UnnecessaryRoughness@reddit

The greens need to win the press to win political influence. The media treats them like weirdo hippy novelty candidates. Change the media, change the world.

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OddlyDown@reddit

And to change the media you need to campaign. The media has to give you coverage if you have elected officials. If you stand for election you have to have an equal say as the big parties at hustings. The only waste of time is hand-wringing and saying nothing can be done. If we can elect councillors with just a few people giving a little of their time then it shows that every single person can make a difference.

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DanFarrell98@reddit

Unfortunately too many people think like this. Its always going to be a collective effort

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bewilderedheard@reddit

This is the problem. Individuals can't do anything about it it's true, but as a group we have the power to. We all hold a minute of responsibility for the crisis and you dont get to be absolved by throwing your hands up and saying there's nothing you can do.

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SentientWickerBasket@reddit

I really hate how this has taken over. My pet theory is that the powers who have an interest in the status quo have realised that flat denialism isn't taken seriously by enough people anymore and have moved on to "an individual can't do anything so don't you dare stop buying buying buying". It's the whole thing about how "I'm not making an impact because the plane is flying anyway" - it's only flying because every single person on that plane is on a plane "that's flying anyway". Hell, try asking for a free ticket - the plane is just flying anyway.

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Puzzleheaded_Rub5562@reddit

I mean, obviously OP isn't asking you as a single human to compete with a fleet of 10000 buses, so if you're an individual, it's about what you can do on that individual scale. If you're a company representative, what you can do compared to other representatives, if you own three cars, what you can do vs others who own three cars, etc. If you have a garden you can probably do a lot by making sure its soil isn't contaminated with plastics, the species planted are native and bear fruits, nuts or are medicinal to people, etc. If you're a teacher, you impact thousands of children with your views. If you have family and friends, how often do you talk quality info and ecology and the environment to them. The list goes on.

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BaBaFiCo@reddit

Pretty similar. I'm not doing anything to make it worse. I try to help. But frankly it's up to nations and businesses to make a difference.

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Much_Fish_9794@reddit

Worry about things you can directly impact, and nothing more. Why? Because we live in a world where we’re constantly bombarded by things in the news and social media. It’s easy to fall into the trap of anxiety and stress. Do I think climate change is a problem? Yes, and there are lots of smart people working on many solutions, which may, or may not, solve it. Humans are a resilient bunch, we find solutions to problems and overcome them. Instead of thinking and worrying about it personally, I just do what I can individually to contribute. I recycle what I can, I use low energy appliances and lights, I have solar panels and battery, I don’t use gas, electric car, heat pump. I can’t do anything more with the tech we have today, so what’s the point in worrying about it? It’ll either happen, or we’ll solve the problem.

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StrangerOdd8265@reddit

I just see it as propaganda. The climate has always been changing. We'll have ice ages and hotter periods in the future. Species just learn to adapt or die. Some species will thrive as the climate gets hotter, some species will thrive in the next ice age. Luckily humans are versatile and can survive in both scenarios. The next ice age will be catastophic for civilisation though and we're very dependent on trade for food, medicine etc.

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_Pencilfish@reddit

The climate has never been changing this rapidly. There is a limit to how rapidly species can adapt, and change is happening much, much faster than that for most things that aren't bacteria. There is no indication that there will ever be another ice age (especially as we now know an easy way to prevent it).

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SurroundParticular30@reddit

The issue is the rate of change. [This guy](https://youtu.be/uqwvf6R1_QY) does a great job of explaining Milankovitch cycles and why human induced CO₂ is disrupting the natural process

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Jolly_Constant_4913@reddit

I think it will drive major conflicts over the next 20 years and maybe resolve the odd few

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BlackAle@reddit

I don't think about it that much. I'm 52 now. I'll be long gone before the worst of it hits.

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DailyOverthink3r@reddit

I think about it every day. Im worried about it too, particularly what things will look like in 2040s/50s. I also sometimes laugh to myself. My state pension will be available in 2064 - i don't have high hopes that a safe climate will exist nor will circumstances mean I will have a pension to rely on...

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Beneficial_Room_5834@reddit

None at all. I have too many things going on in my personal life to worry about media hype about the climate.

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Competitive_Pen7192@reddit

I think a portion of the world will be utterly, utterly screwed by this. Unfortunately most of this will be the global south, e.g the poor so the powerful nations will not care. At some stage you'll see climate change related wars and terrorism. The anti immigration rhetoric in Europe is preparing people for when the borders may need to be closed with literal walls going up to stop the flood of displaced people. This is a dark prediction and I hope it doesn't happen but I can't really see any other way. Especially with the current fracturing of the world order, any global climate change deals are dead in the water now.

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Mugweiser@reddit

Source? Various needed

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Puzzleheaded_Rub5562@reddit

Source for what? 😆 Having an opinion? Source for your birth certificate, so we make sure you're not a bot oO

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Mugweiser@reddit

Nah for the claims they made.

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Puzzleheaded_Rub5562@reddit

Those are common views. All one needs to check if whether species diversity of plants and animals os decreasing significantly or increasing significantly each year, example how many new species disappear or are put on the endangered list etc. They're an indicator of what humans are doing/what they're exploiting, and where, and how.

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Mugweiser@reddit

Common where?

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Puzzleheaded_Rub5562@reddit

In any circles that read or hear good or bad articles, books or news about climate-related migrations/movements, of animals or of people.

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Competitive_Pen7192@reddit

Don't waste your time with this one. They're a classic 1 word answer because they've worked out that asking for evidence they wouldn't understand anyway is an easy way to make it sound like they know what they're talking about. Even if climate change is something that planetary movements and solar activity influence far more than manmade sources, it's better to take the side of caution. But it's ok "sources" will save us all.

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zhephyx@reddit

There's two things you need to know. 1. Half the world's population lives within 120 miles of an ocean. 2. Humans can't breathe under water.

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Mugweiser@reddit

Yep that’s fine. Mentioned in another comment that humans are usually pretty good at solving problems. See; evolution.

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zhephyx@reddit

First of all, evolution is not a problem solved by humans but a natural feature of all living organisms through gene mutations, it has nothing to do with people. Second, evolution in reaction to the environment takes hundreds of thousands of years, not a century. Your grandkids aren't going to grow gills or develop heat resistance because you lived by the beach. Third, it's not going to get better, it will be getting worse faster. Oil and coal are finite resources, and energy expenditures get higher every year. We are at 430 PPM of CO2, which only gets higher so we are steadily cooking. When the ice caps melt, that will be the last bit of natural cooling we get, so the oceans will start to lose a lot of marine life, which means ecosystems start collapsing and a lot of coastal people lose their food and livelihood. Honestly, it's not up to debate or personal opinion. Asking for a "source" on climate change makes as much sense as asking for a source on grass being green.

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Mugweiser@reddit

yeh ok thats quite a lot mate. we've got this far and we've solved everything we've met before so, in answer to OPs question - I'm not really worried about it.

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Competitive_Pen7192@reddit

Truth Social...

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Mugweiser@reddit

Is that a credible source?

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Competitive_Pen7192@reddit

It's sarcasm. It's an opinion I've formed over being alive for a number of years and seeing the world change. Feel free to believe what you want.

