Climate Change & Health

[calluna]

OK, so the big IPCC report on climate change is out, and. no surprise, it says that climate change is real and it is unstoppable.

From what I've seen (and admittedly I'm at work and haven't seen much yet) of the media coverage, the focus has stayed on the "humans are to blame" aspect of the report and the cool-ass graphics of Florida and New York sinking beneath the waves from the effects of rising sea-levels.

That's all well and good -- I don't expect much else from the media these days -- but I think we have to step back from the apocalyptic predictions and carbon-footprint hand wringing, and start to think about what climate change means in our daily lives.

There are a lot of philosophical and ethical questions to ponder, but this is not the board for that. So let's just take it down to the practical, day-to-day level. How do we keep ourselves physical healthy and emotionally fit in a changing world?

What happens down the road, when we may not be able be able to get our Fuji apples or our fish-oil supplements? How do we assure that we can keep reasonably cool in the summer if we had regular brown-outs or rolling blackouts? Or stay safe in severe storms? Or conserve water in persistent droughts?

I don't think we have to get all "the sky is falling" about this. It's just a reality we have to deal with, and the more creatively we can think now, the easier it might be to transition into this new age.

Any thoughts, or am I alone on this?

Calluna

[WanderingOak]

I think the best response is to live simply and close to the land. As far as food is concerned, the 100 mile diet is a good solution. Humans have survived for thousands of years without all of our 'necessary' conveniences such as A/C, central heat, fresh strawberies in January, and insanely cheap energy, and we can survive without it if we pay attention to what we are doing. Treat it like an adventure or a game. Ask yourself how you can live more sustainably, where you could get fresh water if the tap was shut off, how you could get by without a car, or where you could get a meal from if the stores were closed (or priced out of reach).