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Does anyone else experience anxiety over climate change?

Brian Schuh

Well-Known Member
Iran getting nukes or a global economic meltdown will not spell doom for our species and many others like our destruction of the environment will. Economic declines are very survivable. Nuclear warfare is devastating but we'll survive. Something that is devastating entire ecologies, species, causing a mass extinction, defacing the planet, and is a huge detriment to the natural order of things? Not even ocean life is faring that well.
How did life survive the Ice Age? What exactly is causing climate change? What possibly can we humans do to stop it?
 

Revoltingest

Pragmatic Libertarian
Premium Member
FYI, Gore did not come up with climate change, he was not the first to advocate for it, and it's not even something that originated with him books or documentary.
Like it or not, climate change denial is on par with evolution denial.
Evolution is quite a bit more settled, & has no alternative.
 

Lyndon

"Peace is the answer" quote: GOD, 2014
Premium Member
Want to experience Global warming?? Turn your heater up 5 degrees and see if you can handle it!! And if you live with in 20 ft of sea level let your bathtub overflow and just deal with it!!
 

ThirtyThree

Well-Known Member
Totally amazes me that despite living in a world surrounded by proof of something happening, being able to actually see it happen right before ones eyes, that some people still refuse to acknowledge it. I simply can't understand that mentality. The need to deny the truth to maintain, what, deniability? Ignorance? Lack of responsibility? I just don't get climate change denial.

Conspiracy theorists believe in all sorts of ridiculous things, like that vaccines cause autism or the Earth is flat.
 

Brian Schuh

Well-Known Member
There is a treatment for anxiety and it would be easier than stopping or reversing climate change, it's called a benzo. I recommend Atavan or Valium. Of course, if you can't get a script, alcohol works just as well. A double shot of vodka and you are good.

This thread is about your complaint of anxiety, right?
 

Thana

Lady
I've gone anxiety over climate change for a few years now, on and off. Welp, it's come back, and I'd like to see if anyone else has the anxiety.

Climate change is a very serious problem. I wholeheartedly think it exists, and it seems like practically all scientific evidence points towards its existence. That's not a good thing, though. I wish our government just made it up to distract us, but it's real and dangerous.

At the rate we're going, the temperature global temperature could rise from anywhere between 3.5 and 5 degrees celsius, which would be absolutely catastrophic. We're starting a new mass extinction, and it'll be devastating to us. Climate change will greatly harm our world no matter what we do. We may not even be able to prevent the increase in temperature from reaching 2 degrees celsius, which is the "red line" of sorts for temperature increase. And no, even if we go extinct, climate change will not rid of all life on our planet, or make it uninhabitable. Eventually, there will be another intelligent lifeform to replace us.

It feels like humanity is going to go extinct soon, and for obvious reasons, that feeling terrifies me. On the bright side, I finally solved my religious crisis, though. :)

Yup.
Sucks.
But why be anxious? You reap what you sow, not even the whole of humanity can escape that. Besides, I never really understood why people were so attached to the survival of humanity. Humanity, no matter what we do, will one day eventually be wiped out. But you, personally, will die before that, so what do you care?

No, but seriously, you're going to die before the planet does. So why are you anxious about climate change? Seems to me you should be more concerned about your own imminent, inevitable death. Something to take your mind off climate change, at any rate.
 

Sunstone

De Diablo Del Fora
Premium Member
Totally amazes me that despite living in a world surrounded by proof of something happening, being able to actually see it happen right before ones eyes, that some people still refuse to acknowledge it. I simply can't understand that mentality. The need to deny the truth to maintain, what, deniability? Ignorance? Lack of responsibility? I just don't get climate change denial.

Like you, I'm uncertain what the psychology of climate change denial is, but I think it's mainly a conservative thing. That suggests to me that climate change denial might be ideologically motivated. If it were not -- if it were an intellectually honest position -- I suspect there would be roughly equal proportions of people on both sides of the aisle denying it.
 

YmirGF

Bodhisattva in Recovery
As a conservative, I acknowledge there is climate change. I do not lose any sleep over it, though it is true I only sleep 4-5 hours per day (my norm over the last 40 years). What does disturb me is the pathetic response the world's governments have been able to come up with thus far. They certainly don't act like they are particularly concerned about climate change. Even many of the ideas for combating climate change are stuck on stupid. Carbon Offset credits anyone?