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Mugweiser@reddit

I believe facts so I’ll stick to those

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jocantread@reddit

Our planet goes through natural changes, none of which are created by us. There’s evidence of previous civilisations here. Some now under water. If we were cavemen 12,000 years ago, what caused the younger dryas event? Not us. Why were our ancestors so interested in astronomy? Emmanuel Velikovsky’s book on the subject of Venus entering our solar system, and grazing our atmosphere was removed from bookstores. The scientific community threatened to pull their books if it wasn’t. If anyone on earth is going to cause major damage to it, it’s the few who have power. They’re the ones who want to wipe out most of the population (8 billion-ish people reduced to 500 million).Not the everyday folks like us. When was the last time you decided to cloudseed, or detonate an atomic bomb? The hindenburg disaster was used to make us use air polluting aeroplanes instead. It’s almost as if it’s the people in power care more about money and control than they do our home, but want us to think we’re the problem…

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SurroundParticular30@reddit

We are most likely responsible for 100% of the warming we have observed. Our interglacial period is ending, and the warming from that stopped increasing. [The Subatlantic age of the Holocene epoch SHOULD be getting colder](https://climate.nasa.gov/ask-nasa-climate/2949/why-milankovitch-orbital-cycles-cant-explain-earths-current-warming/) slowly. Keyword is should based on natural cycles. But they are not outperforming greenhouse gases. The issue is the rate of change. [This guy](https://youtu.be/uqwvf6R1_QY) does a great job of explaining Milankovitch cycles and why human induced CO₂ is disrupting the natural process

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Puzzleheaded_Rub5562@reddit

I know a millionaire who grew up among normal people, the ones you talk about. As such, they defined his view of the world, how they helped him when he needed or didn't help, how they spoke to him... The few who have power have met many common people whilst on their climb, I believe. They shaped the 1's views, as much as the individual has its own power of selection.

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jocantread@reddit

With all due respect, billionaires run things. Millionaires are small fry. They are in the same category as the rest of us

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jocantread@reddit

Love the downvotes, thanks lol

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Super_Swordfish_6948@reddit

"How often do you think about climate change" never. "how worried are you about it?" I'm not. I look at the revealed preferences of the people pushing it, they don't believe it either.

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ohhhhhyeeeessss@reddit

What are those revealed preferences?

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Super_Swordfish_6948@reddit

A passion for international air travel and beach front properties.

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SurroundParticular30@reddit

You mean the rich and the powerful? Doesn’t seem like a great method to develop your values on

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ohhhhhyeeeessss@reddit

As people have eluded to here, there's a difference between believing something and believing you are capable of affecting it. I am personally passionate about mitigating (because the damage is already done) the effects of climate change and don't own a beachfront property. I probably do take 4-6 flights a year, because I realise that is not going to shift the needle and my personal carbon footprint from travelling is otherwise low, as I very rarely drive.

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Pete_1982@reddit

Climate change on earth has been happening for billions of years. Sometimes the earth has periods of being warmer and then colder. It can take hundreds or sometimes thousands of years for these temperature shifts to take place. I wouldn’t worry about it - it’s been happening forever. We humans label it and market it as ‘climate change ‘ but it’s just the natural life of the earth unfolding.

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SurroundParticular30@reddit

The issue is the rate of change. [This guy](https://youtu.be/uqwvf6R1_QY) does a great job of explaining Milankovitch cycles and why human induced CO₂ is disrupting the natural process

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baby--goats@reddit (OP)

Lets think about it another way then - the climate is changing - rapidly. All we have to do is read the news to see the mass deaths and displacement. Even if people think this is wholly "natural" - what should we do? Just brush it off as a natural misfortune and let communities- disproportionately working class communities, die? Should we just not care? Btw anyone else reading this the whole climate change isn't caused by people theory is a crock of shite. Yes climates go through cycles, but the problem is the *speed* of cycle changes caused by global emissions that is literately fucking the planet.

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iambeherit@reddit

Basically, yes. People have ALWAYS died in floods, eruptions, earthquakes, tornadoes, etc. It's nothing new.

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kisikisikisi@reddit

Yeah you tell yourself that when the gulf stream stops. I bet that belief will keep you warm lmao.

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EvilTaffyapple@reddit

Oh dear

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ComprehensiveSale777@reddit

I worry about it a lot. I was obviously always aware from school etc and always engaged but I vividly remember reading 'The Uninhabitable Earth' article by David Wallace Wells in 2017 (and then his subsequent book) as a black pill moment. I really don't understand how people with children aren't constantly freaking out. I am worried for myself but I can deal with that. I don't think most people have any idea what's coming down the line.

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wingman0401@reddit

And what would be the benefit in freaking out over something none of us can control?

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SurroundParticular30@reddit

We may not be able to completely stop our climate from changing but we can mitigate our impact. Actually I’m pretty optimistic in our ability to [minimize emissions](https://youtu.be/vUA1kFSJnYQ?si=QAbMh1KBNgTp1tgq)

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unseemly_turbidity@reddit

More people might be inspired to not contribute to it more than they absolutely have to.

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ComprehensiveSale777@reddit

I didn't say there was a benefit to it, I don't understand not being concerned about it all the time. It's like trying to sleep during a fire alarm.

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Low-Pangolin-3486@reddit

I have kids and it is something I worry about for them. In all honesty I don’t feel like I can let myself think about it too much or I’ll start spiralling.

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ComprehensiveSale777@reddit

Yeah I do get that completely. I guess I feel just a frustration with more people for not caring more but I also get not wanting to fixate on doom as well! I've heard good things about 'Infinitely Full of Hope' about parenting in these times which is a nice way of putting it too.

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buffyysummers@reddit

There’s no reason to worry about it

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westcoastwarrior92@reddit

How little have you got going on in your life that this is your top concern? I'm more concerned about what I'm having for dinner. It's not that I don't care about it but nothing I can do. As concerned about it as a meteor hitting us next week.

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ComprehensiveSale777@reddit

If a meteor was due to hit us next week I personally would rate my concern levels as above average about that fact, certainly more than how I'd rate my concern levels about what to have for dinner on any given day.

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westcoastwarrior92@reddit

A mean its not something to worry about, what you going to do to stop it?

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ComprehensiveSale777@reddit

The question was how worried about it are you - my answer is 'very'. If you want to get very zen about it you're possibly correct in that it won't fix it, but I also think that it is a healthy and rational response to have worry and concern about something bad that is happening now and will become worse and I don't worry about much else as I'm fairly sorted so I'm pretty relaxed about climate change being my number one concern.

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PrimaryStudent6868@reddit

Not thinking about it at all. As a child in the eighties I was terrified because the media and experts were advising us that the deforestation of the Brazilian rainforest was going to lead to a lack of oxygen. I literally remember being terrified of suffocating to death after watching one of the adds. Following that there was an add campaign for a number of years about acid rain and how it would poision our crops and burn our hair - women were terrified of going bald for a number of years if they were caught in the rain. Then came the hole in the ozone layer and deodorant was blamed for that. Following that they started the whole global warming thing but then when it was proven parts of the earth are cooling they renamed it again. I live in a house over looking the sea here in Ireland in a region that Al gore identified as being under water by 2013. My city has spent nearly 3 billion on flood defence and the tide hasn’t even risen a centimetre. The marks on the walls near our house are the same going back over 200 years. I believe there are some change but for the vast amount of it are exaggerated. My county produces less emissions in a year that China does in a day yet I have to pay carbon tax every time I warm my house or fill my car. According to the UN eighty percent of emissions come from transportation (shipping and flying) yet all the taxes and efforts to reduce emissions are targeted at citizens who make up a minute fraction of. Sad to say but you are wasting your life participating in a pseudoscience based cult who’s sole purpose is to extort the little man while doing literally f all for the environment or humanity.

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SurroundParticular30@reddit

We [stopped using the chemicals that were increasing the hole in the ozone](https://youtu.be/0ZfBgjUnXIs) through worldwide collaboration and regulation. We are trying to do the same with climate change Acid rain was [essentially solved](https://www.epa.gov/acidrain/acid-rain-program) because governments listened to scientists and reduced emissions of NOx and SOx gases through legislation Climate Change and Global Warming are both valid scientific terms. Climate change better represents the situation. Scientists don’t want less informed people getting confused when cold events happen. [Accelerated warming of the Arctic disturbs the circular pattern of winds known as the polar vortex.](https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abi9167) Don’t think al gore said anything like that nor is he a climate scientist [Most climate predictions](https://youtu.be/f4zul0BuO8A) have turned out to be accurate representations of current climate. The UK produces [much more CO₂ per person](https://www.statista.com/chart/24306/carbon-emissions-per-capita-by-country/) as China. Even though China does most of our manufacturing. All countries can do more. It does not absolve us of responsibility.

