Why aren't more people in the younger generations more worried about there environment?

Question

In previous generations it seems like the people had something to say and were going to say it no matter what the cost. But today it seems like the younger generation doesn't care about whats going on around them and if they do they aren't saying anything.

I want to know how many people out there care about their environment and the world around them (global warming, the war in iraq, starving people everywhere, genocide in Africa) and I want to know what they want to see happen, what they want to do about it, and how they are going to make an effort.

If you don't care then we don't want to hear from you.

This question is meant to generalize about the younger question, but is meant to get them to think about and discuss what is going on and what they can do to contribute. It is to show that there are many people out there that care and if all those people that do care act on it then a difference can be made. Many people think that they are only one person and they can't make a difference, but that is not at all true. I know people care, what i want to know is what they are going to do about it.

Answer 1

I think it's a real lack of media information... kind of a "out of sight, out of mind" issue. when is the last time you heard a serious, thought provoking media story on the war in Iraq or the problems in Africa? I think some people are just unaware of the current issues that need to be taken care of and this generation (soetimes myself included) can be selfish! I was raised to volunteer and give whatever you could spare but nowadays many people just do things if they will get credit or recognition for it (that's sad)... but it doesn't take much to make a difference... my school had a phone calling campaign to call and ask for help for those in Darfur and when have an annual book drive to send to African schools... last year our PTK got about 40 science books to donate b/c we were getting new textbooks so instead of just throwing them away we were able to send them to people who could use them :o)

Answer 2

Jessica, I think Emily had a good answer. It does seem that the younger ones are more interested in "me" than in anything else. Your last line points out a narrow minded point of view that is typical of many youth, and tends to make those who hold such a view the ones that get ignored. Loosen up a bit, you might find different points of view worth your time.
I am 55, and while I do care for the environment, you also need to realize that good old fashioned greed powers the world, not ideals. Ever heard of Green Peace? They are, or possibly were, a group that led the way for environmental issues. They tended to be rather extreme, and are now considered terrorists by some countries. Have you ever heard of "Mother Earth News"? It was a magazine that touted a much more simple, down to and back to, earth. The couple that started that magazine back in 1970 eventually sold it to a New York City publisher. "MEN" made an impact on a generation or 2, that still is followed to this day. They just are not mainstream, nor headline news, so they go unnoticed. Recycling is what it is today because of the activism of the 60's and early 70's. So, the older generation that you and others like you want to discount as being uncaring led the way. What "you" take for granted as always having been had a beginning. If it wasn't for the activism of "then", you nor the kids your age would not even have clue that the problems you see today were even anything worth taking notice of. "You" are aware because my generation set the stage for that awareness.
One of the biggest issues that confronts us today is all of the electronics that your generation keeps throwing away. The volume is in the thousands of tons. The special metals and chemicals in those 'gadgets' is leaching out, and poisoning the land. What is "your" generation going to do about it? Gaming has become as much a narcotic as "weed", LSD, or any other drug ever thought of being. This tends to lead to a "I don't care attitude", which can lead to some of the problems that you are talking about. Before you complain about the older generation, I think the younger has some serious issues that need to be addressed first. Honor the older generations for the awareness that we gave to you.
So far as the other problems that you have named, people need to care about each other. Races need to be seen as co=equals, not one better than the other. Get that through to the people such that they embrace it as true, and the problems you mention will tend to fade away. Beyond that, I think it is a waste of our time to be involved trying to save the world from it's self While I do understand your female instincts, they are borne of someone young and idealistic. Gain some maturity and perhaps you'll tend to be more interested in the needs of your own, rather than of the world's. There are just so many resources available and some will always do without. Protect your own first, then consider what can be done for the others..

Answer 3

I care very much about all those things. (I'm an old hippie at heart). I think many young people think the world is going to hell in a hand-basket no matter what so why even try.
Others feel even though they care, there isn't anything that can be done so they ignore the situation. Of course the media has worked very hard in concert with powerful figures in Washington to make us "feel" as though there is nothing that we can do about things. It hasn't happened by accident. Bush is so stubborn, and when combined with the fact tht most people accept what he says at face value, not realizeing it's just propaganda, because they are too busy to do any reading or research themselves, he's able to do as he damn well pleases. A sad fact is that the government neo-cons have become so powerful that they don't even care if we do see that they are greedy, corrupt and self serving. Did you hear me? I said THEY DON'T CARE if we know what they're really up to. (What's the matter with this picture?)
The first thing I feel needs to be done is to abandon the idea of forcing other Nations to adopt our, and only our, version of democracy! Democracy is not a cookie cutter proposition. We need to be more accepting, respectful and tolerent of cultural differences! We can't go marching around the globe with hob-nail boots expecting other countries to greet us with open arms. The current tactics of the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, Free Trade agreements need to be abolished and revised. They dangle financial aid on a stick like a carrot, but woe be to the country that takes the bait. Privatization for the most part is bad, bad, bad. All these institutions really are concerned about is setting a country up to pave the way for multinational corporations to come in, rape their country and move on to the next victim country. It's not our "Freedoms" that other nations hate.......(as Dubya would have us believe).......it's our policies!!!!!!!!! We need to as a country , wake up and realise we haven't been playing nice.
We need to "get over ourselves"! It ain't always about us. When I was young, we would have been rioting in the streets for much less that 90% of what GW Bush et al has done to this country and it's constitution. (He's shredded it!)

