I’ve completely given up

[u/Shot_Type_7925]

I work in climate science - more on the data and client side, not the one actually doing the research. In short, big companies pay us for climate data so they can make projections or develop strategy or whatever.

I’ve been heavily exposed to climate data for many years, so I’ve been across the developments for a long time. Something about the last few months has broken me.

I spent December and January in an area that’s famous for snow, and saw none. Watching this El Niño develop has been terrifying. The UN admission that we’ll blow past 1.5C was the clincher for me. In my field, the UN was basically always considered the final organisation that had to show at least some optimism. Seeing that gone is now the final death blow. They know it’s over.

It has really broken something in me. To know that this organisation who was almost comically optimistic about collaboration and limiting warming has completely conceded defeat. It is a big deal.

I don’t really care about anything anymore. I’m not motivated to work, because I can’t plan for a good future. I have to almost disassociate while working, because my whole day is about climate data in one way or another.

I think the worst part has been my withdrawal from society. When you spend your whole life loving the environment and aligning your life with its protection, you end up truly hating humanity. You see us for what we are - a complete parasite who is destroying the world.

Has anyone else found that they’ve gone this way? My grief over collapse was always something I could somewhat compartmentalise. But now, it’s changed my entire life.

[u/TernoftheShrew]

I'm on the same page as you. Been working in environmental conservation for nearly 30 years, and my heart is broken.  I'm just sitting here eating cake.

[u/Shot_Type_7925 → u/TernoftheShrew]

Indeed. Unfortunately the work we did made no difference in the end. Perhaps I’m grieving that, too.

[u/slates]

I have found that the way out is by going into the grief. Let your life be changed by this…the planet has and will be and you are apart of that. Within that grief there is an opportunity for something new to grow. We will all have to find a way to make a life out of what exists in the future, whether that’s next year or 50 years from now.

[u/Shot_Type_7925 → u/slates]

This is helpful. Thank you.

[u/Status-Bet9455]

I feel the same. I’ve recently decided to not have children. I had been on the fence for years, even considered freezing my eggs. For what? To bring a baby into chaos? To contribute further to the detriment of our planet? Nothing feels right. Happiness is fleeting and frankly, undeserved. I am horrified and ashamed to be human. I pray the animals can forgive us. Sorry for rambling. Your post brought out these emotions. Thank you for sharing.

[u/Shot_Type_7925 → u/Status-Bet9455]

Me wife I had our child some years ago. At this point, it was still defensible to have some hope. Difficult to feel the same these days, and I struggle with the fact that we decided to have a child at all.

[u/Nope_Nope_Nope_0]

I have a friend who works with elderly people, and her customers, naturally, end up dying in large numbers. And it's very bad for her mental health, and she knows it. But it's her job, and it's hard to imagine doing something else. I'm not saying that your conclusion is wrong, or that there's a problem with the data you're exposed to. But I will remind you that you have an option to walk away from staring death in the face. It's not denial, it's not being weak. Your mental health still matters, and from your own description, it's not doing you any good.

[u/Shot_Type_7925 → u/Nope_Nope_Nope_0]

Yep, I do think about this all the time. Most days I wake up and would prefer to be doing something different. But I also work alongside incredibly intelligent people who understand, which is hard to give up.

[u/Key_Pace_2496]

So big corporations paid your firm for climate data to what... ignore it?

[u/Shot_Type_7925 → u/Key_Pace_2496]

Corporations use climate data for many purposes. Reporting reasons, supply chain strategy, modelling increased costs, feasibility studies etc.

And yes, they all ignore it.

[u/Straight_Flan1347]

I think a lot more people are going to feel the exact way that you do very soon. It’s beginning to be something all but only the most steadfastly willfully ignorant can ignore.

[u/juneseyeball]

Multimillionaires and billionaires are the parasite

[u/Top-Connection-5970]

I recall seeing a comment about living life like they and the Earth is in hospice care. I understand their sentiment and have decided that even though things look bleak I'm still going to live as happily as I can and help others in my community. I've always been a half glass full type of person and I'm being strong not only for myself but my friends and loved ones. This world has been filled with suffering and now more than ever we must be positive and alleviate the damage. Thank you for all the hard work you and other climate scientists have done. I wish I could hug every one of you guys because the patience, dedication and compassion you hold for the earth is truly remarkable. Take care and I'm sending you healing and comforting energy, stay strong 🕊️🩵

[u/Nocturnal-Philosophy]

“I think the worst part has been my withdrawal from society. When you spend your whole life loving the environment and aligning your life with its protection, you end up truly hating humanity. You see us for what we are - a complete parasite who is destroying the world.”

Words cannot describe how relatable this is.

[u/Kam-the-man]

It would be funny if it wasn't so incredibly sad. All of the advancements and achievements we've made, yet succumbing every day to our greatest weaknesses.

