"Staying apathetic is a form of climate denial, which is not to say that those who choose to shut down at the mention of climate change are denying its existence; they are denying its pervasiveness, its urgency. It’s undermining the need for action. So how does apathy become empathy? " -- Viv mansbach, 9th grade
From the year 1900 to the year 2020, the world’s surface temperature increased by 2.2 degrees. This is unprecedented – the result of our careless consumerist attitude as a country, our ferocious need to constantly manufacture and drill and buy and own, at the expense of the Earth. The oceans are rising due to global warming, threatening animal populations and throwing off our natural balance with the environment. The way that we as humans treat the Earth, on principle, is at red alert right now. The wildfires which tear across California, the countless lives lost to disasters that are the direct result of our lack of awareness, all contribute to the inevitable and looming specter of the danger in the future or even the lack thereof.
If you are reading this as a young person, or even hesitated to read this article, you are not alone. The younger generation has been desensitized to the alarming facts of the current state of the world through our constant flow of information, as well as already having lived through countless calamities.
“I try not to think about climate change at all these days, really,” says Bee Ahlers, a sophomore at OSA. “It makes me sad, mainly. The times I do think about it are probably on hot days; it freaks me out. My parents have lived these long lives, and I just wonder, ‘will I have that?’”.
Zoe Jung, an OSA junior, agrees: “It makes a good headline to say, you know, in five years there will be nothing we can do anymore to stop the descent of the world…into madness, or you know, that we’re already past the point when we can do anything about the world, so we may as well just stop caring. It can definitely be used as a way to prevent people from taking action. [Spreading climate misinformation] divides people. “
With information and misinformation around climate change all around us, it can be difficult enough to know if what we hear and read really reflects the state of the world; this doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to get there. While solid information is available to us, it’s generally something we need to be looking for. However, as young people generally populate the internet, we come up against hot takes, article headlines, and clickbait-y Tiktoks all the time. The media we consume is tailored to our personal interests and habits, but above all, the idea of climate apathy is being pushed to us constantly, even and especially when we don’t realize it. In her interview at the School for Environment and Sustainability at the University of Michigan, Climate expert Katherine Hayhoe says we need to give the power back to the individual: “Back in the 1990s, Democrats and Republicans had the same opinions about climate change. Science denial is only about 20 years old. And how old is climate science? One hundred fifty years old or more. So we make the mistake of thinking that they just don’t know the science. That’s not what’s feeding the objections. What’s feeding the objections is solution aversion. People don’t think there's anything we can do to fix it.” She goes on to say that the rhetoric of helplessness that we are fed through climate apathy is what’s holding us back.
The easiest way to reach consumers is through creating popular media which touches on the relevant issue. The 2021 film Don’t Look Up attempts to make a satire over our apathy, centering on a group of scientists who attempt to warn the government and general public of the impending asteroid set to hit the earth. Though the film was labeled as alarmist, (ironic, since the entire concept is that we refuse to open our eyes and see the metaphorical asteroid that is being flung at us every day we choose not to or not to look up), it’s also able to show, through casting A-listers like Jennifer Lawrence, Leonardo DiCaprio, Timothee Chalamet and Ariana Grande, that we are currently living in a society in which we are permitted to bypass science and reason in the service of our own fragile mental balance. The root of climate apathy may feel like it’s inside us, but most often it comes from, you guessed it, the system we are chained to.
“Climate change is being viewed, as like, a trending topic, rather than something serious, the idea of, ‘oh, there’s nothing we can do to stop it’, or ‘oh, at some point it’s gonna go down’,” says Asiya Raheem-Zaki, a junior. “I don’t think [the Government] is lying, but I think they aren’t telling the full truth, because they're fearful.”
She adds, “What do you gain from fear mongering? It’s a power thing, a way to tie people down. You have to find a way to realize that they won’t stop the big things like greenhouse gasses and food waste.”