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New-account-01@reddit

All through the years it's just fear and speculation based on models etc. Acid rain, next ice age, poles melting and sea rising, hole in the ozone, global warming, now climate change. Every season it's snow bomb, beast from the east, wettest, hottest. driest, coldest since records began. Weather maps deep red now instead of the sunshine icons we used to get. Other countries making no effort to change anything but we're taxed and shamed into poverty in name of net zero. It's exhausting. So take with pinch of salt and get on with life.

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SurroundParticular30@reddit

70s ice age myth [explained here](https://youtu.be/5E7K70DFLJQ), it’s based on Milankovitch cycles, which we now understand to be disrupted. Those studies never even considered human induced changes and was never the prevailing theory even back then, warming was We [stopped using the chemicals that were increasing the hole in the ozone](https://youtu.be/0ZfBgjUnXIs) through worldwide collaboration and regulation. We are trying to do the same with climate change Acid rain was [essentially solved](https://www.epa.gov/acidrain/acid-rain-program) because governments listened to scientists and reduced emissions of NOx and SOx gases through legislation Climate Change and Global Warming are both valid scientific terms. Climate change better represents the situation. Scientists don’t want less informed people getting confused when cold events happen. [Accelerated warming of the Arctic disturbs the circular pattern of winds known as the polar vortex.](https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abi9167) [Most climate predictions](https://youtu.be/f4zul0BuO8A) have turned out to be accurate representations of current climate.

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iamnotasheep@reddit

I’m an ecologist and think about it every day. We are already seeing changes in wildlife behaviour (amphibians breeding all through winter for example) and it’s terrifying to realise how close to the tipping point we may be.

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_1489555458biguy@reddit

Every week. I'm an informed normie who firmly believes we're in the middle of a mass extinction event. I think there's a good chance that 100-200 million people starve to death before 2040 somewhere in the global South. But even informed folks never seem to talk about the logical pessimistic outcomes from the worst case scenario predictions. Only the improvements in renewables, electric vehicles and geo engineering give me any hope.

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theAlHead@reddit

I'll probably be dead before it really matters. But if I think about it, I think it's inevitable, and we should concentrate on reducing the bad effects of climate change and just consider stopping it a lost cause. Why spend billions on recycling and minor reductions in emissions, when you could spend that money, time, and manpower on reinforcing coastlines and improving flood prevention etc. So if I am worried about it, I am worried we won't be prepared for it, because we are too concerned with hopelessly preventing it.

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robowns87@reddit

Almost never, doesn’t really factor into my decision making processes either (ie wouldn’t skip a holiday because I was concerned about emissions nor purchase a car based them).

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Ok-Organization1591@reddit

I worried about it when my dad asked me to clear the brown leaves out of his gutter, in July.

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InnocentInvasion@reddit

As far as the controversy and politics not at all. It seems like a messy situation with no good solutions currently As far as the weather not being the same, regularly. It doesn't snow anywhere near as much as it used to and I definitely make the "we need to burn more plastic" joke whenever summer isn't long enough or hot enough

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baby--goats@reddit (OP)

Thank you for making me laugh with that joke - it's the dark humor that really does get me through all of this

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Elegant_Dragonfly_64@reddit

We’re only here until the next mass extinction event. Might as well enjoy the ride.

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linuxrod@reddit

Almost never, not at all. It’s not because I don’t care, I do but figure that climate has always been changing and humans / life in general is very adaptable. The key word is change. It’s changing, it’s probably not possible to stop this (realistically) so I don’t worry about it.

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Puzzled_Pig@reddit

Stop talking sense, you’ll get loads of down votes

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Puzzled_Pig@reddit

I don’t watch the bbc, so never

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helpnxt@reddit

Thought about it a decent amount and read up on it a lot. Nowadays I don't tend to think about it much unless something relevant is happening. Worried? Erm not so much, just kinda accepted we are likely screwed and within most of our lifetimes so just going to enjoy my life now.

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aurora_ethereallight@reddit

I think about it when I hear of extreme weather somewhere in the world. It does worry me but then over population worries me as well. I do my bit but I can't control others.

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Turbulent-Pilot-1436@reddit

I do t worry about it at all. We can make all the changes in the U.K. and it still won’t be enough until the worst offenders around the world buckle up and sort their shit out.

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Breezey2929@reddit

If the greatest minds and the people with the most resources can’t figure this out. I don’t need to worry about.

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No-Question4729@reddit

Quite a lot if I’m honest, especially since we started a family and our little man arrived. I really don’t like the thought of leaving him and his kids with a planet in an even worse state than I found it in, and I’m proud to say he’s only 3 this month but already knows exactly which bits of rubbish go in which bin for recycling. He’s off to a good start. When our utilities were up for renewal I found myself picking a company advertising its gas and electricity as coming from “sustainable, renewable sources” (whatever that means) and our next big buy will be solar panels for the house. I find it all a bit overwhelming though to be honest. For us to make a positive change we all need to be in it together and I know too many people who just don’t give a shit. Plus, and I don’t mean for this to sound the way that certain people would intend it to sound, but I can’t shake that nagging feeling that the Earth has happily warmed itself up and cooled itself down many times already over millions of years. I know I know, it’s warming up faster than it ever has before and there’s absolutely no way that mankind ripping fossil fuels out of the planet and burning them all like mad for a century hasn’t been the main contributing factor to that and all that has to change, but still. It wouldn’t be the first time it’s crossed my mind that the only time the Earth will have a chance is when Mother Nature finally figures out how to get rid of us all.

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IndividualCurious322@reddit

I don't and I'm not concerned. It's the huge multi national companies and the ultra rich that are causing it, yet they try to shift the blame onto average people.

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Current_Scarcity_379@reddit

Having been all over the world for work, I can assure you that it’s only really European countries that are trying to do anything. The rest just don’t care. One site I worked on in Saudi during the construction of an oil fired power station went through around a million bottles of water per week as we were living on site. Not one went for recycling. It just doesn’t really exist there.

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Matthew_Bester@reddit

Never. Not at all.

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sparkletigerfrog@reddit

Absolutely freaking terrified (and enraged at how it’s not being solved) - as a consequence I try to avoid thinking or learning about it too much, because panic attacks suck.

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sparkletigerfrog@reddit

I do work on urban rewilding instead - helping people have fun in gardens and chatting to bumblebees is nice.

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Character_Mention327@reddit

The only thing which worries me about it is the insane, self-destructive policies it has caused in Britain. Climate extremists are certainly not the only thing holding back British economic growth, but no doubt a significant part of it.

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inevitablelizard@reddit

If trying to solve or mitigate it is the thing you're worried about you don't realise what damage climate change is set to do. Moaning about "climate extremism" when climate change risks the large scale failure of staple crops and wet bulb heatwave events making parts of the world unlivable is more than a bit ridiculous.

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Character_Mention327@reddit

Britain has no influence over what happens with the Earth's climate.

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Fish_Fingers2401@reddit

I live in the north of England, have a full time job and a mortgage. I virtually never think about it and I certainly don't worry about it. On my list of priorities, it ranks *extremely* low.

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Spottyjamie@reddit

I live in the north of england 20 minutes from scotland so i assume far further north than you and ive seen my city centre totally cut off due to flooding a few times and had to tolerate 35 degree heat when as a teen 22 degrees was considered high

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ComprehensiveSale777@reddit

Also in the north of England with a mortgage on a nice house - it only needs to flood once for you to be completely stuffed. Changing flood patterns are a very real concern and something people don't talk enough about. How does the insurance industry even begin to tackle that.

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Fish_Fingers2401@reddit

I checked the flood risk before I bought it, along with subsidence risk too. Both extremely low.

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ComprehensiveSale777@reddit

Sorry yes that's my point, flood risk at purchase doesn't equate to flood risk twenty years down the line, and you don't even need the house to flood, just the map to change to make it harder, which is happening more and more and out of our control. I just know first hand a few people who bought sensible houses in places out of a flood risk area who have been flooded in freak weather which is becoming more common.

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Fish_Fingers2401@reddit

I put the risk-level of this happening where I am as relatively low. Certainly lower than the risk of burglary, which I've already invested in home security in to attempt to mitigate. I've got a hundred other things on my mind at the moment, and climate change just isn't a priority at this time.

