A sobering statement...

Nice write up, and spectacular photography...

I learned that there's actually a term for the remorse I often faintly feel when I think about the Earth my children and grandchildren will inherit...

"Solastalgia", which describes a form of psychic or existential distress caused by environmental change, such as mining or climate change.

Climate change is real. Humans are causing it. And we're not going to stop. It's as simple as that.

So why waste emotional energy on the issue?

What I find odd is that folks find that odd. It's actually a pretty rational reaction to the situation.

Far less rational is to think you can convince 8 billion prisoners to solve a dilemma bigger than any of them can possibly imagine.

I think that people who are using emotional energy, as you put it, disagree on this point.

And, to be blunt, they're wrong.

There is literally no reason whatsoever that humans will all agree to curb greenhouse gas emissions. That would require that everyone 1) agree climate change is happening, 2) it's their responsibility to address it, and 3) it's worth the "cost" to try and address it.

The vast majority of nations that contribute the lion's share of greenhouse gas emissions are developed western countries. The vast majority of nations that will bear the brunt of the consequences of climate change are poor, eastern and African nations.

So those nations that could have the greatest impact have the least motivation to do anything.

Thus we will continue to pump CO2 into the atmosphere until the immediate opportunity cost of doing so outweighs the immediate opportunity cost of not doing so (since humans are primarily driven by short-term economic needs). That basically requires non-CO2-producing resources to be cheaper than CO2-producing resources, and that won't happen for a long time, particularly in the transportation sector.