Climate apathy is a way for government officials and the narrative of our culture to tell us, the everyman, how hopeless everything is: the lack of clarity in climate communication between elected officials and climate specialists means our official’s understanding of the underlying sciences is not sufficient to appropriately evaluate climate problems and face controversies. It’s something we rarely get straight information on. For Gen Z’s, even this is enough to push our mind off the subject; as a generation who has lived through the Trump era, the COVID crisis, police violence, school shootings, and of course the ever more frequent climate crises, we’ve taught ourselves to shut our minds off as soon as climate change is mentioned; and why shouldn’t we? It’s a buzzword, an overwhelming subject: we know better than anyone that the world is in danger. This is where the apathy comes in, as we are constantly being fed a story of how we won’t make a difference, how it’s too expensive, too far in the future. Making something so bleak, so depressing that we can’t bear to talk about it, takes away any power we have to educate ourselves, participate in social change, and make a difference. And we can make a difference; individually, not engaging in any sort of activism, or not even engaging in conversation around the subject may seem like it doesn’t make a difference. This ideology is exactly how we won’t get anywhere.
Staying apathetic is a form of climate denial, which is not to say that those who choose to shut down at the mention of climate change are denying its existence; they are denying its pervasiveness, its urgency. It’s undermining the need for action.
So how does apathy become empathy? Our generation increasingly has trouble distinguishing the truth from the facts; not only do we not seek out news sources, we are isolated in our circles and don’t have dialogues about climate change. Communication is radical, in this day and age. Historically, teenagers have spearheaded political movements; now, we are too busy arguing in comment sections. It’s easier than you think, to consciously resist the depressing, look-away-and-ignore-it headlines and get out of the chokehold we’re in. Reclaiming our power to improve the future means starting conversations in the classroom and outside. It means taking the initiative to find our own information, talk to our families about renewable energy, ethical sourcing, and plan meals that leave behind zero food waste.
Another thing that may not seem connected to climate change, but that we as youth come into contact with all the time is the concept of the trend. The disposability of what is allowed to be trendy causes us to buy into a system which encourages fast fashion and the disposability of wardrobe. Thrifting and simply deciding to put down the phone and you outside can be the first step to realizing how much power you hold.
“When you choose to immerse yourself in topics like wars, the extinction of animals, it keeps you from doing anything specific. It’s a lot of mental exhaustion, and very little actually doing anything,” says Zoe.
“Something I’ve seen people say is that it’s better to ground yourself in something that you can influence, like, go narrow. I struggled with intense climate anxiety around the wildfires, and something that really helped me was to stay local, not only with climate focused topics but also just with things in your community, it shows you how much of an impact you can make.”
Ultimately, it’s up to us; this is the world we are going to grow old in. It’s up to us to take the step of getting the information, sharing it, and getting together to take action.
If you are reading this as a young person, or even hesitated to read this article, you are not alone. The younger generation has been desensitized to the alarming facts of the current state of the world through our constant flow of information, as well as already having lived through countless calamities.
“I try not to think about climate change at all these days, really,” says Bee Ahlers, a sophomore at OSA. “It makes me sad, mainly. The times I do think about it are probably on hot days; it freaks me out. My parents have lived these long lives, and I just wonder, ‘will I have that?’”.
Zoe Jung, an OSA junior, agrees: “It makes a good headline to say, you know, in five years there will be nothing we can do anymore to stop the descent of the world…into madness, or you know, that we’re already past the point when we can do anything about the world, so we may as well just stop caring. It can definitely be used as a way to prevent people from taking action. [Spreading climate misinformation] divides people. “
With information and misinformation around climate change all around us, it can be difficult enough to know if what we hear and read really reflects the state of the world; this doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to get there. While solid information is available to us, it’s generally something we need to be looking for. However, as young people generally populate the internet, we come up against hot takes, article headlines, and clickbait-y Tiktoks all the time. The media we consume is tailored to our personal interests and habits, but above all, the idea of climate apathy is being pushed to us constantly, even and especially when we don’t realize it. In her interview at the School for Environment and Sustainability at the University of Michigan, Climate expert Katherine Hayhoe says we need to give the power back to the individual: “Back in the 1990s, Democrats and Republicans had the same opinions about climate change. Science denial is only about 20 years old. And how old is climate science? One hundred fifty years old or more. So we make the mistake of thinking that they just don’t know the science. That’s not what’s feeding the objections. What’s feeding the objections is solution aversion. People don’t think there's anything we can do to fix it.” She goes on to say that the rhetoric of helplessness that we are fed through climate apathy is what’s holding us back.
