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Climate Change and Youth
Turning Grief and Anxiety into Activism
Linda Goldman
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eBook - ePub
Climate Change and Youth
Turning Grief and Anxiety into Activism
Linda Goldman
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About This Book
Climate Change and Youth is a pioneering book that opens the door to understanding the profound impact climate change has on the mental health of today's young people.
Chapters provide age-appropriate language for a meaningful dialogue and resources for acknowledging children's voices, separating fact from fiction about environmental issues, encouraging participation in activism, creating tools to reduce stress, and highlighting inspirational role models and organizations for action. The book includes firsthand examples, research, children's work, interviews, and terminology. It also shares age-appropriate resources and websites relating to climate change and challenges.
Filling a large void in the literature on this topic, this essential resource offers techniques and tools that professionals and caring adults can use to address the stresses associated with climate change and offer strategies for hope, resilience, and action.
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Part I The Challenge Mental Health Perspectives, Climate Change, Grief, and Loss
1 Climate Change and Mental Health: Laying a Foundation of Understanding
DOI: 10.4324/9781003051770-2
You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words.–Greta Thunberg UN Climate Summit, NY, September 2019 (Davis, 2019)“Climate change poses a threat to “children's mental and physical health… And that “failure to take prompt, substantive action would be an act of injustice to all children.”–The American Academy of Pediatrics Policy Statement 2015
Figure 1.1 The Future.
Source: Photo by Gift Habeshaw on Unsplash.
Introduction
The writing of this book was actually initiated by my son-in-law John. “If you really want to write about an overriding grief and loss topic concerning this younger generation,” he explained, “write about climate change and the anxiety and depression it is creating with young people.” As I begin to research the topic and talk to children, teens, and young adults, I realized how right he was! A true millennial sparked the birth of this resource.
Youth and climate change are a topic that has risen from obscurity to accountability in a very short time. Increasingly youth are harboring feelings of grief, depression, and anxiety, as they are constantly flooded with negative outcomes for themselves, and the world they live in. Continuous exposure to this negativity for their future has left many girls and boys terrified of growing up, or even more petrified they will not have a planet to grow up on.
Whether one is a non-believer of climate change or extreme activist, all caring adults can agree upon the reality of the tremendous toll taken on the mental health of many of our children. This toll in terms of worry, fear, and inability to see an optimistic future must be addressed with the same vigor as helping the planet.
Understanding Generation Z
The influence of Gen Z – the first generation of true digital natives – is expanding.–Francis and Hoefel, 2018
Young people belonging to the Gen-Z were born between 1995 and 2010. Francis and Hoefel (2018) refer to this generation as
Our true digital natives: from earliest youth, they have been exposed to the internet, to social networks, and to mobile systems. That context has produced a hypercognitive generation very comfortable with collecting and cross-referencing many sources of information and with integrating virtual and offline experiences.
One may ask what this has to do with climate change. The answer lies in the astute technological abilities of this generation that have resulted in a savvy group of youngsters who display an intense focus on what is happening to planet Earth. With all of these resources and adaptive qualities in their possession, they have become a potent force of influence for others in their generation and of all ages. This influence of this generation concerning change in the environment is far reaching.
The following four core Gen Z behaviors were found in the study by Francis and Hoefel (2018). Gen Zers might be called “identity nomads” because they do not define themselves through only one stereotype but rather for individuals to experiment with different ways of being themselves and to shape their individual identities over time (Francis & Hoefel, 2018, p. 4). They live pragmatically and approach life realistically. Throughout this resource you will see these attributes of truth, activism, and fierce determination to dialogue and pursue change for themselves and the planet. Their search for truth is at the root of these behaviors:
- Gen “Z”ers value individual expression and avoid labels.
- They mobilize themselves for a variety of causes.
- They believe profoundly in the efficacy of dialogue to resolve conflicts and improve the world.
- Finally, they make decisions and relate to institutions in a highly analytical and pragmatic way.
