I started getting sad about climate change two years ago after seeing Planet Earth and many documentaries. I completely changed my lifestyle to reduce my part and put significant effort into it.
But seeing rich celebrities who use as much as a common man's lifetime resources in a week or two, and others who barely put in any effort to combat it, and corporations fucking the entire planet for quarterly profits, barely any efforts towards fighting it even though we had known about its consequences 30-40 years ago, I get this feeling that my efforts are even worth it.
Slowly, I told myself that evolution failed itself by giving a bit more individual selfishness over community/species survival. Just like human beings, Earth's time has started to end. Its death is inevitable. Everything should come to an end. Only if evolution had given a bit more thought to species survival, we would be in a much better place.
How do you all deal with this?
I work in energy r&d, and have for several jobs over the years now.
My sadness is transmuted into passion for solving these issues from the ground up. Top brass is interested in "stock options" and blah blah blah, I'm just focused on solving technical problems to make efficient, powerful energy production that isn't hard on the earth.
The money won't matter if there's nowhere to live. My efforts may not be enough, ultimately, but I'll die knowing I tried to help solve the problems we've caused.
I want to get some trash burning power plants running to help limit methane emissions and be able to scrub the stack - how crazy is my idea in the broad strokes?