Eh, I think you might think heat pumps are more complicated than they are. I think they’re about as complicated as a furnace. At the end of the day, in both your just pumping a gas from one place to another, changing the state of the gas, and then running that past air to heat or cool it.
China has a bad ratio of young people to old people. They have a lot of people, but as the population ages there will be fewer working people supporting more retired people. It’s not just about money either. There are a finite number of nurses or caretakers in a country at any given time, so it will mean higher ratio of people needing care to those able to give it. It’s a complex issue that almost every country is going to be dealing with more in the future, but China will probably feel it more than average.
I would say that it’s too early for anyone to know what a more solidified etiquette will be. So for now just do whatever you want so long as you pay attention to any changes in public opinion or rule changes.
I used to get very anxious and stressed out about this. I started reading a book that reframed my mindset on the issue. Now I don’t get nearly as stressed or anxious as I used to.
Being stressed and anxious about the issue is coming from a mindset that we could still prevent it, and wanting to do something to “stop” it from happening.
So maybe try thinking about it like this instead:
Humanity will not end with Climate Change. It will become different, and worse. But it will not end society.
Animals and nature will not end with Climate Change. They will become different, and worse. But it will not end all other forms of life.
Climate change is not something to stop. It is already here. The world you used to know is already gone. Accept that you live in a different world, and that’s ok.
Mitigation is still a good thing, we should still be actively trying to mitigate what we can. But it won’t make things the way they used to be.
Start preparing and planning your life around these changes. It will help you feel more empowered, and help you accept our new reality.
My recommendation is to read “How to Prepare for Climate Change: A Practical Guide to Surviving the Chaos”. Reading that book in some ways felt like going through the five stages of grief. But in the end I felt like I came out feeling healthier, and more capable of helping mitigation efforts because I didn’t feel paralyzed by fear anymore.
Ah, the tragedy of any in-joke. If not everyone is in on the joke, eventually it stops being a joke.