AM Inspiration: Why the Earth is Not Wasted on the Young

by Kim, August 24, 2009 at 6:00am

According to the Native American proverb, we borrow the Earth from our children. Now that the planet's population includes enormous numbers of teenagers and children, how will those of us who have acted as trustees of their planet answer to the ones who stand to inherit it? Andrew C. Revkin from the Dot Earth blog says that the "youth bulge" can be helpful "if education and economic activity are there to build a workforce." If not, the results could be somewhat more grim than a glut of delinquents at the local mall. See this animated illustration of different scenarios for human capital and population change.

Perhaps one of the most important lessons to be learned from the young is that teens are already players on the world stage. Advertisers have long courted their disposable income while encouraging the fierce ingroup-outgroup identification that make up lifelong consumer habits. Nevertheless, it appears that teens have grasped the urgency of tackling climate change better than some world leaders. A Greenpeace survey of nearly 50,000 teenagers from around the world found that 74% believe global warming is a serious problem, more so than drugs, violence, or war.

Whether climate change has already begun to affect them personally or it remains a dark cloud on the horizon, young people need education and their basic necessities taken care of in order to become agents for change...something that developed nations like ours struggle to impart in equal shares. The willingness is there, though. See the video below of young people participating in Frog Watch, which looks at climate change through its effects on amphibians.

Below is a poem from the A Poem a Day blog from the Writers in the Schools program.

by By Merari, 8th grade