5 ms·

I wish I could adequately apologize to my Stepdaughter about the climate disaster. She's almost 20 and will have to live the majority of her life dealing with t

I wish I could adequately apologize to my Stepdaughter about the climate disaster. She's almost 20 and will have to live the majority of her life dealing with the effects of the collective acts of human stupidity over the past 200+ years. I want to sponsor planting trees, but I worry that we're doing far too little, far too late.

MrSlovenia 7y ago
Honestly that sounds like an excuse to do nothing, that you are not truly serious about it. The last best time was yestrday. The next best one is now.
- bloopernova 7y ago
  That cuts deep. It's very easy to put things off and believe that I'm helpless. Thank you for being blunt about it. I'll do something today about the climate and planting trees. I'm not physically able to plant stuff myself, so it will have to be something I donate to. I can also push my employer to start sponsoring climate disaster mitigation efforts.
  - NeedMoreTea 7y ago
    You might want to consider donating to some of the groups that have sprung up. Two that have had recent visibility are: Extinction Rebellion, organisers of the civil disobedience protests in the UK and elsewhere - https://rebellion.earth https://rebellion.earth Client Earth, a legal charity aiming to repeatedly take governments to court on climate matters. Became much more visible when Dave Gilmour made a major donation recently: https://www.clientearth.org https://www.clientearth.org
    - RankingMember 7y ago
      Got any good US-based charity recommendations? Both of those seem Euro-centric.
      - NeedMoreTea 7y ago
        XR has a US site: https://extinctionrebellion.us https://extinctionrebellion.us They're not quite as established in the US yet as they landed there later, but are active and growing. The whole movement is only around a year or so old. They've achieved remarkable visibility and growth the time since the first UK demos. Client Earth has a US arm: https://www.clientearth.org/usa/ https://www.clientearth.org/usa/ though it doesn't look terribly active. I suspect there are better US equivalents that have achieved more stateside. I don't know who though, sorry.
      - adrianN 7y ago
        Maybe this https://citizensclimatelobby.org/ https://citizensclimatelobby.org/
      - NeedMoreTea 7y ago
        Update: Coincidentally I just saw a news item about a US equivalent of Climate Earth: https://earthjustice.org https://earthjustice.org who seem to have considerable history and track record. They just launched a law suit over the Endangered Species Act.
Raphmedia 7y ago
“When something is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not in your favor.” -Elon Musk If nobody ever tries, nothing will ever change. Change inspires change. Someone seeing you plant a tree might very well decide to plant one themselves.
CalRobert 7y ago
I want to find a way to spend the majority of my time fighting this. That means paid work, unfortunately, because I'm not rich enough to retire. Do you have any idea how I, or anyone else, can do this?
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- bloopernova 7y ago
  If you are physically able to plant trees, then find a local organization and volunteer. Easier said than done, but I think that's something a lot of people could do to make a definitive step towards fighting the climate disaster.
- bryanlarsen 7y ago
  The article mentions that political action is the top recommendation from activists, and I agree. So if you're serious, try to get a career in politics. Good Luck!
- test1235 7y ago
  It doesn't have to be a majority of your time - just do what you can, it's better than not doing anything.
  - CalRobert 7y ago
    Thanks, and I do, but I want to do more. Already got a remote job and moved to a field to reforest, etc. But real change means more than personal choices.
throwaway5752 7y ago
"I want to sponsor planting trees" ... why aren't you, then? Taking personal steps towards improving things is by far the best thing you can do for your personal feelings of guilt. It won't solve the bigger issues. But collective behavior is built on lots of independent individual action.
- bloopernova 7y ago
  See my response to another comment like yours. It's easy to convince myself I'm helpless, and your comment combined with the other one have smacked me around a bit and made me re-examine what I can do today.
  - throwaway5752 7y ago
    I have a similar situation, and individual action and contributing to collective action (donations to groups, low level advocacy) has helped with the feeling of guilt. It's how large level change will happen, too. There is a technical ability to save this. There is a long way to go in a relatively short time to create the necessary awareness and accept the necessary "sacrifices". Thanks for the reply, and I'm really happy to hear that.
input_sh 7y ago
So it's better to just do nothing? We're fucked, but at least have your conscience clean. Anything helps: eat less meat, plant some trees, start recycling, bike to work, refuse single-use plastic, sacrifice a little bit of your personal convenience for the benefit of the planet. Do anything you weren't doing until today. Nobody will save the planet on their own, but a large swath of people doing one single thing is bound to have some effect. It won't cancel out the damage for sure, but at least it would minimize the effects a tiny bit.
- bloopernova 7y ago
  Thank you. I've been scolded a bit by the replies here, so I know I need to examine what I'm not doing and remedy that.
  - NeedMoreTea 7y ago
    Our youngest is about the same age, and I'm equally conflicted. We've done what we can, in part because I want to be able to look my youngest in the eye, but I'm aware that 95% of what's needed is entirely out of our control. Personal acts can't begin to compensate for government policy on fuel, subsidies, lack of a carbon tax etc.
- e12e 7y ago
  > Nobody will save the planet on their own Quite. As I did in another thread, I'd like to point to the Extinction Rebellion as a pragmatic way to panic (eh, act): Worl/UK: https://rebellion.earth/the-truth/demands/ https://rebellion.earth/the-truth/demands/ USA: https://extinctionrebellion.us/demands https://extinctionrebellion.us/demands [ed: also mentioned in tfa.]
mikestew 7y ago
Were I to have a step-daughter, I would apologize for nothing. I've gone without a car in cities that were designed for nothing but. I recycled when the waste company charged for the privilege. Etc., etc., you get the point. I continue to reduce my carbon footprint as best I know how to this day, and will continue to do so in the future. Have I chosen the most effective means? Nope, not always; probably not even most of the time. Sometimes I miss the forest for the trees, and sometimes I just make bad choices based on bad information. But I keep at it. Live a life that requires no apology, starting today. Too little, too late? I don't know, not much I can do about that. But what I can do is live a life less impactful on the environment, which is what I ought to be doing climate change or not. Perhaps climate change is your personal wake up call to dial back on the life of consumerism. Maybe it's a call to examine some other aspect of your life, I dunno. Regardless, it is an opportunity for examination, and answering the question of your place in the your environment and your impact on it. The rest of it will take care of itself, one way or another.

