image of concerns postcard

In my postcard to Jon last week, I looked at what most concerns people about the environment. The sustainability and Environmental Education group carried out a a survey of, among other things, young people’s attitudes towards envirnomental issues, identifying and then ranking the importance of the top issues for them (as part of their 2018-19 Youth Listening Report). These same issues were then ranked by adults (a limited sample, those adults associated with the SEEd workshops and events). What is interesting is that young people identify and prioritised the key symotoms, while the adults prioritised the areas of civic life likely cause these, and whose change is the only route to better outcomes. Is this because young people are simply aware of and angry about the publicised environmental damage first and foremost, or becasue they are less aware of the kinds of root causes and likely sources of action and remediation?

There is not enough data to answer this, but the difference in prioirties is worthy of note.

  • Adults prioritised Humans existance and ignorance and Changing Business Operations (Plastics and Single Use Items coming in third).
  • Children prioritised the results of our environemntal behaviours - Pollution and Littering, Animal Extenction, and Deforesetartion

Being aware of the biggest downstream problems is a great motivator for action, but tackling root causes and bahviours, and obstacles to those is the only way to start to shift the environmental and climate crises.