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How do you deal with depression about climate change? (programming.dev)

submitted 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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I started getting sad about climate change two years ago after seeing Planet Earth and many documentaries. I completely changed my lifestyle to reduce my part and put significant effort into it.

But seeing rich celebrities who use as much as a common man's lifetime resources in a week or two, and others who barely put in any effort to combat it, and corporations fucking the entire planet for quarterly profits, barely any efforts towards fighting it even though we had known about its consequences 30-40 years ago, I get this feeling that my efforts are even worth it.

Slowly, I told myself that evolution failed itself by giving a bit more individual selfishness over community/species survival. Just like human beings, Earth's time has started to end. Its death is inevitable. Everything should come to an end. Only if evolution had given a bit more thought to species survival, we would be in a much better place.

How do you all deal with this?

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

The reason I struggle with this rationale is that if everyone did this we'd be even more worse off. Kinda like I struggle to get around the apathy-is-the-enemy philosophy.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

The problem with your viewpoint is that it's little more than a thought experiment. Realistically, you will never get all 8 billion people who inhabit this planet to make the necessary lifestyle changes needed to combat climate change.

https://www.wri.org/insights/4-charts-explain-greenhouse-gas-emissions-countries-and-sectors

This one throws has some good figures: https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/global-greenhouse-gas-overview

Sources we could attribute to individuals:

Transportation (15%): including public transport
Buildings (6%): this includes energy usage and waste

In total, 21%. Even if we said that's still a 21% we could do something about, besides switching to a green energy provider and using an EV instead of diesel cars (which is a good move though sourcing the Lithium-Ion batteries these EVs is a big problem in and of itself), what else is there for the average Joe to do? Companies and governments should give individuals the option to lead a sustainable lifestyle. At the moment, the reality is the options simply do not exist or are so expensive that are out of reach for the vast majority of consumers.

On the other hand, we have industrial and public usage...

Electricity and heat production (non-residential), which was (as of 2019) the leading source of global carbon emissions, accounting for 34% of the total emissions.
Industry (24%)
Agriculture, forestry, etc. (22%)

That's a staggering 80% altogether.

You ever heard of the Pareto principle? It says that 80% of the consequences come from 20% of the causes. In this case, 80% of the emissions come from a minority of people (industry, corporations, etc.).

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

Oh there are huge problems with my viewpoint - I wouldn't even say it's rational lol! I think that's probably why I have trouble with the great rational arguments like yours (and many others in this thread).

I didn't know there was a proper name for the 80/20 rule, thanks!