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Every person aware of the extent of the coming (and current) climate crisis is a denier in this way I think. Burying the knowledge at the back of my mind and h

Every person aware of the extent of the coming (and current) climate crisis is a denier in this way I think. Burying the knowledge at the back of my mind and holding it in the abstract is just about the only way to keep from dissolving into a puddle of pure anxiety and despair for the future and the children alive today who never even had a chance. I'm not convinced the people with actual power to reverse what's happening will band together in time, and I'm not convinced that technology will be invented to significantly manage the run-away effects. Too many people are still bargaining to keep their current comforts and business as usual to accept the monumental change in our way of life needed to truly have a chance at solving this crisis. But, there's always a glimmer of hope. There has to be, or I'd go insane.

GlenTheMachine 8y ago
I'm very worried too. I have kids. In the next ten or fifteen years I'll probably have grandkids. I'm building up food storage, anticipating periods of high food insecurity. I've done a lot of thinking about what I really need to live a good life, and more specifically what I don't, anticipating that there may well come a time in my lifetime where a lot of the things I now think of as necessities are simply not available. But: there's a saying that engineers tend to over-estimate what can be accomplished in the short term, and under-estimate what can be accomplished in the long term. So I have hope. Renewable energy is getting cheaper than fossil fuels. Electric cars are on the market already, and they're getting better. Economic forces, once tipping points are reached, can cause change to happen very, very quickly. I can imagine a future where nearly all cars on the road are electric within ten to twenty years, and where nearly all electrical generation is renewable/nuclear, and where this happens not primarily due to government action but simply market forces and consumer sentiment. And in the meantime, there are some ugly but eminently doable geoengineering solutions that will keep most of us alive. I can imagine it. So I have hope.
cgb223 8y ago
For me anyway, I'm totally aware of it and worried about it, but feel totally at a loss as to what I can do personally about it I can eat less meat. I can buy an electric car, but it plugs into coal. I can vote for the guy who wants to get us into the Paris Accords, but the agreement is pretty hollow and sets meaningless targets for the biggest polluters (see, China) But I don't see others around me doing that, and my change really just inconveniences myself for no change in the data I feel powerless, so I do nothing. The house I'm looking at in Sac will be beach front property in 50 years...

GlenTheMachine 8y ago

I'm very worried too. I have kids. In the next ten or fifteen years I'll probably have grandkids. I'm building up food storage, anticipating periods of high food insecurity. I've done a lot of thinking about what I really need to live a good life, and more specifically what I don't, anticipating that there may well come a time in my lifetime where a lot of the things I now think of as necessities are simply not available. But: there's a saying that engineers tend to over-estimate what can be accomplished in the short term, and under-estimate what can be accomplished in the long term. So I have hope. Renewable energy is getting cheaper than fossil fuels. Electric cars are on the market already, and they're getting better. Economic forces, once tipping points are reached, can cause change to happen very, very quickly. I can imagine a future where nearly all cars on the road are electric within ten to twenty years, and where nearly all electrical generation is renewable/nuclear, and where this happens not primarily due to government action but simply market forces and consumer sentiment. And in the meantime, there are some ugly but eminently doable geoengineering solutions that will keep most of us alive. I can imagine it. So I have hope.

cgb223 8y ago

For me anyway, I'm totally aware of it and worried about it, but feel totally at a loss as to what I can do personally about it I can eat less meat. I can buy an electric car, but it plugs into coal. I can vote for the guy who wants to get us into the Paris Accords, but the agreement is pretty hollow and sets meaningless targets for the biggest polluters (see, China) But I don't see others around me doing that, and my change really just inconveniences myself for no change in the data I feel powerless, so I do nothing. The house I'm looking at in Sac will be beach front property in 50 years...