Is It Wrong To Want My Kids To Have a Future?

An ex-rainforest

Climate sceptics find it convenient to classify people who are concerned about global warming as left-wing, tree-hugging, business-hating vegans. It kind of gives them something to really hate.

The truth is that, whilst the "tree huggers" may have brought climate change to the world's attention, they have now been joined by a vast army of ordinary people like myself, who are simply concerned for their kids' future.

Let's make this clear: If we continue with 'business-as-usual', there is a very real chance that the current generation of kids will be bringing up their own families in the near certain knowledge that the planet is doomed.

Overly dramatic? Not at all. Read Six Degrees by Mark Lynas (my review here), a summary of all the latest climate science, and you'll be in no doubt that, if we get to 2C above pre-industrial temperatures by 2050, we may be unable to stop it getting to 6C by 2100.

That would be disastrous for the planet. Not only would the natural environment fall apart, unable to adapt to the speed of change, but the world economy would collapse too.

Way before that, a growing world population and, more importantly, a growing middle-class, consuming at an unsustainable rate, will have massive inflationary effects for consumer products, energy, and food.

It will be a very difficult world to bring up a family in, and will only get worse. What a prospect.

We need to give our kids a chance.

Yes, it may mean some sacrifices here and there, but that's what parents do for their kids isn't it?