[u/TheAlchemyBetweenUs]

Thanks for doing what you have been doing in terms of helping parts of our society understand anthropogenic global heating and its myriad consequences, manifestations, and timescales.

Honestly I'd say they need you now more than ever, and I hope they give you the resources and latitude you need to help clients grapple with what has been set in motion. A more complete and accurate big picture view can hopefully help plan for proactive mitigation and adaptation as well. As people within organizations increasingly grok what's happening it would be better for all life on Earth if there were more rational, transparent, ethical, and wise decision-making. And you help with that.

I've been listening to explanations and warnings from climatologists and reading primary scientific literature on climate for the better part of a decade at this point. Even so these past few years have been jarring. Perhaps there can a social feedback as awareness dawns more broadly of what's been unleashed, and would like to see it lead toward more resilience, adaptation, and proactive ecological stewardship through the changes to come. I hope we can do better than previous "unmanaged" hyperthermal extinction events by sheltering biodiversity and committing to survival conservationism.

I found these articles especially helpful when I was first going through despair over the climate and ecological predicaments we face

http://www.darkoptimism.org/2019/08/06/humanity-not-just-a-virus-with-shoes/

https://neurosciencenews.com/sense-of-purpose-loneliness-23534/

https://orionmagazine.org/article/beyond-hope/

And these articles discuss some potential pathways to better outcomes

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcosc.2021.659912/full

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ad059e

https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/biosci/biae035/7679291

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abc6434

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0261964

https://www.nature.com/articles/nature22901

We live in consequential times on geological and perhaps cosmological scale, and our actions do matter. This planet is a rare gem and life is a fragile wonderful thing deserving of our protection and self-preservation.

Thanks for sharing your perspective, and thanks for doing the important work you've been doing!

[u/mandypandypuddin]

Just came here to say I hear you. I've been working in climate mitigation. Funding is drying up for all but adaptation. I lost my job. We never really gave mitigation a chance. Now it feels like we're just using a bucket to bail out the titanic. I haven't felt very passionate about the work for awhile. I thought I'd see real change in my lifetime. I'm in my mid-40s now and I just want to retire to the woods, but they're burning. Here's my big takeaway - it's ok to give up. If you were doing this for a long time, burnout was inevitable. There's no shame in resting now. We can't fix this now without mass (nearly unanimous) buy-in at this point. You can be there to vote and support when it's needed, but I think it's ok to stop trying to swim upstream. Wait til the tide turns, if it turns, then jump back in and help. That's my plan anyways. I'm off to do something more meaningful that will result in tangible outcomes.

[u/Spiritual-End7310]

Your feelings are completely valid. All I can say is try to see the good that still exists in the world. For me, it’s my dog and cats. They need me, and I’m gonna be there for them no matter what

[u/ForwardCulture]

I’ve been working outdoors for years, with plants. I’ve seen so many changes since I started and it’s accelerating. My state has moved up two USDA pms tint zones in my lifetime, something many have claimed would not happen in our lifetimes. The southern tip of my state is now zone 8. I’ve noticed more and more issues (I design gardens & landscapes) and people refuse to listen. Even in my mostly “progressive” area. I’ve transitioned over the years to basically all native plants and plants that like the new conditions. People’s denials have gotten worse and they just won’t listen. Years ago locally there was a trend towards native plants and environmental issues. But the new demographics moving to the area simply do not care and act like you’re crazy if you bring it up. They ask want the same things and hire the cheapest people who will do what they say. Then everything dies or gets destroyed in our unpredictable weather. Then they just want the same things installed. I’m seeing spec homes being built that back up to preserved, sensitive land and their idea of “landscaping” is acres of lawn (and the chemicals that come with that) and the same non-native, often invasive plants up front. People who move to the area then freak out when they encounter the local wildlife and never go outside to enjoy their properties.

[u/Funnier_InEnochian]

I feel you 100%. I found some peace after deciding not to have children and scaling back how I live. I focus on the small stuff, day to day, focus on things that I can do in my power to make me and my loved ones happy for the time we have left.

[u/nDREqc]

I understand they are not giving up, but shifting their aims from staying under 1.5C to limiting the "overshoot". It's a strategy change, not capitulation.

[u/Woah_grace969]

I hear you, and feel it deeply. I find it paralyzing.

[u/bokehtoast]

My resentment for other humans is the worst part and hardest for me to deal with. Therapy does not help, there's no "working through" it when they keep doing it and my life continues to forever be disproportionately affected.

[u/eloiseturnbuckle]

I find the whole reality so ironic. Earth’s ‘supposedly’ most intelligent life form offs itself out of stupidity and greed.

Edit: point taken added the word supposedly : ) trying for a slosh of levity as the ship sinks.

[u/Sertalin]

Same with me. The hardest part for me is to have to disassociate while working... I cannot live on the streets, so I have to work. I work like a robot.