Climate change and plastic bags

I was at the Campaigh against Climate Change Climate Forum at the weekend. The main debate was 'Are we losing the fight against climate change?'. To sum up the speakers, the answer was, frankly, yes. Overall, we have not yet lost, but we are losing. Even in an optimistic international policy scenario, things are going to be pretty bad. If current trends in policy continue then it will be very bad. Very bad indeed. See this article by Mark Lynas, one of the speakers, and you get the general idea. But we have not lost yet, and there are lots of practical things that can be done to stop the worst happening.

So why is the government, which knows all this, still continuing with policies such as more aviation and new coal power stations, which are going to make things worse. It is difficult to understand, but part of the reason is a lack of public pressure because most people in this country don't really 'get' climate change either.

While public awareness of climate change has risen dramatically in the last few years, driven mostly by media coverage of increasingly alarming scientific reports, individual action lags far behind. Frustratingly, people tend to feel that they have 'done their bit' with a few minor actions such as recycling and using fewer plastic bags. The things that can really make a difference, such as cutting down on flying and car use and getting good home insulation, are still not really seen as mainstream, but the province of 'eco-hippies'. The blog climatedenial.org sets this out very well.

So how do you make people have a sense of urgency, but not feel so overwhelmed that any action seems pointless? Particularly when rising fuel prices and rising house prices are taking media attention away from the big picture. Anyone with the answers - your planet needs you!