MrSlovenia 7y ago

Honestly that sounds like an excuse to do nothing, that you are not truly serious about it. The last best time was yestrday. The next best one is now.

bloopernova 7y ago
That cuts deep. It's very easy to put things off and believe that I'm helpless. Thank you for being blunt about it. I'll do something today about the climate and planting trees. I'm not physically able to plant stuff myself, so it will have to be something I donate to. I can also push my employer to start sponsoring climate disaster mitigation efforts.
- NeedMoreTea 7y ago
  You might want to consider donating to some of the groups that have sprung up. Two that have had recent visibility are: Extinction Rebellion, organisers of the civil disobedience protests in the UK and elsewhere - https://rebellion.earth https://rebellion.earth Client Earth, a legal charity aiming to repeatedly take governments to court on climate matters. Became much more visible when Dave Gilmour made a major donation recently: https://www.clientearth.org https://www.clientearth.org
  - RankingMember 7y ago
    Got any good US-based charity recommendations? Both of those seem Euro-centric.
    - NeedMoreTea 7y ago
      XR has a US site: https://extinctionrebellion.us https://extinctionrebellion.us They're not quite as established in the US yet as they landed there later, but are active and growing. The whole movement is only around a year or so old. They've achieved remarkable visibility and growth the time since the first UK demos. Client Earth has a US arm: https://www.clientearth.org/usa/ https://www.clientearth.org/usa/ though it doesn't look terribly active. I suspect there are better US equivalents that have achieved more stateside. I don't know who though, sorry.
    - adrianN 7y ago
      Maybe this https://citizensclimatelobby.org/ https://citizensclimatelobby.org/
    - NeedMoreTea 7y ago
      Update: Coincidentally I just saw a news item about a US equivalent of Climate Earth: https://earthjustice.org https://earthjustice.org who seem to have considerable history and track record. They just launched a law suit over the Endangered Species Act.

