There is no Planet B

I wonder how many of those children, who skipped school to protest, are the ones who refuse lifts in their parents' cars and choose to walk everywhere or are willing to give up their tech devices or have decided never to fly in an aeroplane Do they spend their spare time picking up litter etc. to prevent the earth and animals being contaminated. I suspect the majority just wanted a day off school and very few of them are really prepared to make sacrifices for the sake of the future of the planet. If it's humans causing climate change then there's only one solution - Get rid of the majority of the humans. A minimum of 90% of the human race should do nicely, and those first to go should be the ones who use the most of the planet's resources.

Well, if all governments are aware of environmental concerns, and it is a big if, they are doing precious little about it.

Frankly, I feel the Swedish schoolgirl who justified taking time of school to protest was right when she said that education is no use to her, if there isn't going to be a world to live in.

I'm just glad that the present generation of schoolchildren have acquired some kind of political awareness. It makes a pleasant change from their parents' generation who have been and still are too buy earning money to count the cost of how they earn it.

There is still hope for America
www.goodnewsnetwork.org/senate-passes-biggest-public-lands-package-with-bipartisan-approval/

Yet again pressed the wrong button so could not correct typos.

We should set our own house in order - or “remove the plank from our own eye” in Biblical terms, at least it is something we can all do. If we have a garden, balcony or just a window box we can start there with plants that bees love. I soend many an hour in summer watching and listening to the bees flying hovering about my lavender and lavatera - even though 5hey are close to the patio the bees pass happily within inches of me but never touch me. We can lobby our local council for more wild flower areas - every park should have one. We can buy more organic foods (or food we are sure is not sprayed with harmful pesticides), and talk to our friends and family about the issue. If we belong to a group - WI, U3A etc we can ask them to find a speaker on the subject and someone could write to the local paper afterwards with a report. The longest journey starts with a single step - even with a zimmer frame!


More good news: www.goodnewsnetwork.org/senate-passes-biggest-public-lands-package-with-bipartisan-approval/

GabriellaG54 China and India both have lower per capita CO2 emissions than us. Russia is only a bit worse than us. The USA is a big problem, but even there action is starting to take effect. The striking schoolchildren are seeing that everyone can argue that their individual contribution is negligible. But arguing that way results in nothing being done, and impending climate disaster. Progress is much too slow.

lemongrove

India and China are not all bad:

www.goodnewsnetwork.org/nasa-says-earth-is-greener-than-ever-thanks-to-china-and-india/

Until and unless ALL COUNTRIES make the effort to address the issues, our contribution is but a grain of sand in the Sahara.
The air we breathe is not exclusively English air or European air, therefore China, India, USA, Russia and all the worst polluters will nullify any of our efforts.

Trisher is absolutely right. China is implementing huge renewable generation systems. It’s doing a lot more than we are. According to UN figures, China is emitting less CO2 per head than we are, the total is bigger because China is bigger. India emits only a quarter of what we do per head. cotap.org/per-capita-carbon-co2-emissions-by-country/. What’s more, the figures are distorted by the fact that we import a lot of manufactured goods from China. If you account for the emissions related to goods that we consume, we look even worse. Not much good preaching to others if we’re not prepared to put our own house in order. All strength to the school strikes!

granny23 my GC are from a small community in the West of Scotland ,no demo there so they banded in groups to collect plastic and rubbish from the beaches .My youngests GD is 7 and she wasn't the youngest in her group and they ALL know the effect of global warming and do clearups with and without school suervision .My GD's group collected 20 bags of rubbish from a beach 3 minutes walk from their school .Other groups went a bit further afield but by all accounts they made a serious haul of things that cause problems in the rivers /seas .Oh and they all think Trump is an eegit for dismissing GW ...wise young people .

The comments such aslemon's made about China Countries like India and China are polluting the planet in a big way
show how little some people pay to the current developments in the field. China has cut its pollution rates in cities by a huge amount, has a strategy, and regards global warming as of great importance www.nytimes.com/2018/07/19/world/asia/china-climate-change-report.html
Unlike the US where Trump doesn't believe in it!
Well done these young people who are not prepared to let the issue slip into obscurity, but will hold our government to account.