Oh, and for the record, my lifetime "carbon footprint" is minuscule compared to most people as I neither owned or drove a car prior to moving to the hinterland. Yep, I actually walked a lot, rode my bike or took public transit -- long before it became a social imperative.
 
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Sultan Of Swing

Well-Known Member
I've gone anxiety over climate change for a few years now, on and off. Welp, it's come back, and I'd like to see if anyone else has the anxiety.

Climate change is a very serious problem. I wholeheartedly think it exists, and it seems like practically all scientific evidence points towards its existence. That's not a good thing, though. I wish our government just made it up to distract us, but it's real and dangerous.

At the rate we're going, the temperature global temperature could rise from anywhere between 3.5 and 5 degrees celsius, which would be absolutely catastrophic. We're starting a new mass extinction, and it'll be devastating to us. Climate change will greatly harm our world no matter what we do. We may not even be able to prevent the increase in temperature from reaching 2 degrees celsius, which is the "red line" of sorts for temperature increase. And no, even if we go extinct, climate change will not rid of all life on our planet, or make it uninhabitable. Eventually, there will be another intelligent lifeform to replace us.

It feels like humanity is going to go extinct soon, and for obvious reasons, that feeling terrifies me. On the bright side, I finally solved my religious crisis, though. :)
Really not something to get worried about.
 

Sultan Of Swing

Well-Known Member
FYI, Gore did not come up with climate change, he was not the first to advocate for it, and it's not even something that originated with him books or documentary.
Like it or not, climate change denial is on par with evolution denial.
Nothing wrong with looking at the proposed evidence and being skeptical. The global warming slowdown, where temperatures didn't really rise over the past decade or so, is still one of the biggest mysteries, there are many unanswered questions. (http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/did-global-warming-slow-down-in-the-2000s-or-not/)

That means the models they had in the 90s were wrong. Very, very wrong. Do you think climate scientists have suddenly become a lot smarter in the past two decades, and the latest models are now accurate?

Scientists really shouldn't use the term 'denial' either, it's awfully religious and doesn't help anyone. In fact I don't think scientists do use the term 'denial', it's something rather the followers do who take their every word as gospel.
 

Laika

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
I've gone anxiety over climate change for a few years now, on and off. Welp, it's come back, and I'd like to see if anyone else has the anxiety.

Climate change is a very serious problem. I wholeheartedly think it exists, and it seems like practically all scientific evidence points towards its existence. That's not a good thing, though. I wish our government just made it up to distract us, but it's real and dangerous.

At the rate we're going, the temperature global temperature could rise from anywhere between 3.5 and 5 degrees celsius, which would be absolutely catastrophic. We're starting a new mass extinction, and it'll be devastating to us. Climate change will greatly harm our world no matter what we do. We may not even be able to prevent the increase in temperature from reaching 2 degrees celsius, which is the "red line" of sorts for temperature increase. And no, even if we go extinct, climate change will not rid of all life on our planet, or make it uninhabitable. Eventually, there will be another intelligent lifeform to replace us.

It feels like humanity is going to go extinct soon, and for obvious reasons, that feeling terrifies me. On the bright side, I finally solved my religious crisis, though. :)

The link contains the scientific research on the threat of human habiltability due to heat stress caused by climate change. Whilst this research was a break-through in terms of understading human habitability on earth as a result of climate change, it will hopefully "quantify" your fears of human extinction as a low-probability event even in the next two to three hundred years. there are technologies on the drawing board that could partially reverse the effects of climate change [or reduce its impact]. They are all untested and are considered "high-risk" but we may advance to a point where we could "manage" climate change. That is still a long shot. space exploration and colonisation may become a more serious option as well in that time so humans theoretically could survive in other planets or the moon. Chances are we will survive, and there are options for us but the question is how many will survive and in what form "humanity" will be organised. Climate Change is not promising if we want to remain in "free" societies- particuarly if they are along consumerist lines, so we will have to re-invent ourselves with all the oppurtunities and dangers that implies.
 
