Are my efforts worth anything

No. They just make you feel better. It’s appalling how we treat our one and only planet. Imagine if you were flying around in darkest space and landed on earth. You would be overcome by its wonders yet all we do is destroy everything. I despair.

One rule for us plebs Tizliz, another rule for the big cheezes swanning about the planet.

Well yes, your efforts do matter. Otherwise there would be a road created out of the rainforest, and all your recycling would also be going to landfill, further polluting the earth. We only have the power to do things that are within our gift, and recycling takes very little effort on our part.

Everything helps!

Every little helps, as they say. As individuals, we can all only do what we can. Maybe it does make us feel better, but we are all helping in our own small way. Yes, it's the big corporations which are doing the vast majority of the damage, but we can all play our part, however small that may be.

You honestly couldn’t make it up! (Re the new highway through the rainforest.).
Almost a joke - except that it’s not funny.

To me, virtually everything at the top of every organisation, is a hypocrite.

I do what I am told, but without enthusiasm because I feel all personal efforts are wiped out by things such as the example of the destruction of the rainforest for a climate summit.

eazybee

I do what I am told, but without enthusiasm because I feel all personal efforts are wiped out by things such as the example of the destruction of the rainforest for a climate summit.

Do you mean if you weren’t told you wouldn’t do it at all? I don’t fret about what I can’t change, but I do fret if on a personal level I’m not doing everything I can, including buying local, British and European.

I do what I can to recycle, including reusing the frightening amount of water that is run off from hot taps before I get any hot water (combi boiler!), which I use to flush the downstairs loo, and in the garden in the summer. But it does make you wonder why you bother sometimes.
I was extremely saddened when I read about this road through the rainforest. There are local people living next to it who have now lost their only means of earning a living because of this obscene project.

It make us feel better, very little of what we recycle is economic, landfill tax is the reason it’s done by councils. Importing cheap goods from China and others using coal for fuel and other is simply exporting our pollution then adding transport pollution.

That’s why I avoid using goods from outside the EU wherever possible David49. If everybody bought less, bought more locally, reused and recycled, we would make a difference. We can all do it, with a bit of effort.

I saw that Tizliz and felt the same.
But we’ll carry on recycling, trying to buy locally as much as we can and not flying for holidays

It is disheartening to read of such destruction and stupidity, but surely we must all go on doing what we can. Hundreds of thousands of people, each making their small effort within their means, can only help. I think of Helen Keller's words; slightly off message but you get the point:

'The world is moved along, not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes, but also by the aggregate of tiny pushes of each honest worker.'

Out of interest, does any Gnetter think what has been done, in the link, was the right thing to do?

I’m with you Casdon. I think it was Eleanor Roosevelt who said that we should each look after our own small corner.

I think Roosevelt had a rather large corner.

Well, no. I find it difficult to believe that our recycling makes any difference to the planet. And should we be wasting water rinsing out jam jars and milk bottles before recycling? …

It’s right that we should be conscientious about not wasting resources but that’s a different angle.

I too try to look after my own small corner, reusing and buying as little as possible.

I couldn’t believe my ears when I heard that there were cycle lanes on this road - who in the whole wide world will use them? The distances in Brazil are huge - most people fly from one town to another because to drive takes days, let alone cycle!
The road might benefit the existing town, but the forest? No.

midgey

Everything helps!

This. It is just a cynical and pathetic excuse to say it's not worth it.

I feel that if I don't make every effort to do the things I can then I can't harangue my MP, organisations and people in general to try to make them do their bit.

I pick up plastic litter on the beach and in my town every day.
Because I feel so strongly about the litter I've taken photos of what I find and sent it to the council and put it on social media. The council invited me to speak to their meeting about it.
As a result we now have more recycling bins on the sea front.

It doesn't stop people throwing down litter, but I know I've done my bit.

fancythat

Out of interest, does any Gnetter think what has been done, in the link, was the right thing to do?

Building a road through the rainforest is appalling. I thought the leader of Brazil was an environmentalist?

How can the climate summit people think they will have any credibility left, after this?
Unless they denounce the road.

Re-use, re-cycle - but even better, don't use at all.

We have to control our obsession with buying far too much, gadgets, clothes, etc, etc.

But also, put pressure on our Governement to improve processes, by making new laws to put pressure on industries, businesses, retailers- on cutting plastic, cutting waste, cutting packaging or make packaging properly recyclable, like cardboard, and stop landfill sites. Many countries make it law to stop polystirene packaging, and insist on recycled materials to pack and to protect during transport. Encourage re-fills for washing liquids, etc. Simple things like only selling earbuds with carboard stem, in a cardboard box. Even in the USA, McDonalds, etc, have to be sold in cardboard boxes, not plastic or polystirene, and coffee paper cups with cardboard lids, etc.