The easiest way to reach consumers is through creating popular media which touches on the relevant issue. The 2021 film Don’t Look Up attempts to make a satire over our apathy, centering on a group of scientists who attempt to warn the government and general public of the impending asteroid set to hit the earth. Though the film was labeled as alarmist, (ironic, since the entire concept is that we refuse to open our eyes and see the metaphorical asteroid that is being flung at us every day we choose not to or not to look up), it’s also able to show, through casting A-listers like Jennifer Lawrence, Leonardo DiCaprio, Timothee Chalamet and Ariana Grande, that we are currently living in a society in which we are permitted to bypass science and reason in the service of our own fragile mental balance. The root of climate apathy may feel like it’s inside us, but most often it comes from, you guessed it, the system we are chained to.
“Climate change is being viewed, as like, a trending topic, rather than something serious, the idea of, ‘oh, there’s nothing we can do to stop it’, or ‘oh, at some point it’s gonna go down’,” says Asiya Raheem-Zaki, a junior. “I don’t think [the Government] is lying, but I think they aren’t telling the full truth, because they're fearful.”
She adds, “What do you gain from fear mongering? It’s a power thing, a way to tie people down. You have to find a way to realize that they won’t stop the big things like greenhouse gasses and food waste.”
Climate apathy is a way for government officials and the narrative of our culture to tell us, the everyman, how hopeless everything is: the lack of clarity in climate communication between elected officials and climate specialists means our official’s understanding of the underlying sciences is not sufficient to appropriately evaluate climate problems and face controversies. It’s something we rarely get straight information on. For Gen Z’s, even this is enough to push our mind off the subject; as a generation who has lived through the Trump era, the COVID crisis, police violence, school shootings, and of course the ever more frequent climate crises, we’ve taught ourselves to shut our minds off as soon as climate change is mentioned; and why shouldn’t we? It’s a buzzword, an overwhelming subject: we know better than anyone that the world is in danger. This is where the apathy comes in, as we are constantly being fed a story of how we won’t make a difference, how it’s too expensive, too far in the future. Making something so bleak, so depressing that we can’t bear to talk about it, takes away any power we have to educate ourselves, participate in social change, and make a difference. And we can make a difference; individually, not engaging in any sort of activism, or not even engaging in conversation around the subject may seem like it doesn’t make a difference. This ideology is exactly how we won’t get anywhere.
Staying apathetic is a form of climate denial, which is not to say that those who choose to shut down at the mention of climate change are denying its existence; they are denying its pervasiveness, its urgency. It’s undermining the need for action.
So how does apathy become empathy? Our generation increasingly has trouble distinguishing the truth from the facts; not only do we not seek out news sources, we are isolated in our circles and don’t have dialogues about climate change. Communication is radical, in this day and age. Historically, teenagers have spearheaded political movements; now, we are too busy arguing in comment sections. It’s easier than you think, to consciously resist the depressing, look-away-and-ignore-it headlines and get out of the chokehold we’re in. Reclaiming our power to improve the future means starting conversations in the classroom and outside. It means taking the initiative to find our own information, talk to our families about renewable energy, ethical sourcing, and plan meals that leave behind zero food waste.
Another thing that may not seem connected to climate change, but that we as youth come into contact with all the time is the concept of the trend. The disposability of what is allowed to be trendy causes us to buy into a system which encourages fast fashion and the disposability of wardrobe. Thrifting and simply deciding to put down the phone and you outside can be the first step to realizing how much power you hold.
“When you choose to immerse yourself in topics like wars, the extinction of animals, it keeps you from doing anything specific. It’s a lot of mental exhaustion, and very little actually doing anything,” says Zoe.
“Something I’ve seen people say is that it’s better to ground yourself in something that you can influence, like, go narrow. I struggled with intense climate anxiety around the wildfires, and something that really helped me was to stay local, not only with climate focused topics but also just with things in your community, it shows you how much of an impact you can make.”
Ultimately, it’s up to us; this is the world we are going to grow old in. It’s up to us to take the step of getting the information, sharing it, and getting together to take action.