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LuisDantas

Aura of atheification
Premium Member
How did life survive the Ice Age?
As I understand it, by dying in very large numbers and migrating after likewise threatened animals, mainly from Africa into other continents.

By modern standards, it would be the next worst thing to full nuclear war.

What exactly is causing climate change?
Mainly, we burn way too much fuel every day.

What possibly can we humans do to stop it?
Take steps to reduce the population permanently into manageable levels and reduce fuel consumption.
 

BSM1

What? Me worry?
FYI, Gore did not come up with climate change, he was not the first to advocate for it, and it's not even something that originated with him books or documentary.
Like it or not, climate change denial is on par with evolution denial.

FYI I didn't say he did,. I said he became rich by convincing others to buy into this nonsense re: Carbon Credits.
 

Wirey

Fartist
I've gone anxiety over climate change for a few years now, on and off. Welp, it's come back, and I'd like to see if anyone else has the anxiety.

Climate change is a very serious problem. I wholeheartedly think it exists, and it seems like practically all scientific evidence points towards its existence. That's not a good thing, though. I wish our government just made it up to distract us, but it's real and dangerous.

At the rate we're going, the temperature global temperature could rise from anywhere between 3.5 and 5 degrees celsius, which would be absolutely catastrophic. We're starting a new mass extinction, and it'll be devastating to us. Climate change will greatly harm our world no matter what we do. We may not even be able to prevent the increase in temperature from reaching 2 degrees celsius, which is the "red line" of sorts for temperature increase. And no, even if we go extinct, climate change will not rid of all life on our planet, or make it uninhabitable. Eventually, there will be another intelligent lifeform to replace us.

It feels like humanity is going to go extinct soon, and for obvious reasons, that feeling terrifies me. On the bright side, I finally solved my religious crisis, though. :)

If climate change doesn't kill you, cancer or terrorists or comets or rickets or something will. Stop worrying and enjoy the way flowers look next to a pretty smiling girl on a summer day.
 

Thief

Rogue Theologian
If climate change doesn't kill you, cancer or terrorists or comets or rickets or something will. Stop worrying and enjoy the way flowers look next to a pretty smiling girl on a summer day.
and where do you live?
is the housing expensive?
 

Quintessence

Consults with Trees
Staff member
Premium Member
I've been listening to a podcast where Archdruid John Michael Greer is discussing various aspects pertaining to the messes humans have gotten themselves into. In spite of being relatively plugged in to this sort of thing, just this week I learned about this thing called "appropriate technology" and that this was a movement not that long ago but killed by various interests here and there. It's been depressing to listen to. We forget that not all that long ago in human history, we were far more sustainable than we are now. But choices were made (or in some cases made for us by megacorporations and the like) that have kicked off what Greer likes to call "The Long Decent." Climate change, specifically, does not make me nervous. It's all of the stupid things Americans and Western culture has done altogether - the culture of capitalism, the culture of consumerism, the culture of materialism, the culture of money worship, the culture of anthropocentrism, the culture of individualism - brewing human overpopulation, inflated and unreasonable standards of living, exploitation of human persons and other-than-human persons alike, a sixth mass extinction plus ecological genocide...

But, whether or not this is good or bad is a matter of perspective. While I think it is sickening that the legacy of humanity in a geologic sense will basically be one massive trash pile and an extinction boundary in the fossil record, the gods will continue to exist and do their thing. The Spirit of Evolution will create new biodiversity to "replace" the stuff we wrecked - speciation doesn't stop with mass extinction events. We've already created a new ecosystem type - the urban ecosystems - that will continue to be interesting and dynamic systems. When those crumble into ruins, what will those ecosystems look like then? It would be fascinating to see! When we abandon our nuclear power plants and they go up because they require a human maintaining them to be stable, what organisms might learn to survive in that radiated land if there's a lot of it around? Humanity's loss is someone else's gain. If I had the lifespan of a great tree, I'd look forward to seeing what humanity's losses create in the world. Unfortunately, I won't be around to see it. Instead, all I get to see is my species being the very model of "weapon of mass destruction" and bringing about the end of a geologic age. I won't get to see the new one.
 
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