Warm-Enthusiasm-9534 t1_j1jbch8 wrote
Reply to comment by RobleViejo in This is an excerpt from Cixin Liu's book "The Dark Forest", describing what happens to people when they lose all hope in Humanity by RobleViejo
The Holocene extinction is a bad thing, and steps should be taken to prevent it. Global warming is a bad thing, and we should take steps to prevent it or fix it.
But you're not depressed about those things. A bunch of animal species you've never heard of or seen are going extinct. You can intellectually understand that it is bad, but nobody (except maybe a literal biologist) is depressed about that to the extent that they literally lose all hope. You are depressed about something else, and this is making you fixate on the bad news.
firesnail214 t1_j1kdmfw wrote
Literal biologist here, who studies how fish species are responding to climate change. I’m in it all the time, and I’m NOT depressed. Nothing is futile, or ain’t over til it’s over and as long as people are trying (and trust me, a LOT of us are) there’s hope for a better future.
I strongly, strongly, strongly recommend the book “Hope Matters: Why Changing the Way We Think is Critical to Solving the Environmental Crisis” by Elon Kelsey to anyone struggling with climate nihilism.
aclownandherdolly t1_j1krpuv wrote
I struggle with it deeply because the effects of climate change are so obvious now. Where I am, we should already be in full-blown winter and if it were not for this winter storm from the North we wouldn't even have snow. Hell, we're at -30c but in TWO DAYS it's going to be an expected 6c, then 10c, then 8c
What is me recycling or volunteering going to do, as one person, when massive corporations are still heavily polluting; when rich assholes are flying in private jets; when corrupt governments are approving coal and oil sands
Maybe I need to read this book because in the face of all the facts I've seen and read, the Earth is doomed until it's uninhabitable to humans and WE finally die off
MyPacman t1_j1kzk25 wrote
> I struggle with it deeply because the effects of climate change are so obvious now.
To anyone paying attention, it was obvious in the 1980s too. We all go through that depressing realisation that we are but a pebble or a drop of water. But mountains are built from pebbles, and oceans from drops of water. Every generation is getting louder, I just need them to also get more political. Vote. Speak. Protest. And not just about the environment, but also social needs, like education, health, poverty, excess. Because if people are barely surviving, they will struggle to have the resources to face the bigger problems.
We aren't going to die out. So we need to deal with our weaknesses as best we can, individually and together.
BulbousBeluga t1_j1m6nfg wrote
Maybe find some upsides to climate change? Like you can plant some fruit trees that you previously couldn't?
I know it sounds slightly ridiculous, but that is what I do to feel better.
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