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Spottyjamie@reddit

A bit worried yeah when my town had snow in june once in the 90s gets over 32 degrees a few times a year now

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HotelPuzzleheaded654@reddit

Whenever it’s mentioned or when we have extreme weather events with records broken. It’s scary to me how little people give a shit and, more egregiously, those who outright deny it.

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cloche_du_fromage@reddit

Not many people are denying it. However I think it is fair to question how much of it is cyclical and how much is a result of human activity. Scaremongering doesn't help either. We were told early 2000s that the polar I've caps would be melted by 2020,and they patently haven't.

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Competitive_Pen7192@reddit

The cynics, partial deniers, full deniers are all in the same boat of idiocy. Think about it logically for a second. You're gambling on something where the best possible outcome is your life continues as it is and the worst is the human race suffers an extinction event. Why is that a bet people willingly risk everything on?

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cloche_du_fromage@reddit

Pushing for net zero isn't a 'no cost' option. I do all the recycling, low environmental impact stood but I'm not under any illusions or makes any difference, or that I'm saving the world.

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mattcannon2@reddit

I give a shit, but what am I supposed to do? I can't afford to buy an EV, nor can I afford to replace my perfectly functioning heating and cooking equipment with electrics and install a solar array to power it from. And I definitely can't afford to move within walking/biking distance of work. All I can do is eat less meat and recycle.

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Expensive-Analysis-2@reddit

Buying an ev won't help much anyway. So don't worry.

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unseemly_turbidity@reddit

Eating less meat is a big one though. If everyone did that and bought less shit, we'd be in a much better place.

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baby--goats@reddit (OP)

Aye - although denial in the UK is relatively low compared to other countries, mis- and disinformation is listed by the world bank as the greatest threat to national security [over the next two years](https://www.weforum.org/stories/2025/01/global-risks-report-2025-bleak-predictions/). So the possibility of these beliefs rising over here is a real concern.

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Puzzleheaded_Rub5562@reddit

Welp, denial would be hard in the country that owns Shell, BP, B. Tabacco, and most mining shares from ZA and AUS xD And with the highest rate of invasive species introductions. At least people are literate enough to probably come across written sources on these topics more often than not.

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screddited@reddit

That's because they are on the left and feel anything that doesn't align with the left's narratives or manipulation is mis- or disinformation and should be banned. However, most of it is neither. It's political, not factual.

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AlpsSad1364@reddit

I've literally never met anyone who point blank denied it was happening. The people who do this on social (and mainstream) media are mostly baiting the libs. The extremely hard of thinking (currently overrepresented in the US administration) might truly believe it's global conspiracy f against the US but for anyone with a secondary level education the evidence is pretty incontrovertible.

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UnacceptableUse@reddit

I think a lot of people who outright deny it just don't want to process the idea that it might be true. All of us are responsible in some way, but there's very few things we _can_ do individually to have an impact and even fewer that don't involve sacrifice. On top of that, companies will often lie or mislead you about their climate impact so it's hard to know what to believe or that you're doing the right thing.

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Competitive_Pen7192@reddit

It's a post truth world we live in. All a simpleton has to do is disagree with an expert, it has a sad amount of legitimacy these days.

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AyCarambin0@reddit

Sometimes I find myself hoping that I’m already gone before everything begins to truly fall apart.

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Gasguy9@reddit

Well I work for calor an lpg distributor so sometimes wonder if I'm a bad guy. But its too big and vague a thing to worry about. Having lived through the cold War Aids epidemic 2k bug etc its another apocalyptic threat.

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Lou-de-Lou-de-Lou@reddit

Never and I’m not. Must try harder.

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BeardedBaldMan@reddit

I grow veg, cultivate land specially for pollinators and my brother in law is a farmer - it's a pretty big topic of conversation. We're actively planning for what we're going to do with the land. In terms of my day to day actions, it's not a huge amount as while I do reduce, reuse and recycle what I do is cancelled out in a day by someone like a Kardashian. Until we recognise that actions more akin to the French Revolution are necessary there's very little to be done.

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mattcannon2@reddit

Separating my metal and glass while the radio talks about Katy Perry going to space for 10 minutes, basically making every climate-conscious action I will ever do in the rest of my life completely pointless.

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BeardedBaldMan@reddit

Don't forget all the bitcoin wankers

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inevitablelizard@reddit

AI too, the computing power for it consumes a lot of energy. Energy wasted so kids can cheat on their homework easier while looking at pictures of women with 3 tits.

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baby--goats@reddit (OP)

I almost flipped my desk in a blind rage when she came back from her vanity space flight to say [we need to protect earth](https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/katy-perry-space-launch-what-happened-1236368654/)

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chromaaadon@reddit

I think about it most days. I'm just disappointed. The amount of propaganda that "big oil" put out into the world is insane. Destroying the planet for greed, how pedestrian.

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Da1sycha1n@reddit

I spent my teenage years grappling with it every day (currently 29). Now I wilfully ignore it so I can get on with daily life, but I get the occasional pang of dread. I do what I can though, eat vegetarian, buy second hand, recycle, don't drive, trying my hardest to not get sucked into hypercapitalism

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Zealousideal-Habit82@reddit

Not much I can do about it so I don't think about it much, can't recall ever having a conversation about it either be it with friends or in the workplace. I'll continue to recycle and I'm pretty frugal so I don't consume much, drive less than 1500 miles a year and my car is 21 years old. I recently installed double glazing so my gas usage went down a lot over winter.

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IntrepidTangerine434@reddit

Never - Just do what you can within reason. Science and technology move at such a fast rate (much faster than climate change) and I believe that science will provide the solution long before we burn/drown/freeze. Think of technology 70 years ago and think what could be possible in 70 years time …

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Recent_Nose_5996@reddit

Every day. Every time I look at the sea or sky or animals or bugs.

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SMTRodent@reddit

Pretty often and I think we're all completely fecked, which has turned into not worrying at all any more. I got told as a kid in the 1980s that it was up to my generation to fix things and, well, we didn't. By 2020 I'd stopped wanting to even try. But from about 2005, I've been watching everything we were warned about come true.

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Iamamancalledrobert@reddit

Well, I think about the *absence of the idea of the future* a lot. I think the posts that we can’t personally do anything about climate change miss the point, at least for me— the fact it becomes harder and harder to ignore becomes a material concern in our local communities, and we can do something about that. We will die if we continue business as usual, cannot stop doing business as usual, and cannot openly say “this business as usual which we’re doing is getting increasingly desperate.” I think the dissonance of that is causing an enormous amount of material damage already, and that it can only get worse. So I suppose I think *not thinking about it* doesn’t seem pragmatic to me? Better to find a way to come to terms with it, whatever that looks like. But I’m not going to go around shouting at people about it

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Cuarenta-Dos@reddit

I am very annoyed by people who are still trying to talk about managing CO2 emissions when it couldn't be more obvious that these efforts are futile. There is absolutely no way anyone could convince the main polluters such as China, the US, India, Russia etc. to stop polluting. I think we should accept the worst case projections as the baseline, and work towards a geoengineering solution based on that. All this waffling about Net Zero and such is not helping in the slightest.

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banedlol@reddit

I mostly just think it's not fixable until we fix energy production via fusion.

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combustioncactus@reddit

I think about it a lot. Multiple times a day. Work in the NHS and have made/am leading massive sustainable initiatives in my hospital. Massively changes my home life too: Plant based diet. Environmentally conscious clothing and purchases. Electricity supplier (Octopus). Electric vehicle. Public transport/walk as much as possible. Cut down on air travel. Please do not give up. Keep doing the work you are doing. It infuriates me when people’s response to climate change is that their efforts don’t mean anything if the government/uber rich don’t change their behaviour. Of course what every single person on the earth does matters. It only takes one person to do the right thing. Just do the right thing!

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Purple-Hamster499@reddit

I reuse or recycle stuff, apart from that I only fart on a Tuesday.

