Simply..not possible....

8/5/2019

..that we will simply stop flying for holidays or to the other side of the world to see our families, or just stop centrally heating our homes if we live in a cold climate, or cooling them if we live in a hot one, or give up driving cars - and having one each, or abandon other modern luxuries that most of us take for granted and many of us imagine are actually rights. You just need to observe how an eco-tax can lead to riots in the streets...

Carrots, not sticks? Incentives, improvements, new inventions, efficiencies, information, optimism?

Less likely to lead to hopelessness, depression or civil unrest - or so I like to think..

I know It is anything but simple.

And that ways must be found.

7 Comments

Julia

8/5/2019 02:34:37 pm

A voice of reason, in all the madness! You are so right, Freda. Last year, my seat mate on a flight to vancouver, was a former environmental policy maker for the ontario govt; and former for the canadian govt too...his perspective is that we go electric as much as possible, and find clean ways to produce electricity..electric cars are the best choice, according to him! But he said there is nothing reasonable to replace an airplane yet... i try to think about how my actions will impact our world, and my grandchildrens’ futures. And i realize that one person cannot make a huge difference..but i hope my life influences other people...just as your blogging has influenced so many of us to think about this, and so many other, issues! For instance..a simpler life has less impact on our world..:-)

Freda

9/5/2019 12:34:48 pm

What an interesting seat mate! I do hope living simply has less impact on the world - it's one of the reasons I try to do it. Imperfectly to be sure but millions of people making snall changes.....it has to help!

PennyL

9/5/2019 12:54:57 am

It really is a dilemma,isn’t it? It’s always so ironic that experts fly all over the world for environmental conferences. I’m flying to Paris to see my daughter next week. I have been by Eurostar on previous occasions, but her Godmother is coming with me this time, and for her to get the train from Wales to Waterloo was twice as expensive as the flight, we couldn’t afford to do that... My conscience isn’t clear, but my short term desire to see my daughter overrides my long term worries about the future of the planet...

Freda

9/5/2019 12:42:55 pm

Firsly have a wonderful visit to Paris (with a perfectly clear conscience). All of modern life seems to be an ethical dilemma at times and I started the blog because I was finding it all overwhelming and wanted to think through ways in which I could handle it all.. The recent newspaper headline calling of actress Emma Thomson a hypocrite for flying just made me so mad - piling on the guilt is not helpful!

PennyL

11/5/2019 02:13:32 am

Thank you ,Freda :)

cath

9/5/2019 11:17:07 am

Lately I have been reading some devastating reports about climate crisis. I agree with you that (solutions) are anything but simple and that ways must be found.

What I can do and what keeps me from despairing is to consider all choices I make in my personal life from the perspective of 'does it help to stop the unravelling of our beautiful earth. I cannot leave it to 'the others' while at the same time I cannot turn the unravelling around. It is not enough and it is all I can do.

Freda

9/5/2019 12:45:35 pm

I do worry about the effect on our young people when the crisis is presented as hopeless.

Simply..not possible....

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