Our holiday times are a week or so different.

Just a small point but here in Scotland (Don;t know about England/Wales) it is the Half Term holiday week. Therefore none of the young people participating in demonstrations are losing a day's education. They are, rather, selflessly giving up their holiday.

I agree with many of the comments posted here, but it's always interesting to see the occasional observation about India, China and the USA being the world's biggest polluters.

The UK has exported its pollution to places like China and Ghana, and the finger is pointed at them. Why? We have simply asked them to create our pollution, so it can't be seen in the UK.

The Ghana one interested me a while back - a TV programme highlighted the way the UK exports its IT and electronics waste there, where computers are stripped, cables removed, and burned on bonfires to recover the copper. The children doing this are exposed to the toxins produced when plastic insulation is burned, from our discarded laptops, desktop devices, and other electronics waste.

So who's pollution is it?

Although in this country we are now more aware of climate change and what we can do about it, we are only a small island and whatever we do will have little impact on global warming etc. Other countries need educating, and I include the USA where stupid Trump does not believe in global warming and is keen on coal production etc. because it gives Americans jobs.
As for population increase, many countries have people who cannot afford contraception and have many children who also grow up unable to afford it. I saw a program where an African girl said something like "I think big families of 8 or more children are unnecessary and expensive, I think 6 children are plenty."

Exactly what Grampie said.

It is heartwarming to see these children protesting climate change.

Next week I look forward to seeing them walk to and from school.

Agree with lemon and others. Youthful enthusiasm and commitment are always good to see, but ‘striking’ is a bit silly - nothing that their schools and teachers can do to meet their demands, so why not pick a Saturday? And am I the only one to have found the self-righteous tone unappealing? - ‘You have destroyed your own future, Don’t destroy Ours.’
‘You have let Us down’ and so on.

I lived in London until I was 23, under the flightpaths to Heathrow and Gatwick. I don't think that air traffic has lessened any since then. What about the pollution from planes? There is no tax on aviation fuel, either. Even at 1p per gallon, surely this would be a good way to raise money for the NHS and local government services?
How many 'environmentalists' take a long haul flight or a majorly polluting cruise ship holiday?
We are asked to buy electric cars but how is the electricity produced? and don't get me started on the number of public buildings etc that are floodlit at night.

Those of us who live in very rural areas need our 4WD vehicles to get about in poor weather - they came in very handy to extricate cars and people stranded in snow last year!

There is no governmental joined-up thinking on this.

Figures from the Met Office - the 10 warmest Winters in the UK since records began are: Top 10 mildest winters (mean temperature for winter period): 2017, 2016, 2014, 2007, 1998, 1990, 1989, 1975, 1943, 1935. Or, in other words, the top 5 mildest Winters have taken place in the last 21 years. Convinces me that global warming is real. A shame that the kids have to show the adults how its done.

Quite a depressing subject if we think too deeply, but we all have to care. We can only do our own little bits but so much is just out of our hands. Around the world it’s just all about profits and sod the cost to the environment. Did anyone see ‘Fashions Dirty Secret” exposing polluted rivers abroad near clothing factories, rivers full of dyes, chemicals etc at the detriment to all sides of life. Look at all the animals slaughtered by sick hunters, for ivory trophies etc and David Attenborough’s prog re plastics in the sea, truly shocking. So many people just don’t care about our planet and that’s the worrying part for future generations.

Oh, and I do think that young people taking action can only be a good thing, but actions speak louder than words. Will they be walking to school? Refusing air travel? Keeping their old phones? Ignoring disposable fashion? We shall see.

Are people really changing their behaviour? OK, might be cutting down on the plastic bags but what about emissions from cars, plane travel etc. etc. Am I the only person who thinks that recession must be good for the planet if nothing else? Strikes me that unless the whole of humankind is prepared to change the way it lives then the planet will do the decision making. I don't think its the end of the race, but I suspect there will be a global reduction in numbers, one way or the other!

www.facebook.com/theSNP/videos/348005682713213/

Doing the best we can.

Anja I hope it is not too late, but I do remember going to an exhibition with DD many years ago now and we learned just how many planets each country needed to sustain their way of life.