Teach your children well
If we have hope, it will be realized from the impact of coming generations.
The first occurred one evening when I had just finished grilling dinner on the BBQ. As I came into the house, I threw the empty beer can into the garbage. Both my daughters took me to task and gave me a lecture about how we all should recycle our empty cans and how important it was to protect the environment. I could’ve listened to any number of documentaries and government initiatives, but nothing would’ve had the same impact as my daughters. The next week we got recycle bins and started our recycling, which continues through today.
The second insight came a little later.
In 1992 at the Rio Earth Summit, twelve-year-old Severn Cullis-Suzuki gave a five-minute speech that earned her a standing ovation and has been frequently cited since.1 The compelling images of Greta Thunberg in 2018, sitting alone on the steps of her school to start a global youth movement called "Fridays for Future," leading to her speech to the EU and the UN about climate change, calling them out on their inaction. In 2020, sixteen young Montanans, aged five to twenty-two at the time, filed a lawsuit against the state of Montana for violating their right to a clean and healthful environment, which is guaranteed in the state constitution. They won their suit.2
The thing I hear most often when I talk with some of my peers about climate change is something like "What are you worried about? You will be gone before this becomes a problem." I could point out that this is already becoming a problem and I am still here, but that isn’t really the point. It is the myopic and somewhat cynical view of the world that I find so difficult to understand.
Fortunately, when I start feeling discouraged about this, I just think of the young people who are taking charge of this issue and working to make the world a better place.
It gives me hope.
Reading
- Cullis-Suzuki, Severn. Severn Cullis-Suzuki at Rio Summit 1992. Rio de Janeiro: United Nations Earth Summit, June 1992. Video, 6:42. Accessed July 26, 2025. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJJGuIZVfLM.
- District Court of Montana. Held v. State of Montana, No. CDV-2020-307. 1st Judicial District Court, August 14, 2023. https://climatecasechart.com/climate-change-litigation/wp-content/uploads/sites/16/non-us-case-documents/2023/20230814_CDV-2020-307_decision.pdf.