Teach Your Parents Well
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ecently I asked a very informed 20-something what issues she feels resonate more with her generation than with older voters. Without pausing, she said, “climate change”. Turns out, she’s right.
Last year, Gallup asked Americans whether they “worry” a fair amount or a great deal about global warming. For those 55 or older, 56% said yes. For those 18 to 34, the number was 70%.
Similar questions resulted in similar responses. Younger Americans were 20 points higher in saying that climate change is caused by human activity, and 17 points higher in claiming the news media “underestimate” the problem.
The most likely reason for this split isn't hard to figure out. Scientists like to use the year 2050 as a benchmark for predicting the state of Earth’s climate, depending on which actions are or are not taken. However, if you don’t expect to be around in 2050, the problem can seem a bit less compelling. (Hey, we oldsters have Early Bird Specials to get to!)
But there’s another way to deconstruct attitudes on climate change that's even more troubling—measuring concern by party affiliation. Gallup this year asked people if they thought climate change was "a serious issue", and whether they worried about it "a great deal”. They grouped respondents into three segments depending on their level of concern. Among Democrats, 77% were in the most concerned category...with none at the other end. For Republicans, more than half--52%--were on the low end, saying global warming was really no big deal.
Underlying all this is a predictable finding. Among those who approve of Donald Trump, 82% say they’re satisfied with his efforts concerning climate change. (In other words, no effort at all.)
But this doesn't need to be a political argument. Data exist, so let's talk facts.The National Bureau of Economic Research puts out a lot of very confusing (to me) study papers. So in this case, I've stripped out everything that's remotely scientific to show just a simple trend line of what's happened to the total amount of air pollution in the U.S. over the last decade:
You can see how much pollution dropped in the Obama years, due to regulation and diligence. I'm refraining friom speculating on any possible reason why things suddenly started getting much worse again in 2016. I think you can figure that one out for yourself.
For as long as anyone can remember, older folks have lectured kids, “listen to your elders!” In this case, maybe America should be paying more attention to what young voters are saying.
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