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katie-kaboom@reddit

I think about it every day and despair. I do what I can and feel like it can't be enough.

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simonecart@reddit

Never. Not in the slightest.

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Nine_Eye_Ron@reddit

Daily but not worried, I’m energised to do what I can.

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ColdShadowKaz@reddit

I can’t do much alone but maybe I’m not alone. But I’m living in a house with a boomer woman who loves depression era cooking on horrendous stuff for the environment. I’ll be able to do more soon but I still have some vices. Fast fashion is probably a bad one where I’ll get a top or a dress every so often but I don’t have the bravery to wear my mothers stuff thats far too big or nothing because of having to save for a good pair of jeans if I don’t buy them cheap. I don’t have the cash to go for expensive stuff.

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baby--goats@reddit (OP)

Although fast fashion is 'bad' compared to other clothes, please don't feel bad for buying it - more sustainable forms of clothing are normally ridiculously priced, and charity shops (in the area I live in at least) are often more expensive than regular shops!

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ColdShadowKaz@reddit

Thank you. It can really be a struggle to find clothing that works it’s even harder as a disabled person because it has to be warm enough, not irritate me and not give an impression I don’t want people to have. People see the white stick and judge me. If I go for the random charity shop stuff unless I find a really good find I’m suddenly everyone’s project and they all want to ‘help’ me to tell me how to dress. I hate how I have to think about how I look to others when most people don’t even wear bright enough clothes for me to tell them apart by those. I can’t even see their faces.

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Individual-Spare-399@reddit

I’d be interested to hear whether you’re worried about it

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ghodsgift@reddit

Never think about it, nor am I worried about it.

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Bizee_Brunette165@reddit

I think about it every. single. damn. day. Sometimes I get crippling anxiety about it. Sometimes I cry. We are absolutely destroying our beautiful Mother Earth and the amazing species that call it home, and it breaks my heart. Not enough people care currently, but they will care when the polar ice caps have melted and we’re having to endure scorching summers every year, and when the pollinator populations die off and we are having trouble growing our crops, and when we experience catastrophic natural disasters on a regular basis. I feel powerless because I know that all of the painstaking efforts I make amount to nothing, and I can’t make others care enough to do something about it. If I could have one single wish, it would be for enough people to care to be able to reverse climate change.

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baby--goats@reddit (OP)

I'm really sorry to hear that, and I can totally relate and feel equally powerless. You (or whoever else is reading this [might find these resources ](https://grantham.sheffield.ac.uk/eco-anxiety/) helpful.

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Low-Pangolin-3486@reddit

Thank you for sharing these.

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baby--goats@reddit (OP)

You're welcome :) of course it's important to be informed, but sometimes the best thing we can do for our wellbeing is to take a step back from it for a short while to exclusively take care of, and focus on ourselves.

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Bizee_Brunette165@reddit

Oh wow, thank you!!!

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Airborne_Stingray@reddit

Every time I see a coloured bin and think how the whole plastic industry conned is into thinking recycling is a thing, and now unborn babies have plastic in their blood.

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Coconutpieplates@reddit

It's not a daily thing I think about but its definitely often. I think of about it whenever we get extreme high temps, fires and flooding, or when it's 3 months into winter and there's been no snow, and also when there's extreme weather abroad its hard not to think about how it's just going to get worse for them in the near future. Also whenever there's a climate summit that needs everyone and their mother to fly in on private planes, or when you hear about celebs and the rich who only go by private planes and spend summers on yachts without a care in the world because they've paid someone to plant a tree in an area that had to be deforested to make space for it. Then finally if someone talks about coral reefs I immediately think of the way they are being destroyed and how important the ocean is to climate control. Saying all this I probably think about it more than I realised 😅

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logicalGOOSE_@reddit

Regularly. And I try to do my bit, but amongst a cost of living crisis, it's fairly difficult to make some of those choices

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Kiss_It_Goodbyeee@reddit

Pretty much most days and am really concerned how little structural support there is for people to do the right thing (like trains are rubbish). Even more worrying is the increasing sentiment that we've run out of motivation to do more.

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sjintje@reddit

only when it's posted on reddit or it invariably gets mentioned in any documentary about nature or geography.

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mas-sive@reddit

Gonna die anytime and big corps make it out the public are the bad guys. So I don’t bother.

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IncreaseInVerbosity@reddit

I think about it enough. We're quite clearly, and quite evidentially, fucked. I don't believe that there's the human will to save us, for a multitude of reasons. It's nice to see people planting a few trees, but it's also like using a bucket to try and stop a tsunami. Politically, it's a top four issue (of which three I think are potential existential), but at the same point, it doesn't really matter given we're a random island in Europe. I think that the only way to mitigate is going to be through technological advances. I'm studying Physics at the OU (at 35) with a view of going into a PhD around climate, and use the second half of my working life to try to be a small cog in the solution. What that looks like, I don't know.

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Loud-Olive-8110@reddit

At least once a day personally. I try and do what I can (although I don't go overboard, just recycling everything that can be and making conscious choices when buying products)

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Ok_Pangolin1908@reddit

I worry about it most day. In 2019 I deep dived into the research and became so dissolutioned that we are never going to beat it based on the reality of the world. I’m very supportive of environmental policies but I genuinely think we are fucked. Food will get pricier and some foods won’t be available. Mass migration and impacts that has on our politics then the costs of adaption will cripple us.

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baby--goats@reddit (OP)

You're pretty much bang on with what's heading our way. It's heartbreaking and terrifying. In the UK, millennials will be the last generation to have not had our lives completely overturned by climate change. That's not to say people aren't impacted now of course, but most of us have some degree of normalcy. End of the century onwards is going to be a total shit show.

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Ok_Pangolin1908@reddit

Yea so I’ve become insular about it and buried my head in the sand to save my sanity. I’m building a life, home, family but have strategies in place to insulate us from what’s to come. It probably won’t be enough but I think it’ll be a long slow burn and won’t be one seismic event but lots of mini disasters that just compound to make life harder and harder. Ultimately we live in a country which will fare better but it’s still going to be shit.

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Puzzleheaded_Rub5562@reddit

I honestly believe that if more people learned basic skills (such as meditation in a forest, by a river, foraging, and swimming in am open body of water) it would be so much easier to have them rally against mass pollution of these three elements at least (noise pollution, food pollution - esp w heavy metals-, water quality). Young people are taught by their parents to think smoking and drinking are cooler hobbies though. I paddled on the river Trent on a few different occasions and apart from the fishing lines that would sometimes get caught in our stuff, we'd hit with the paddles countless odd plastic and metal objects, including a bicycle, microwave, and friggin shopping carts and tyres. Just why...

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insertitherenow@reddit

I’m old and can do nothing about it. It’s going to be shit for people at some point and I’m glad I won’t be there. People keep populating the planet without a care in the world and that blows my mind.

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Elster-@reddit

Not at all. Even if everyone in the UK did their upmost it is irrelevant to the planet. I’d rather think more about local environment and encourage the same. The basics seem to have been lost. Rubbish off the streets, less air pollution locally, use less chemicals, use less packaging, efficiently recycle, have items that last rather than disposable items. I see these things as far more important than using less energy, travelling less, etc If every community did that, life would be far better

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Puzzleheaded_Rub5562@reddit

Local environmental changes is what led to a globalised change in patterns. For example, the step by step destruction of cedar forests in the middle east and the relationship between that and droughts. From micro to macro.

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foodaddicttt@reddit

Financially struggling to care about the ozone layer

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Mikenotthatmike@reddit

I think about it every time I see all the nonsense products available in shops and realise that society has no interest in the kind of change that would make any impact

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MysteriousTelephone@reddit

I have no children, I don’t drive, and I rarely go abroad. The way I see it, I’m pretty gosh-darn green, and should be entitled to a plastic straw when I want one.

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Puzzleheaded_Rub5562@reddit

Sweet summer child 😂

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Kindly_District8412@reddit

I only worry about climate change protestors disrupting my commute when they have time off between eating their avocado toasts and going on their skiing trips

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Puzzleheaded_Rub5562@reddit

That's... The joke. Those are tabloid headlines for the dumbest readers to clikc on/buy to amaze themselves at what small groups of people sometimes decide to do 😂.

