An Elect Good People blog
75% of young people think the future is frightening.
65% of young people say the government is failing them.
58% of young people say governments are “betraying me, future generations, or both.”
These are all figures from a study that asked 10,000 young people in 10 different countries how they feel about the current climate change crisis.1
These are thoughts that run through the minds of young people today:
Will there be a future for me? And even if there is one- will it be safe?
Will I be able to walk along the beach and feel the fresh air on my skin, or will extreme weather events cause our oceans to swallow our shorelines? What happens when the phytoplankton that produce over 70% of our oxygen die off due to rising ocean temperatures and loss of ocean habitats? We’ve already lost 40% of them.
What is our world going to look like when we constantly disrespect and decimate the natural systems that allow us to even exist on this planet in the first place?
The answer is something almost every single person knows- but not many are ready to face.
It’s time to face the facts. Because even though it’s scary to turn towards the huge wall of doom we sometimes feel like we are facing- it’s the first step towards fixing it and making sure our future is a livable one.
We’re asking you to have hope. Hope that there is a huge change coming. Specifically, a change coming from the younger generations who can see that they might not have the luxury of growing old one day. Young people who see a world so unstable that they aren’t even sure if bringing new life into it is the right thing to do.
These same young people who worry about the planet will be those leaders we need to turn this situation around. If we are going to listen to anyone- let’s listen to them. They are the ones who have been born into this mess created by others. And they will be the ones facing the serious threat of environmental decline in the future. Their lives will be determined by the decisions we make today.
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2542519621002783