Answer 4

i feel just the opp. i feel the young people are doing all the hoo ha. and the old people dont really do much. im 23 and i do care about the enviroment a lot. i have replaced 74 lightbulbs with cfl bulbs. and have a car that gets 40 mpg. i buy locally grown food. the war in iraq..hmm.. yeah dont like it, starving people hmm.. well. it really sucks that they are starving. but i just think its dumb to send people food when they are on land that they cant farm on. it seems cheaper in the long run just to move then to land that will handle plant growth. but if its just people with guns taking to food. then i think our troops should be there. to me thats a real cause. iraq.. hmm..yeah...bush said there was wmd, and if there was. well.. everyone messes up. no one is perfect. we got there, found nothing. and now we are stuck there. i would rather we just leave and doing something for a better cause, but we are kindof stuck there. but then again, nation building never works..lol, if the people of the country arent ready, i dont see how it make sense to give them a really good government if they arent ready for it yet. it will just fall apart. the people need to evolve in their own way. and when the time is right for them, they will build a great nation. thats a BIG when they do that. there is not much i can do i that part or iraq. im more about influencing people around me about the enviroment and how they can save money.

Answer 5

I think a better question is "why doesn't the younger generation care about the world?" If your not in my age (which is 15) you won't see that there are plenty of the younger generation who cares about the environment, and, more impotantly, the world itself. most of us are just too busy with our social lives. (That part, most girls of my age are worrying about).

The environment is important, I know (we know), but the adults are too absorbed with progress: they build taller structures; they destroy lands for roads and housings; they pollute the environment with the discovery of fossil fuel; they tamper with the balance of nature (genetic engineering, overkill fishing); they produce products that become litter on dumps; they create monster appliances that eat up electricity (which usually comes from fossil fuel which is burned and thus creates more carbon in the atmosphere); and they're greediness and slothfulness is quite depressing (styrofoams, plastics); money with all its pros and cons; etc...

Us kids have no right to tamper with what the adults do cause they'll just shout at us "mind your own business!" and thus we will, but my only business now is all about social contacts and getting more mone in our pockets so excuse me if were such useless jerks. *sigh*

Only the adults can change the world because they've got experience and (with age comes..) wisdom. Only they can make things more efficient (nuclear power wasn't discovered by a ten year old). You can't teach the world to tighten its belt and abstain from their vices and lusts for comfort and easy living. Thus efficiency is the only solution.

I'm sorry to say this, the logic here is that we (the young) won't do things that can't make a difference but we do care if earth is deteriorating and if people are dying because of a senseless war. Peace!

Answer 6

i beg to disagree with the assumptions everybody's making.

Admittedly, I'm a high school student in an ultra-liberal part of California, but I think the younger generations ARE concerned about the environment.

My peers are very knowledgeable about global warming - the poor kids, the rich kids, guys, girls, blacks, whites - it's just common knowledge here.

I think that we are trying to make a difference. Kids tell their parents to recycle, to sell their SUVs, to donate to aid groups.

I see my generation as active, enthusiastic, and knowledgeable. I think as time passes, outdated views will fade away and we will begin to take immediate action to help those in need and lessen pollution.

Though everybody isn't like Californians, statistics show that youth around the country are taking a significantly more liberal view than their parents.

I think that's a good thing for the world.

Answer 7

Well, coming from a young person myself (I'm 15) I really don't think its right to generalize and say that NO ONE in my generation cares about worldly issues but I do agree with you that you hear about protests and all these young people trying to do things to "make a difference" and standing up for what they believe in blah blah blah, but teens today seem much more obsessed with the media and their personal appearence than, say, global warming or starving people.

I'd have to say that I think a lot of this has to do with how much of this we are exposed to via the media, versus how to look thin or pretty- The message that the media in general is trying to get across has shifted from a more worldly view to a much more personal and selfish view

I guess that what I am trying to say is that it is true that my generation seems to be much less in tune to what is going on around them but that I dont believe it is entirely our fault- much of it has to do with the self-image message that the media is sending us and also with the lazy lifestyle our society is constantly promoting- becoming aware of worldly happenings, creating an opinion about them, and then making your opinion heard is not something that a lazy person would take the time to do

Answer 8

Because when you're young- anything seems possible, & the sky's the "limit" for ones mortality. But Time takes care of that. And experience teaches us ALL that our Environment DOES have limits- and that if we push them, it's WE who will pay in the end... It's up to adults- as parents- to teach our children from day ONE, -to respect & preserve the Natural World... -They're NOT going to understand WHY- from a book, or the TV, or the Internet... It's got to come from the examples we set for them.

Answer 9

I totally care and i'm only 24... I just don't know what else we can do since there are alot of people who just don't care because they don't hear about it everyday then they don't actually believe it or just think that it's not going to affect them.
I think all these things should be talked about in schools and advertised on t.v. more, so that everyone can be aware and start making a change.

Answer 10

I think younger people care more about the world. When did you hear a 50-70 year old changing the world?(I mean, C'mon)