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Daveyj343@reddit

The message is real and matters but ultimately when sports teams, musical artists and the like are travelling on private jets 3x a week I don’t see why I should sit in the house with a jumper on when it’s cold Also the push for electric cars is baffling - if the powers that be cares there would be incentives to keep our current cars running as long as possible

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kifflington@reddit

I'm a farmer. I think about climate change at least once a day (often because I've noticed an effect on how my farm or the wildlife on it is doing), I used to worry about it frequently but I've been aware of the problem for more than 30 years now and have consistently seen those in power do nothing but talk. These days it's not worry really, more deep sadness.

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baby--goats@reddit (OP)

Same. I go through stages of deep depression when people have been raising the alarm for god knows how long yet those in power just don't give enough of a shit to do anything about it.

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Puzzleheaded_Rub5562@reddit

I worked for a few companies that placed their ecology departments on the lower pecking order scale because they were the ones usually pointing out why "this 200 wind turbine project built here on this PEAT ABOVE THE FRESHWATER RESERVOIR would be a bad idea".

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baby--goats@reddit (OP)

Yep - so much vital information and action gets suppressed to suit the material interests of others. Like the lobbyists who massively watered down a [UN report](https://www.google.com/amp/s/unearthed.greenpeace.org/2021/10/21/leaked-climate-lobbying-ipcc-glasgow/amp/) on things like reducing fossil fuel and meat consumption. Won't someone think of the rich people's profits!

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ZestyclosePlenty1822@reddit

I already do my part, I don't drive, don't have children, I don't eat meat, last time i flew was 2022, i recycle, don't buy palm oil etc, It makes me sad that there's not much I can actually do and after i watched the David Attenborough documentary I know I'm already doing a lot more than most though.

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Anonymous_Lurker_1@reddit

Occasionally, and not at all...

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Same-Shit-New-Day@reddit

I think more of the way we waste natural resources. I'm guilty, I have a drawer of old phones/tablets that are pretty useless now. We are fucked as a species anyway. The planet will heal after we become extinct.

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LordLuscius@reddit

Scared. Try my best. But I'm poor so I buy unsustainable "fast fashion" because "real" clothes cost too much, and other such things, while the super wealthy move freight etc around the world using fuel guzzling machines, and energy companies are green washing without being green. Frankly under todays systems... we are fucked

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Any-Conversation7485@reddit

Not in the slightest.

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ThingyGoos@reddit

I don't ever, unless joking about it when making black smoke

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CoffeeForJasmine@reddit

Very concerned, but we try our best; one of our 2 vehicles is electric, we have solar panels, are vegetarian and recycle. We still have a gas heating system and hob though.

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LoyalWatcher@reddit

Enough to occasional dip into despair. I do what I can with regards to limiting what resources we as household consume. Short of running for office or a Dr. Doom level scheme I feel pretty powerless too. When it inevitably all comes crashing down, I want the children to understand that we tried to do what we could to help the climate. If we do cling on to this way of life for long enough, I'm going to be strongly recommending they don't have kids of their own.

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Puzzleheaded_Rub5562@reddit

I worked in the field, I have a garden, I did cover teaching, I even went abroad with projects, I know how to forage, and our friends and families are informed about what is good or bad environmentally. Often, what is bad for the enviro is bad for health, so it's harder to get people's minds to be flexible more than to disseminate info. I think I do a lot! I also fight random people online who sounds like jerks who never opened a book on the topic xD I find that a lot of companies in the field want to milk the "environment" and the notion of sustainability, though. It's why there's so much confusion and lack of respect sometimes for climate researchers, ecologists, etc.

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the-holy-one23@reddit

America and China make me look like a saint. Not much I can do tbh.

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unseemly_turbidity@reddit

A lot. If there was a meteor heading to earth that was guaranteed to hit in 20 years and kill billions, I think people would be pretty worried and we'd be ok with doing/spending whatever it takes to knock it off course. But climate change and they just shrug and say there's nothing they can do. It pisses me right off how everyone can be so ok with making everything worse for the next generations and being so unwilling to make even tiny sacrifices themselves.

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random_username_96@reddit

I work in the nature conservation sector and think about it daily. I am in my late 20s and have spent this entire decade increasingly struggling with climate anxiety/doom/a general comprehension over how much of it I will live through. I am angry that those with the most power to influence and enact change often refuse to do so in meaningful ways and that so many innocent people will be the ones to suffer for it. I used to spend my days incredibly distressed by my personal impact, too. Like i would wake up every day and almost unconsciously tally up how every single action, item, and purchase was harming the planet. This has lessened over time - I give myself more grace and recognise that individuals are not to blame. But I do think too many of us find apathy easier to live with, which reduces the sense of urgency we need to keep momentum for.

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AlpsSad1364@reddit

I think about it all the time because I have a very old house that is particularly susceptible to long dry spells followed by heavy rain and easterly winds which is how it appears to be manifesting in my part of the world. This doesn't do the garden much good either and the farmers here are clearly heavily affected some years too. I don't really worry about it because there's nothing I can do. 5 minutes in American will show you that the UK (and Europe) is pissing into the wind when it comes to emissions reduction. The population maths is equally damning. We should obviously be trying to reduce egregious emissions (and equally obviously prevent all pollution) but we're already suffering from diminishing returns and choosing to wear a hair shirt while much of the world is pigging out without remorse is pointless and little more than virtue signalling. As an old school environmentalist I am also aghast at how much attention climate change has stolen from less fashionable causes like pollution prevention and habitat protection. The vast majority of at risk species will perish from these two causes long before climate change gets them.

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AvocadoDesigner8135@reddit

Every time I put something in the recycling bin and when we have hot weather. More like a passing thought though

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neo-lambda-amore@reddit

I used to think there would be a tipping point where awareness would force action. I was so incredibly naïve.

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Mugweiser@reddit

Not arsed. Usually when humans encounter problems they find a way to solve it. See; evolution.

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MasterReindeer@reddit

I worry a fair bit about it. I try my best to reduce my carbon footprint and I work for a company that is green. Ultimately, no matter what I do there’s going to be a giant corporation or billionaire pumping out more CO2 into the atmosphere in 1 hour than my entire family does in 10 years. I try not to worry about it too much.

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I-live-in-room-101@reddit

Not often. But ultimately the Earth will be just fine. But the environment may not be able to sustain humans for long though and we’ll certainly go extinct. And Mother Nature will say ‘well that lot burned bright but fast… clever enough to figure out how to develop technologies, but too full of self importance to figure out how to use that power responsibly… oh well let’s see who next drags themselves out of the swamp’. I mean just look at the bottom 25% of our population. Just useless, pointless, stupid mouth breathers serving absolutely no useful purpose whatsoever. Just wandering around eating and shitting. Yet we created an ecosystem where they don’t just survive, they’ll thrive and produce more!! It’s bonkers and nature will cull our numbers accordingly.

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AddictedToRugs@reddit

I almost never think about it. Only when I read a Reddit post that mentions it really.

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Real23Phil@reddit

A global modern war, then climate are my concerns. I don't drive, use heating, go on holiday or won't have a child due to my outlook, I'd rather end my family tree at me. It's not that I worry, as I'll leave nothing behind when i go but our species just doesn't care about the future of their family, I have no family and i seem to care more. I'm just doing my time and getting out. "The planet will be ok, its not going anywhere, we are." - George Carlin

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PM_ME_VAPORWAVE@reddit

I’m worried about it but I doubt anything can realistically ever be done about it unless we massively change society which won’t ever be happening anytime soon.

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RegularWhiteShark@reddit

Quite often. I’m infuriated that we all know it’s happening (minus idiots calling it a hoax/scam) and next to nothing is being done. A lot of it is just lip service and pledges that go nowhere.

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hlvd@reddit

Never and never.

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ConsistentCatch2104@reddit

I never think about it, unless I see a thread or post about it.