This rising Gen Z generation has made their life purpose to reverse the damage done by humans on Earth, and Ho (2019) explains they are “bracing for the most devastating impacts of our environmental damage.” Gen Z's have exemplified climate activism through demonstrating, striking, and consciously educating and carrying through ideas and processes to implement a healthier planet. Out of this Gen Z movement come many youth activists, including Greta Thunberg Time Magazine Person of the Year 2019, highlighted in Chapter 8.
Millennials Understood
In contrast to Gen Z, the previous generation – the millennials or Gen Y, sometimes called the “me generation” – got its start in an era of economic prosperity and focuses on the self. Its members are more idealistic, more confrontational, and more willing to question diverse points of view. Millennials are the first generation to be born into the advent of technology such as the Internet, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence. Because this generation has witnessed the growth and advancement of technology, millennials may identify with more progressive, creative thinking than past eras. Gen Y's share common traits with Gen Z's. These mutual characteristics from The Career Guide are the following (2020):
- Value meaningful motivation.
- Challenge the hierarchy status quo.
- Place importance on relationships with superiors.
- Intuitive knowledge of technology.
- Open and adaptive to change.
- Openly receptive to feedback and recognition.
- Freethinking and creative.
- Value social interactions in the workplace.
Media Influence Growing Up
My son, Jonathan, a millennial, reminded me that millennials and Gen Z's were greatly influenced by the media they grew up with. Three TV shows specifically impacted young people of both generations on environmental issues and care of the planet: Captain Planet, The Magic School Bus, and Dora the Explorer. All three boldly carried the message to our now climate-focused younger generations that they should care about the environment, act, and create change.
Captain Planet and the Planeteers
Captain Planet and the Planeteers was an animated environmentalist superhero television series in 1990. The show developed into the New Adventures of Captain Planet from 1993 to 1996, the years our young millennials were developing and learning. One episode dealt with a polluting counterpart, Captain Pollution, who is capable of duplicating himself to his allies, the eco-villains. These antiheroes are only weakened with pure elements such as water and sunlight.
Captain Planet left each episode with the inspirational message to young viewers, “The power is yours!,” planting the seeds of action for these young minds, and that they can and should make a difference. That wave of speaking out and sharing information has helped to form the essence of the millennial outcry to help Mother Earth heal.
The Magic School Bus
The Magic School Bus was an animated children's TV show initially running from 1994 to 1997. Its airing and playing coincides with the formative years of millennials and Gen Z's. Based on the book series of the Magic School Bus published originally by Scholastic Publishers, these TV shows were aired for 18 years, until 2017, when the shows were canceled. It now has been envisioned as a sequel on Netflix called the Magic School Bus Rides Again.
The impact of The Magic School Bus on many generations developing from preschoolers to teens and young adults has remained steadfast. Initially, the first books were meant to help kids learn about science in interesting ways. Conceived by authors Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen, it was as an idea to create relatable school children who partake in scientific field trips with their teacher, Ms. Frizzle.
Ninety-three million copies of the book series have been printed for over 100 countries. Many of today's youth globally were greatly influenced in book and video form about science, climate, and nature through fieldtrips with Ms. Frizzle. One of the newest of the books is for Generation Alpha, The Magic School Bus Gets Cleaned Up, was written in collaboration with the EPA and Scholastic Publishers in 2021 (see Chapter 11). It explores pollution from diesel engine school busses.
Dora the Explorer
Dora the Explorer was a TV show that began in 2000 and was presented on Nickelodeon for almost 20 years. Dora traveled the world with her popular backpack and map, entertaining preschoolers and influencing the perceptions of the world, nature, and climate. Groundbreaking as a Latinx character on TV, Dora shares with young minds throughout the years, information about caring for the planet and each other in ways very few shows presented to children. Dora has now come of age in a new film, Dora and the Lost City of Gold, taking place in the Amazon rainforest (NPR, 2019).
Many shows for kids illustrate the beauty of nature, i...