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Gen X: Environmental Activism?

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Started 4 years ago by kitoba
Latest reply from Rockmastermike

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ChrisSunami
King-Lincoln District
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Yesterday I read the linked article in the NYT.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/07/opinion/07friedman.html?_r=1
Everything he said I agreed with strongly. The environment is the top priority --of course. No bailout for the automakers except as a subsidy for environmentally friendly transportation --yes. A tax on gasoline --please. The baby boomers = "The Greediest Generation" --ha ha, yes!
But it was this sentence that stuck with me:
Our kids should be so much more radical than they are today. I understand why they arenâ€™t. Theyâ€™re so worried about just getting a job or paying next semesterâ€™s tuition. But we must not take their quietism as license to do whatever we want with this bailout cash. They are going to have to pay this money back
That woke me up. I'm not complacent and I try never to be passive, but it hadn't occurred to me that there was anything I could do to shape a policy like the automaker bailout. Yet at age 33, I can't sit around like John Mayer and wait for someone to ask my opinion on the matter. So what's my next step?

Posted 4 years ago #
Mercurius
First Avenue
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We will be in need of planners for the Earth Day cleanup and celebration in April if any dependable people want to get involved.
http://www.nowgetbusy.org/volunteer/
Would also be happy to share this network of people if you come up with ideas in the meantime or would want to spearhead a project.
But... I'm not sure that is going to make you more radical. I mean, if you want to go drive some rebar in some trees slated to be felled then shoot me a PM but I don't think that is what he is discussing here.
It is a precarious thing, trying to catch the attention of our generation and convince us of action. Turns out Obama didn't do it. We had about the same turnout as 2004 just slightly less evangelicals. Good policy and good politics are unfortunately often in opposition. I very much doubt the effectiveness of letters and protest.
Some are powerful, such as the boots at the statehouse lawn, but most go unnoticed. I know the Nature Conservancy and Ohio Environmental Council do both federal and state lobbying days, which is probably the most effective you can be, bar running for office (again shoot me a PM if you are interested in when these are.) What we need is a majority of 'environmental radicals' elected to office. Still a ways before I see that happening. Do what you can do and live by your beliefs. I think you are currently doing that, at least from your posts.

Posted 4 years ago #
drew

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kitoba wrote ...it hadn't occurred to me that there was anything I could do to shape a policy like the automaker bailout
I tend to doubt that there actually is anything that could be done. My pessimism stems from two things:
1) A sense that policy on the federal level is largely shaped by the interplay between lobbyists and politicians
2) The inability to comprehend the enormity/complexity of the impact of policy decisions at that level.
The second point seems interesting, partly because such concerns never seemed to preoccupy previous generations - they seemed more comfortable following the demands of whichever ideological template they'd associated with.
My gut feeling is that Gen X is far less ideological. To the extent that it makes us more alert to contradictions and more 'results oriented', perhaps it's good? To the extent that we may get more bogged down in equivocation that leads to inaction... hmmm.

Posted 4 years ago #
lifeontwowheels
Highland West
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Keep things local. Easier to have an impact in the immediate community, for things that have a direct impact on you and that you can be passionate about.

Posted 4 years ago #
roy
Downtown
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Drew wrote My gut feeling is that Gen X is far less ideological.
My gut feeling is they're soft and lazy with a ridiculous sense of entitlement.

Posted 4 years ago #
Rockmastermike
The Bacon District
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roy wrote
Drew wrote My gut feeling is that Gen X is far less ideological.
My gut feeling is they're soft and lazy with a ridiculous sense of entitlement.
That's 'gen Y' and the 'millennials'.

Posted 4 years ago #
lifeontwowheels
Highland West
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Rockmastermike wrote
roy wrote
Drew wrote My gut feeling is that Gen X is far less ideological.
My gut feeling is they're soft and lazy with a ridiculous sense of entitlement.
That's 'gen Y' and the 'millennials'.
That would be my little sister. And with a full ride to college, her perspectives on life are going to be very warped.

Posted 4 years ago #
Rockmastermike
The Bacon District
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lifeontwowheels wrote
Rockmastermike wrote
roy wrote
Drew wrote My gut feeling is that Gen X is far less ideological.
My gut feeling is they're soft and lazy with a ridiculous sense of entitlement.
That's 'gen Y' and the 'millennials'.
That would be my little sister. And with a full ride to college, her perspectives on life are going to be very warped.
Yeah. Us Gen Xers are all well over 30 now and mostly trying to get through the "Gray Ceiling".

Posted 4 years ago #
chrisgillespie
Short North/Victorian Village
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Yawn.....what generation is the best, what generation is the worst? First of all, the article is questioning why our children (Gen Y or whatever) isn't more activist (and besides, I've never heard Gen X referred to as the generation of entitlement...I could have forgotten something, tho).
And hey, we all go through phases. So Gen Xer's (myself included) are entering that middle phase where those who have kids are dealing with raising them/getting them out on their own, and those whose parents are alive are dealing with them getting old and we gotta watch out for them. For most of us, we got a lot of family issues to stay on top of, and we're still working. So, maybe we aren't as active right now. Gotta have priorities.
But yes, there are individuals of all generations getting involved, and nothing stopping the OP from doing what you can. I don't know that includes the Bailout -- so late into this, and pretty complex, and all that.