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CaptainHope93@reddit

Every single day. I am very worried about it. I try and combat the anxiety by taking action that’s within my control. Awareness of the climate crisis has impacted the majority of my behaviour, including my diet, shopping habits, decision not to drive and even deciding where to live (moved to a city so that everything is within walking distance).

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DisagreeableRunt@reddit

I think about it from time to time, but accept that it's beyond our control as both individuals and as a country. Sure, we can do things that make us feel better about our personal impact on the environment but, even if the UK was carbon negative, it's pissing in the wind on a global scale. Until they sort out the worst polluting countries, shipping and air travel, everyman switching to a heat pump and EV in the UK isn't going to have a significant impact.

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carl84@reddit

I just hope that when the shit hits the fan it does so in a way that doesn't allow the ultra rich who precipitated it to have a way to buy themselves safety and comfort, and they have to suffer with the rest of the planet

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alwayssatinmycar@reddit

Work in the environment sector so think about it a lot and am very concerned but working in the sector makes me feel a little more positive. I understand the sentiment that people don’t do anything personally about it as they won’t have an impact. But I fear this is why companies aren’t making big enough changes or Reform/Conservatives get away with their anti net zero stances (the economic case for net zero is very strong so they won’t act on these policies in my opinion). I also think environmental/sustainable actions have other benefits - a repair cafe saves waste but also will you save you money as you don’t need to buy something new. Or a community garden will benefit nature but also bring you a community and wellbeing benefits. So many social benefits to taking climate action that you shouldn’t worry if it is changing anything, it will still benefit you!

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sweggles3900@reddit

I'm a young person (24) so I think about it *constantly* and how much worse things are going to get considering just how bad things are *now*. It makes me anxious for the future and has made me think twice about starting a family, along with cost of living going up and other stuff it just feels hopeless. I wish all the big companies that are ruining this planet would get together and cut back their emissions and talk about the serious negative environmental impact they're having on the earth, but that's never gonna happen sadly.

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KeyLog256@reddit

I realise this is rather selfish, but it doesn't worry me *directly* because it won't cause major issues in the UK, and likely won't be serious for decades, if not centuries yet, so I might not even be alive. In the UK we'll have more wildfires but then more of a Mediterranean climate, so swings and roundabouts. However, while it would be OK for us, that does mean that Southern Europe is like a desert, the tropics are uninhabitable, many places are flooded, and you have a global catastrophe on your hands. So I do as much as I can to try and help prevent it for future generation.

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focalac@reddit

We don’t grow enough food to feed our own population as it is, the unpredictable weather is already causing problems with our harvests and it’ll get worse. You’re likely going to be alive when we start experiencing serious food shortages.

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DoItForTheTea@reddit

it will affect the uk as climate refugees will work their way north

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e-pancake@reddit

I think and worry about it near daily but I try and let the worries pass through me because I am pretty powerless to it all

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0h-n0-p0m0@reddit

Occasionally, usually when it's mentioned in a podcast or news item I wish there was a clearer way to know what's actually happening. I've heard opposing views from scientists. I get scientists don't agree on everything all the time, but if the experts are divided on it, I don't believe I'll have a chance at really knowing how serious/drastic/accelerated or not it all is

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RealMrIncredible@reddit

Not at all. We have solar panels, drive electric, recycle everything we can, reuse everything we can, conserve water, grow our own food, promote biodiversity in our garden... And it still doesn't make a dent in the wider scale. Corps are what is killing the planet. Make lobbying illegal and you'll suddenly see change.

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ReySpacefighter@reddit

Both frequently and very, you can't pay attention to nature in the UK without it coming up for obvious reasons.

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Euphoric_Magazine856@reddit

Not at all worried about it but deeply worried about insane government energy policies linked to it that will leave us with rolling blackouts and a crippled economy.

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Satoshiman256@reddit

I don't think about it. Got enough problems in my life

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TheGodisNotWilling@reddit

I'm curious, you're a climate research - are you vegan? If not, why do you think it's ok to keep using animal products, when they're incredibly detrimental to the environment on multiple levels.

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yellowswans@reddit

Made me very anxious a few years back when I started reading about deep adaptation, so I had to stop and now I try not to think about it to be honest. Although, I do try to make good choices about consumption, reusing, recycling, eating less meat, thinking about food miles, choosing an ethical bank.

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Belle_TainSummer@reddit

Oh, we're screwed now. We've moved swiftly into stage four of the government's General Four Stage Crisis Management Plan. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hua1pkDmJc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hua1pkDmJc) Glad I don't have children.

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Rumhampolicy@reddit

It genuinely worries me. I think about it a lot. Especially when I see millionaires going into space for shits and giggles. Also, the extreme weather issues all over the world. It scares me how little a lot of people care.

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IrefusetoturnVPNoff@reddit

I think about it a fair bit, but I'm also mentally resigned to the fact that the rest of the world seems to have given up. All of the political parties on the rise have some kind of "we don't believe in climate change so we're going to scrap all that stuff" policy on the books so it seems generally hopeless. I'm going to carry on doing what I can personally - because I've honestly never found it to be remotely detrimental to my life to do so - and just hope I'm dead before anything truly bad gets to me. I don't have kids and have no plans to so, y'know, fuck it.

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Intelligent-Ad5258@reddit

We do our best. All my appliances are A I have solar panels. My next car may be electric. My recycling bin gets full I can only do my bit

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Harrry-Otter@reddit

Rarely, and not much. Realistically there’s nothing I can do about it, so no point worrying.

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VolcanicBear@reddit

I do what I can without going out of my way much. Not much I can do about it personally. Kinda glad we don't have kids. On the radio the other day there was some local politician who was "ideologically opposed to Net Zero". I'm hoping it's my misunderstanding of Net Zero, because being ideologically opposed to "not polluting" seems pretty ridiculous, but also exactly what you'd expect from the party I won't name.

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Beautiful_Bad333@reddit

I do things that help with it but my main motivator is to save money or make my life more convenient - so for example I have solar on my roof to save on electricity, I drive in higher gears as soon as possible which saves me fuel, I recycle as much as I can to save space in my bins. I can’t help but look at the likes of India burning coal or the USA especially now they’ve gone back on climate initiatives and think fuck it what difference am I, or even the UK going to make. We seem to live under a government, this one and the previous ones, that think penalising people will make the issues better. Whereas if they incentivised it in a way where people would make money out of doing things we’d probably be the cleanest most environmentally aware country in the world. I suppose for my kids sake that I hope the climate scientists have got it wrong and it isn’t as bad as it’s being portrayed to be. Or it isn’t of our doing and just a natural cycle of the world that’ll happen regardless.

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S4h1l_4l1@reddit

Not worried at all about it, I couldn’t care less. I think it’s important to recycle but it’s because I don’t like wasting things but that’s really it.

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Pink_Flash@reddit

Barely at all. I do my part but shots fucked and humanity tends not to do anything until its too late because profits are paramount etc. Wont go too much into it.

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Historical-Will-7701@reddit

every other day

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Facelessroids@reddit

I don’t and I’m not

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Academic_Rip_8908@reddit

Quite often. I worry about the state of the world generally. I think politically we're starting to go backwards, and there's much less hope and optimism than there was perhaps 15 years ago.

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UKSTL@reddit

Personally not much at all, I don’t think whatever we do in the UK will outweigh the other countries. we could not exists as a people and it would make such a small impact. As a business owner who works with plastic I try to stay as responsible as possible

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Opposite_Apricot_692@reddit

Respects others opinions and choices but worried myself (and definitely do not do enough myself at all). I use to be in the mindset, as a teen, that if everyone stood up and did more, who asked what can they actually do, we'd be able to make a change. I'm not young, not naive, I've learnt a lot - most depressing and turning point for me (age 22) was to learn that companies give cleaner fuel to countries that have regulations but then just offload dirty fuel to others, made me feel so insignificant and nothing I did mattered. It is depressing to see how many people feel like that - I get it more than ever though, the sheer apathy 😔

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TheTritagonistTurian@reddit

I think the biggest issue climate change faces is just how many other more ‘in the moment’ issues we are all facing. If all we had to worry about was climate change then perhaps we might collectively do something about it but in truth, we all have far too many ‘right now’ issues that sure aren’t as big long term as climate change but ultimately will take priority for now, for example today I had to pay £2.15 for a Yep Valley yogurt I used to pay £1 for pre covid.

