The Generation Gap on DU is real

[waterwatcher123]

179. Brenda, I think the salient point is to not stereotype to the degree possible.

I do not post often as my attention seems to spread thin on the incredible array of good articles posted here (appreciate the articles). However, I did notice that someone posted a comment in a response referring to "lonely boomers" who respond to political polls. Whether it was intended or not, the comment seemed like a mean way to refer to a remarkably diverse group of people. All of us have to be practice being a bit more understanding of how words impact everyone and appreciate the diversity that exists in every age group.

There are plenty of environmentally aware and active people here and elsewhere. When I started working for a state environmental agency, there were older local leaders who were just giants in the field. One man, who lost a leg to diabetes, could absolutely take apart a whole room of cheerleaders for some crazy development project (and there were plenty). His sister was the author of the Clean Indoor Air Act in Minnesota and his family also donated a huge chunk of land to the public on Lake Superior. This man and his friends were also involved behind the scenes to protect the Boundary Waters and to create Voyagers National Park (it took a village). There has been no one since he passed who has demonstrated anywhere near the gravitas and skill of this one man and his band of compatriots. He was successful because he was a ravenous reader, wrote constantly, and commented through official channels (legal processes), showed up at meetings, spoke truth to power, and was relentless.

I have been interested and involved in climate change ever since we were required to draft a paper on global warming for an environmental policy class in graduate school in the late 1980s. It was astounding what existed in the literature in the 1980s about CO2 levels and trends. Unfortunately, the leaders who raised concerns about climate change were mocked and dismissed as quacks. Even when climate change became widely acknowledged by the scientific community, no one really wanted to address lifestyle since it required a wholesale recognition that our consumption habitats were leading to environmental ruin. Unfortunately, Americans are extremely poor when it comes to the prevention of problems. We could have adapted the Precautionary Approach to environmental policy like the Europeans (prove it is safe and sustainable before acting). However, there are few examples of laws and programs in the United States that are anything other than a reaction to a problem. Climate change is following the same pattern, although with far more significant implications.

As you well know, any action to address climate requires a host of actions. The most significant one is what lands on your plate every day. Reducing the consumption of animal products is the single most important action anyone can take. There are a myriad of other actions that can be taken that squarely rest on reducing or changing our overall consumption patterns (fossil fuels, plastics, land, etc.). It is also important to speak up in every legal process available (where permits or projects are proposed, financed, etc.), to demand that projects recognize climate change impacts and do their part to reduce or reverse impacts. A blog post or comment is not the equivalent of a legal comment. So, priority must be given to legal processes.

My suggestion is to keep talking about climate change and the moral imperative we all share to address it. It is unconscionable from my point of view to accept anything less. We are not the only living things on this planet that matter. It is hard to fathom how anyone can accept the idea that Polar bears are going to be a footnote in history, or that thousands of animals, birds, and insects will disappear forever.