Raphmedia 7y ago

“When something is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not in your favor.” -Elon Musk If nobody ever tries, nothing will ever change. Change inspires change. Someone seeing you plant a tree might very well decide to plant one themselves.

CalRobert 7y ago

I want to find a way to spend the majority of my time fighting this. That means paid work, unfortunately, because I'm not rich enough to retire. Do you have any idea how I, or anyone else, can do this?

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
bloopernova 7y ago
If you are physically able to plant trees, then find a local organization and volunteer. Easier said than done, but I think that's something a lot of people could do to make a definitive step towards fighting the climate disaster.
bryanlarsen 7y ago
The article mentions that political action is the top recommendation from activists, and I agree. So if you're serious, try to get a career in politics. Good Luck!
test1235 7y ago
It doesn't have to be a majority of your time - just do what you can, it's better than not doing anything.
- CalRobert 7y ago
  Thanks, and I do, but I want to do more. Already got a remote job and moved to a field to reforest, etc. But real change means more than personal choices.

throwaway5752 7y ago

"I want to sponsor planting trees" ... why aren't you, then? Taking personal steps towards improving things is by far the best thing you can do for your personal feelings of guilt. It won't solve the bigger issues. But collective behavior is built on lots of independent individual action.

bloopernova 7y ago
See my response to another comment like yours. It's easy to convince myself I'm helpless, and your comment combined with the other one have smacked me around a bit and made me re-examine what I can do today.
- throwaway5752 7y ago
  I have a similar situation, and individual action and contributing to collective action (donations to groups, low level advocacy) has helped with the feeling of guilt. It's how large level change will happen, too. There is a technical ability to save this. There is a long way to go in a relatively short time to create the necessary awareness and accept the necessary "sacrifices". Thanks for the reply, and I'm really happy to hear that.

input_sh 7y ago

So it's better to just do nothing? We're fucked, but at least have your conscience clean. Anything helps: eat less meat, plant some trees, start recycling, bike to work, refuse single-use plastic, sacrifice a little bit of your personal convenience for the benefit of the planet. Do anything you weren't doing until today. Nobody will save the planet on their own, but a large swath of people doing one single thing is bound to have some effect. It won't cancel out the damage for sure, but at least it would minimize the effects a tiny bit.

bloopernova 7y ago
Thank you. I've been scolded a bit by the replies here, so I know I need to examine what I'm not doing and remedy that.
- NeedMoreTea 7y ago
  Our youngest is about the same age, and I'm equally conflicted. We've done what we can, in part because I want to be able to look my youngest in the eye, but I'm aware that 95% of what's needed is entirely out of our control. Personal acts can't begin to compensate for government policy on fuel, subsidies, lack of a carbon tax etc.
e12e 7y ago
> Nobody will save the planet on their own Quite. As I did in another thread, I'd like to point to the Extinction Rebellion as a pragmatic way to panic (eh, act): Worl/UK: https://rebellion.earth/the-truth/demands/ https://rebellion.earth/the-truth/demands/ USA: https://extinctionrebellion.us/demands https://extinctionrebellion.us/demands [ed: also mentioned in tfa.]

mikestew 7y ago

Were I to have a step-daughter, I would apologize for nothing. I've gone without a car in cities that were designed for nothing but. I recycled when the waste company charged for the privilege. Etc., etc., you get the point. I continue to reduce my carbon footprint as best I know how to this day, and will continue to do so in the future. Have I chosen the most effective means? Nope, not always; probably not even most of the time. Sometimes I miss the forest for the trees, and sometimes I just make bad choices based on bad information. But I keep at it. Live a life that requires no apology, starting today. Too little, too late? I don't know, not much I can do about that. But what I can do is live a life less impactful on the environment, which is what I ought to be doing climate change or not. Perhaps climate change is your personal wake up call to dial back on the life of consumerism. Maybe it's a call to examine some other aspect of your life, I dunno. Regardless, it is an opportunity for examination, and answering the question of your place in the your environment and your impact on it. The rest of it will take care of itself, one way or another.