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CeeApostropheD@reddit

I think about it when the words "climate change" get into my eyeline, and then once I've clicked away or changed the channel it's out of my mind. Got my own small problems to deal with before I can think outwardly about the world's.

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wayneio@reddit

Hardly ever. It infuriates me if I do. Ordinary people having to clean out jam jars and drive crappy electric cars all while countries burn huge amounts of fossil fuels, celebs fly around the world emitting huge emissions, boomers on cruise ships emitting a cities worth of emissions, huge chains from Krispy Kreme to Gucci destroying perfectly good stock to price items higher, etc etc. When the rich and powerful start to share the burden, it’ll make more sense

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Durzo_Blintt@reddit

Not at all. I've accepted we won't do enough to prevent disaster. No point wasting what energy I have worrying about something I can't change. I don't drive, I WFH, I don't fly anywhere, I don't eat meat. My carbon footprint is about as low as you get in the UK. I know I'm doing my bit, that's all I can do. It's all for nothing of course, in 100 years it's gonna be shit but I'll be dead so fuck it

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BloodDrunkYharnamite@reddit

It’s sad but this is the best attitude to have, unless the mega corporations and big countries completely change the way they operate then what can we do.

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Naive_Product_5916@reddit

I think about it whenever I watch the news or talk about that I couldn’t get at the grocery store. I sometimes wonder half I’ll be alive with some extreme weather events in London or if I’ll be gone by then.

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Syzygyy182@reddit

Used to worry about it but not anymore. We’re doomed so why worry about something you can’t control. I feel most for animals who will go extinct in our lifetime through no fault of their own

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justinhammerpants@reddit

Never, and I don’t care that much about it. At least not enough to worry. The only thing I really think of it comes to cross my mind is how the world needs to start adapting to the new reality such as making AC more common in the U.K.

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waxfutures@reddit

I don't think about it much, and I don't worry about things I can't change. I do what I can to avoid making it worse, at least as far as possible without self-sabotaging, but that's it.

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DoItForTheTea@reddit

i worry about it a lot and despair at the inaction around the world, but i feel incredibly powerless.

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Legitimate-Leg-4720@reddit

On one hand I'm a bit worried and I do think about it every now and then, but then I thought we could do with a bit more warmth and sunshine in the UK! Anyway, I'm off on holiday to Australia next week for a long road trip. I'll think about it when I come back!

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smmky@reddit

Once you travel a little and see how the third world are, you realise whatever we do in the UK it won’t make much, if any, difference in the grand scheme of things. It doesn’t keep me up at night nor do I consider it a serious threat.

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MontanaMinuteman@reddit

Don't care about it as well as anything as long as it happens past 2090

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craig5792@reddit

1. Whenever someone or the news brings it up. 2. We're all already doomed I reckon, can't see things changing enough to avert it.

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Tony-2112@reddit

It’s been squeezed out of my anxiety stack by the impending global collapse and WW3

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Tinkerboboli@reddit

Never

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LadyNajaGirl@reddit

I care, but I don’t like it when people tell other people off for not doing more, even though small changes can make a difference

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baby--goats@reddit (OP)

Same. A large part of my work involves telling off (in as professional ways/phrasing as I can) institutions, charities etc. and more privileged activists for having a go at others for not doing more. Yes small changes make a difference of course, but large-scale change is only possible if we stop individualising the causes of climate change, and point the finger towards billionaires and corporations en masse. The general population seems to understand this a lot more than some of the larger environmental bodies/institutions

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Valuable-Wallaby-167@reddit

If I think about it, then yes it's worrying, however, I can't honestly say I think about it that much. I think humans are fundamentally designed not to worry about major things that feel out of their control that much. For example. In less than a century every single person on this thread will be dead, that's something that can be said with a pretty high level of certainty, however I imagine most people don't spend a lot of time worrying about that. Climate change is too big for most people to worry about, which I think is part of the reason we got here in the first place.

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KarateGirl1021@reddit

Honestly, I am terrified and I think about it every day. Whenever I’m not worrying about my benefits being cut in which case I will die from that first. This is why I have to get off social media as I can’t stop doomscrolling. I’ve limited Reddit to one hour a day so that’s a start!

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INEKROMANTIKI@reddit

I'll be dead before it gets bad, so I don't really think about it..

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properchels57@reddit

Never, and I’m not

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DecliningEye@reddit

I don’t deny it but I don’t spend my time thinking about it either.

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Henno212@reddit

Not worried Only see companies making big money off it, like lets chop down trees and put a carbon capture machine there instead.

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Saltysockies@reddit

I work with natural ingredients and every year certain materials become more scarce due to climate change. Flood, heatwaves, frost, and when there's scarcity big companies buy up all the stock creating further shortages and increase prices.

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iambeherit@reddit

Never and I'm not.

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TSC-99@reddit

Not much. Not much.

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wingman0401@reddit

Virtually never, which will probably get some people's backs up. I do think about the insane amount of plastic we use, but moreso in terms of what it's doing to our bodies more than what it's doing to the planet.

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Mdl8922@reddit

Never, and not at all.

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FaithAndABiscuit@reddit

I have enough on my mind and enough to worry about than think and worry about climate change honestly. It's there and that's bad but there's nothing I can do about it so I'll focus on surviving

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Theo_Cherry@reddit

Q1. Not much (unless I'm actively engaged in recycling) Q2. Very little

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speculativeinnature@reddit

I worry about it, particularly when certain countries just have zero buy in to helping reduce their carbon outputs, it makes me feel quite hopeless to be honest, particularly as we have e two young children. We do what we can at home, solar panels and electric car as we are lucky enough to be able to afford them and recycle and reuse as much as we can.

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Sudden_Accountant762@reddit

I am very concerned about it and how it will affect my children, but it’s not usually at the forefront of my mind.

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Gunnerjim888@reddit

It makes no difference what we do.

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ExcitementKooky418@reddit

Not a lot, but I believe it is a serious issue. Unfortunately for me, and I guess a lot of other people, it's something we KNOW is bad, but feel like there's not much we can do about it directly so just try to forget it exists

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Nyx_Necrodragon101@reddit

I probably worry about climate change every other day. I'm so frustrated that nobody is doing anything tangible we literally have everything we need to let the planet heal but we aren't doing it because people value money over survival.

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-myeyeshaveseenyou-@reddit

Quite a bit, one of my nephews is what I call a climate scientist, I’m sure he has a specific job title but it’s easier to explain to other people this way. I try not to think on it too hard because the world is super very depressing but it’s always kind of there and is a huge worry. My nephew did some very interesting research on climate change and how landscape changes affect people who are used to how things were a certain way. Specifically beach erosion. I find it fascinating listening to him speak on it and it’s honestly something I kind of hadn’t thought about as been something so intrinsic to our human experience

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dowhileuntil787@reddit

I think about it moderately often for practical reasons, and it influences my purchasing decisions - but I don’t worry about it particularly. Why worry about something I can’t change? I just made sure my house was in an area with no flood risk, put it out of my mind, and enjoy the warmer weather.

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jaymatthewbee@reddit

I think it’s going to be great

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BORO-UTB@reddit

Not in the slightest worried or think of it

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louilondon@reddit

Never and not worried about it one bit

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CrystalQueen3000@reddit

It’s one of many concerning issues that I think about and I feel powerless to do anything to change the inevitable

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NennisDedry@reddit

I've always been aware and conscious of it. But since having kids I've become more aware of it and it's definitely something I think about quite a bit. You could quite easily debate whether or not having kids, while being cognisant of climate change is morally good or bad.

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SterlingVoid@reddit

Never tbh, don't worry about anything I can't directly control myself

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chlotyler__@reddit

I only think about it when I am annoyed at the weather for being too hot or cold. There’s not a lot we can do about it as individuals so no point worrying!

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