Over the weekend I had a conversation about climate change with my older uncle. I brought up the issue about global warming and how it could significantly affect now and future. He knew climate change was happening but I could tell that he did not know all the facts. He explained how no one really talked about climate change with him and it seemed he was not that educated about the situation. When he was a kid, climate change was not an issue at all. Not as many people recycled and it was a more stress free atmosphere. People weren’t as worried about using energy or cutting down trees as they are now. The older generation’s boom in technology and industry did help contribute to global warming today; however, they weren’t as aware or didn’t care about what the side effects and how it would affect the environment. They did not understand the long lasting impacts it could have on the world.
Today, my uncle does recycle and he uses energy efficient lighting along with other environmentally friendly equipment. He also drives a hummer which is known to be very harmful towards the environment but he has no plans to change it because he likes the car. My uncle has a lot of mixed feelings about the future. He explained how much technology has advanced since he was a teenager and how he enjoys using that kind of technology today. The new equipment we have today has been more advanced than the world has ever seen before. Because of this, he thinks there can be a way that we can use this innovation to slow down the temperature rising. He also feels that because of the increasing population size, especially in Asia, it is hard to stop all these people from contributing to the pollution in the atmosphere. No matter how advanced our technology gets, we cannot stop all the people from further contributing to climate change.
My uncle is concerned about global warming, but not as much as the younger generations and scientists are today. I also talked to my grandma about this issue and she was not informed at all about global warming. She did not know much about the situation other than the temperature is increasing every year. They both believe that global warming is occurring but other than a few changes, I feel they are not doing anything about it. The lessons I took away from my uncle and grandma are that the older population has a different take on climate change then the younger generation does. Opinions about global warming are different for every person. Some people do not believe it is happening, other people think its happening but don’t do anything about it, and other people are changing their lifestyle to help the earth as we all should. In the long-run it is not the older generation that is going to stop the problem, it is the younger generation. The younger generation is the future and if we are motivated to make a difference in the climate, I think we can do it together.
I have had very similar talks with my grandfather who also has mixed feeling about climate change. There are aspects that he chooses not to believe while other things that he simply cannot ignore. For example, he’s a hunter and told me that this winter has been the worst hunting season he has ever had. He saw less deer than ever before in his 50 years of hunting. It’s hard to believe that climate change is not affecting wildlife all over the world.
I relate to your post completely. I have had similar conversations with my aunts, uncles, and mom. They are aware of the issue, but not sure as to where to start in regards to making a change. Some of my aunts and uncles are younger so they feel more motivated to make a difference while the older members of my family feel that they are not equipped to create solutions.