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Tuesday, September 28th, 2021

75 Percent of Young People Are Frightened by the Future. That’s the Only Sane Reaction to Climate Change.

Author:     Liza Featherstone
Source:     The New Republic
Publication Date:     September 16, 2021
 Link: 75 Percent of Young People Are Frightened by the Future. That’s the Only Sane Reaction to Climate Change.
Stephan:   The failure of the Boomer generation, and those even older, to deal properly with climate change is having a massive effect on how the young view the government and America's future, and the same is true around the globe, as the recent German election made clear. It is a mixture of fear, resentment, moral betrayal, and anger. This report, which is based on a research paper published in The Lancet, is just the latest study I have seen and published (See AR archive) on this trend. This could become the dispositive factor in the 2022 election favoring whichever candidates come out the strongest on preparing for climate change.
Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg with fellow protesters outside the Swedish Parliament during a Fridays for Future demonstration, on August 20, 2021. Credit: Christine Olsson/TT NewAgency/AFP/Getty

The climate crisis is also a mental health crisis. Psychologists have known this for some time. But this week, preliminary findings from a massive new study have revealed that global warming’s impact on young people’s well-being is far more intense than anyone predicted. The worst part is that the kids’ distress isn’t irrational: The problem lies with their governments. 

Climate distress has been a growing field of inquiry but, until now, low on quantitative research. This study’s scale was impressive: Researchers surveyed 10,000 people aged 16 to 25, in 10 countries (1,000 in each country) on their feelings about the climate crisis. The findings in the study, which has not yet been peer reviewed but will eventually be published in The Lancet, are harrowing: Over half the respondents think “humanity is doomed,” while more than 45 percent reported that distress over climate change affected their daily life and ability to function. 

While 84 percent of the young […]

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