What will we tell the children of tomorrow when they ask us how we continued polluting?

Question

As an environmentally concious person, I ask myself if the world will be habitable in the next 20 years? 50 years? 100 years? How will we avoid an environmental catastrophe? How many ways are we actually polluting the environment? What can we do to circumvent the inevitable?

First off please only serious replies only, if you have something idiotic to say save it for snother topic. Our pollution is having a devastating effect on our biosphere. Global warming is beyond real. If it is not addressed whole-heartedly we will a;; parished simply based on the fact that every single organism on this planet is inner-connected. The fall-out would be mass flooding, freak weather, depleted agriculture, sun-damage to people and property.

Answer 1

You know, our parents weren't environmentally conscious. So... I think we're improving it because we are, and our children will be too.

We have many more regulations for factories and pollution than we used to have. In 100 years, we may see that the damage is too great, but the best we can do is just teach our children to conserve, and be willing to sacrifice some of their conveniences for the sake of their children. As long as we keep talking about it, we'll see progress.

Answer 2

If there even are actual schools in the future, children won't ask such silly questions. They'll know that humans always take the easiest and most selfish path unless forced to do otherwise by obstacles or the government. Unfortunately, the easiest and most selfish path is also usually the most damaging to the environment.

The truth is, we won't avoid an environmental disaster as it is already too late for that. The Carbon Dioxide already in the Oceans and Atmosphere will be there for centuries, and even if we stopped right now adding more, the balance is already tipped to major climate change.

James Lovelock, the originator of the concept of Gaia, or earth as whole living system has finally accepted that that tipping point has been reached, and the survival of the human species is already in question. We are living in the last few years of relatively good years before even more interesting times arrive.

Answer 3

Two comments:

I think that future generations will not be happy with us because what we are doing right now is very likely to make their lives worse. What could you say accept I am sorry.

As for the Earth being habitable in the future, I think it is almost certain to be habitable. It would actually be very difficult to so damage the biosphere that we could not survive. That being said there is an increasing likelihood that living on Earth will be unpleasant for the next few hundred years for most people. Arguably it is pretty darned unpleasant right now for most of the 6,000,000,000 people now alive and I think in the future looking back this time will be seen as the golden age of humanity. It may be a thousand years or more before a standard of living as good as that enjoyed by Americans and West Europeans becomes common for most people in the world.

Answer 4

If we're honest, we'll tell them that we were too self-absorbed, too lazy, and too distracted to pay any attention to the damage we did to the environment. -RKO-

Answer 5

I have many ideas on this one, the simplest one is that recycling our garbage should be mandatory.

Answer 6

ask your parents that question, write down the answer, repeat to your children.

Answer 7

We won't ned to tell them anything. They will all be dead.

Answer 8

sorry son, here's a gas mask, on me.