A book suggestion “A Guide to Rational Living,” by Albert Ellis, a somewhat well known book and Phycologist. It will help you sort out feelings.

Quite literally, how we feel is how we think. If I was to die tomorrow and I knew it, my feeling bad about that wouldn’t change the facts one bit. So why feel bad about it. Just live until then as good as a person can.

What can you do to make a difference? – I think a key hint comes from NY Time columnist Tom Friedman, when he says “it’s more important to change our leaders than our light bulbs”. Personal changes are admirable (when I first figured out the real implications of AGW, I did in fact change all our light bulbs, and bought a Prius, too), but a real solution to a problem this big is going to require some BIG social changes. However, a lot of those changes can be viewed as really exciting – really positive stuff we should have been doing ages ago anyway – untying our economy from petroleum, shutting down the incredibly dirty coal plants, focusing on actually building useful stuff again, building a green economy, etc. Read Friedman’s book “Hot, Flat and Crowded” for his view of the potential upside to some of this disruption. Also maybe take a look at some of Bill McKibben’s writing and visit his http://www.350.org.

Scientific expertise is not required. As far as I’m concerned, the AGW issue boils down to a question of (a) common sense (i.e., why should we suddenly stop paying attention to science now, just on this particular issue?), (b) risk management (if 90 electricians said you needed a new fuse box or your house might burn down, and 1 said things were just fine, what would you do?), and (c) public policy (this problem is not something that “the market” or individual ecological virtue will be able to fix without government setting the parameters and providing incentives and disincentives). Accordingly, we are all dependent on everyone else who “gets” the fact that there’s a big problem here starting to make their voice and vote count. Even if your immediate family doesn’t get it, I am confident that there are peers around you (even if you haven’t met them yet) who are sharing the same concerns — seek them out. Best regards, and please feel free to post.

I don’t really have advice for the right way to get active on this yet; I’m still searching. (Reduce your own footprint as much as you can, obviously, and spread the knowledge – but I think we’re all agreed that we need to get far more proactive than that.)

I have this little bit of consolation: after the first shock, you *will* adjust emotionally to this new view of reality. You won’t be terrified all the time. The human psyche is very flexible: it can adjust to horrible situations and define them as ‘the new normal’. For me, it was a bit like realising that death is real, back when I was a kid. For a while that was an almost unbearable thing to know; but, eventually, I learned to cope. It meant living in a different way, of course – essentially, it meant ‘living as if it mattered’ – which of course it always did; it just took understanding the reality of death to drive that truth home, for me.

So now we realise that the entire world we live in is far more fragile than we thought, and that many things that we had taken for granted may end in our lifetime. This means we have to live less obliviously, in many ways – but maybe that is a good thing, too. I’m glad I’m more aware of reality now; this feels like a more appropriate starting point for a meaningful life than the kind of obliviousness that is fostered by our culture.

And, as others here have said – we may still be able to turn this thing around. Not completely – but enough, perhaps, to avert a complete collapse of civilisation.

(Whoah. Incoherent much? Sorry; I’m in a bit of a hurry.)

I wonder if Jindal would be willing to visit Tacoma Washington and address the locals on how foolish it is to spend money on volcano monitoring….

As pointed out in the article, not all of the $140 million goes to volcano monitoring… A substantial portion goes to stream gauges and other flood control related things. Which are important in a state which contains the final miles of America’s largest river. Most of his constituents have spent their entire lives in an area where the well-being of every citizen depends in part on USGS work.

I’ve learned that I am living in a world that will end, and the new world that replaces it will be something from a nightmare. When I think about my previous ambitions- graduating from college, getting a job, publishing a book that I’ve been writing for years- they seem hollow and empty. There seems to be no point in continuing to dream with armageddon bearing down on everyone. I wish sometimes that I was still ignorant of the coming effects of climate change.

The whole point of this blog is that the destruction of civilization is still avoidable. If we can get on a path like that outlined by Joe Romm, most of the world’s people will be both wealthier and healthier in 50 years than they are today, despite the damage wrought by global warming. It’s true we would be better off if we had started 5 years ago, much better off if we had started 10 years ago, etc, etc. And it’s true things will be a lot worse if we fool around for another 10 years. But right now, a path to a better tomorrow is still possible. (Furthermore – there is no likely point at which carbon emissions stop mattering.)

In many respects I’m fortunate: I am an American, after all, and upper-middle class at that. I have resources at my disposal with which it might be possible for me to see through the troubles of the future, which can’t be said for billions of people. Being so blessed, I feel that I must attempt to make use of the opportunities granted to me. So I will certainly attempt to complete college, and perhaps find a more stable job than I had originally intended. And if all else fails, I have plenty of room to move North as the planet warms.

I may attempt to keep writing as well, though the book I was working on was set in a future that it may not be possible to realize now. Perhaps I’ll come up with another kind of story to make sense of things.

But I think I’ll keep visiting this blog. I know that if I work and pray I can learn to live with the specter of climate change.

Almost 3 times your age, I hope to have a few decades ahead, if I eat right, exercise and take care of myself. Which may be a real problem in the near future.

Thank you for sharing how a 20 year old might think of the future. I think it very wise to ruthlessly know what the problem is, then your faith and determination is far more useful. In this case, I think delusional optimism is not helpful at all…even toxic.

My generation has taken from you the promise of a stable future. Or maybe we borrowed against it. I have apologized to my kids many times. I am so sorry. We knew 10, 20 and 50 years ago if we cared to pay attention. It hit me fully about 3 years ago. And I continue to process how huge is this looming challenge.

You are so brave and wise to face facts. And the changes the young will be forced to demand of the world are staggering to ponder.

It is a pity that so much decision-making power rests with people over age 60… with only a few decades ahead. But that is changing. And those of us who know what must happen will accept the severity of the change that your generation – and younger generations must bring to the world.

Climate triage decisions are being made today. Although they are light and slight compared to what you will face. It is early in the climate survival chess game, but many see how it might turn out. But not all the pieces are yet called into play. To me it looks like we don’t really know how soon – so you could have a full and prosperous life. And we don’t really know how bad it will be. But we are getting upsetting answers all the time. By our actions today we will help mitigate and adapt. And I suspect that within a few years we will all know what is inevitable and what we can possibly change. And what we will just have to accept.

I might refer you to a wonderful essay “Our mistakes are abundant, our responsibilities great” at http://www.ecologicalhope.org/zine/vol-1-no-1/#3

My kids are your age and I say, eat right, exercise and brush your teeth anyway. You should expect and must demand a long and healthy life. I am sorry that you will have to struggle more for your world that I did.

You tell me not to worry, that there’s plenty of time. Isn’t the drumbeat of the climate scientists that there isn’t a lot of time? The understanding I’ve come to is that the world has until 2050 to get its greenhouse gas emissions close to zero, and we’re not making very good progress.

The trouble is that in climate change, I’ve found something to worry about that’s actually worth worrying a great deal about. It’s hard to make it stop, and I feel as though stopping worrying about it would almost be irresponsible.