Their Future is Non-Negotiable.

 

Generation Z. They're said to number 68 million in the United States alone.  Most of them are still too young to vote yet they're as political as any earlier "gen." They see the carnage, their fate, unfolding and they know earlier generations aren't coming to their rescue.  Pew Research recently profiled Gen Z:

Members of Gen Z are more racially and ethnically diverse than any previous generation, and they are on track to be the most well-educated generation yet. They are also digital natives who have little or no memory of the world as it existed before smartphones.

Still, when it comes to their views on key social and policy issues, they look very much like Millennials. Pew Research Center surveys conducted in the fall of 2018 (more than a year before the coronavirus outbreak) among Americans ages 13 and older found that, similar to Millennials, Gen Zers are progressive and pro-government, most see the country’s growing racial and ethnic diversity as a good thing, and they’re less likely than older generations to see the United States as superior to other nations.

Even as immigration flows into the U.S. have diminished in recent years, new immigrants will join the ranks of Gen Z in the years to come. As a result, this generation is projected to become majority nonwhite by 2026, according to Census Bureau projections.

They are less likely to drop out of high school and more likely to be enrolled in college. Among 18- to 21-year-olds no longer in high school in 2018, 57% were enrolled in a two-year or four-year college. This compares with 52% among Millennials in 2003 and 43% among members of Gen X in 1987.

If there's one thing that really distinguishes Gen Z from previous generations it's an awareness that they're getting the shit end of the stick - climate breakdown.

“Once you learn how damaged the world’s ecosystems are, it’s not really something you can unsee,” says Rachel Larrivee, 23, a sustainability consultant based in Boston. “To me, there’s no point in pursuing a career – or life for that matter – in any other area.”

Larrivee is one of countless members of Gen Z, a generation that roughly encompasses young people under 25, who are responding to the planet’s rapidly changing climate by committing their lives to finding a solution. Survey after survey shows young people are not just incorporating new climate-conscious behaviors into their day-to-day lives – they’re in it for the long haul. College administrators say surging numbers of students are pursuing environmental-related degrees and careers that were once considered irresponsible, romantic flights of fancy compared to more “stable” paths like business, medicine, or law.

“In the past, interest in the environment and sustainability was probably more of a niche interest, whereas now I see students that are studying in many different fields across campus also have an interest in sustainability,” says Jill Sohm, the director of the Environmental Studies program at USC. She says there’s been an uptick in student enrollment within her department, particularly over the last five to 10 years.

Christopher Schlottmann, the global curriculum coordinator at New York University’s environmental studies program, reports similar growth. And while the job market is rough across the board for new grads, Schlottmann says having some form of environmental degree under their belt is an asset, not a hindrance.

Their are many who survey the state of governance today and claim that real action on the looming climate disaster will require revolutionary change. These young people, who will inherit the trashed climate we've bequeathed to them are the very best hope of such change.