Posted 4 years ago #
Walker
The KLD / Downtown / Gay Street
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I've read that the GenX birth timeline runs right up to 1980, and GenY usually starts right after 1980.
Leaving everyone born in 1980 (including myself) excluded from all the bad things said about both generations.
:lol:

Posted 4 years ago #
chrisgillespie
Short North/Victorian Village
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Walker wrote I've read that the GenX birth timeline runs right up to 1980, and GenY usually starts right after 1980.
Leaving everyone born in 1980 (including myself) excluded from all the bad things said about both generations.
:lol:
Clever :lol:

Posted 4 years ago #
drew

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roy wrote
Drew wrote My gut feeling is that Gen X is far less ideological.
My gut feeling is they're soft and lazy with a ridiculous sense of entitlement.
Heheh... according to Friedman, that's the Boomers! :wink:
***Generation wars!!!***

Posted 4 years ago #
chrisgillespie
Short North/Victorian Village
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Sorry. Hope I didn't poo-poo a generation debate that other folks are into. I'm Gen X, and my husband is a Boomer. We read Newsweek, and everything seems so focused on the Boomers. Gen X usually gets little coverage, and now, people want to complain about us? Uhg......

Posted 4 years ago #
Bear
The woods
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Rockmastermike wrote
roy wrote
Drew wrote My gut feeling is that Gen X is far less ideological.
My gut feeling is they're soft and lazy with a ridiculous sense of entitlement.
That's 'gen Y' and the 'millennials'.
Actually, I think it's "whichever generation came after mine."
and keeps runnin' all over my lawn, dagnabbit!!

Posted 4 years ago #
chrisgillespie
Short North/Victorian Village
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Bear wrote
Actually, I think it's "whichever generation came after mine."
and keeps runnin' all over my lawn, dagnabbit!!
+1
:lol: :lol:

Posted 4 years ago #
drew

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chrisgillespie wrote
Bear wrote
Actually, I think it's "whichever generation came after mine."
and keeps runnin' all over my lawn, dagnabbit!!
+1
:lol: :lol:
+ ummm... how do I make that infinity symbol?

Posted 4 years ago #
Andrew Hall
Dennison Place (The Circles)
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How many Gen Xers are there here? Seriously, the typical cut-off is 1980, so pretty much all you 20yr olds are out.
As a senior Gen Xer ... fuck "environmental activism." Totally, fuck it and the horse it rode in on.
Thanks, "environmental activists" for the US having no nuclear power.
Thanks for getting people all worked up over totally bogus crap like Alar which wrecked credibility for fighting real toxins.
Thanks for for being a bunch of dipshits up in a tree instead of promoting reasonable and sustainable forestry policy.
Thanks for putting rich white people's concerns above the reality of developing nations and further trashing our credibility abroad.
I could go on, but the main thing is that 'environmental activism' is dead to a non-small portion of Gen Xers. It got shoved down our throat to the point where all we saw is the stupidity and negative side of it. Sorry to be blunt, but that is just what it is.
A.

Posted 4 years ago #
chrisgillespie
Short North/Victorian Village
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Andrew Hall wrote How many Gen Xers are there here? Seriously, the typical cut-off is 1980, so pretty much all you 20yr olds are out.
As a senior Gen Xer ... fuck "environmental activism." Totally, fuck it and the horse it rode in on.
Thanks, "environmental activists" for the US having no nuclear power.
Thanks for getting people all worked up over totally bogus crap like Alar which wrecked credibility for fighting real toxins.
Thanks for for being a bunch of dipshits up in a tree instead of promoting reasonable and sustainable forestry policy.
Thanks for putting rich white people's concerns above the reality of developing nations and further trashing our credibility abroad.
I could go on, but the main thing is that 'environmental activism' is dead to a non-small portion of Gen Xers. It got shoved down our throat to the point where all we saw is the stupidity and negative side of it. Sorry to be blunt, but that is just what it is.
A.
As another senior Gen Xer..+1. Although some of that may be our age and experience.....

Posted 4 years ago #
drew

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Andrew Hall wrote I could go on, but the main thing is that 'environmental activism' is dead to a non-small portion of Gen Xers. It got shoved down our throat to the point where all we saw is the stupidity and negative side of it. Sorry to be blunt, but that is just what it is.
There's definitely something to that... and I wouldn't limit the scope of that dynamic just to environmental issues.

Posted 4 years ago #
Rockmastermike
The Bacon District
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Clearly a new type of environmentalism is needed. The boomer's definition of 'environmental activism' is mostly NIMBY. Not In My Back Yard. The protests of the past only served to move a lot of questionable activities to other countries who then exported their products to Americans. The new phase is to recognize that you cannot export your problems. Simply protesting the creation of a land fill, or a molybdenum mine is counter productive. Throwing less stuff away so your county doesn't need a new landfill, holding officials accountable to making sure the new landfill is properly designed and monitored, or a community demanding that the mining company work to ensure the problems of mining are carefully addressed and a cleanup plan is in place ARE productive. These things are not "sexy" and most wouldn't call them activism, but they sure do a damned sight more good than (for example) just shipping all our trash to Michigan, or importing moly mined in china by near slave labor with lax environmental regulation.
I would like to think our generation is actually leading the way in such things, which are more work and less FUN than protesting, but I suppose I could be wrong.

Posted 4 years ago #