Aren’t these the same people who were eating Tide Pods? And cannot get a coffee without taking a selfie?
For Gen Z voters, combating climate change is top of mind
Shaped by frequent flooding, extreme heat waves and increasingly destructive hurricanes, Generation Z is serious about taking bold action to tackle climate change. And, they are aiming to fight for it when they make their way to the polls next week.
So, they’ve been brainwashed into thinking things like this have never happened before. Can they explain how the prediction was for 14-20 storms, 6-10 being hurricanes, and 3-5 being major, when, in reality, there were just 12 storms, 5 hurricanes, and only 2 major?
“As time moves on every single moment becomes more and more of a critical point for climate action,” said Iris Zhan, an 18-year-old from Maryland who is voting for the first time this November and considers climate a top priority. “That’s where the politics and the legislation need to be to make a difference.”
In 2020, the most recent presidential election-year, 53 percent of 18-to-29-year-olds cast a ballot, a nine percentage point jump from 2016.
At that time, youth-led environmental organizations such as the Sunrise Movement mobilized millions of people to vote in record numbers, with organizers as young as 12 and 13 making countless phone calls to talk to community members about what’s at stake and registering eligible peers to vote.
The midterm elections on Nov. 8 are set to determine if young climate activists will be able to continue to throw their political weight around at a time when control of Congress is up for grabs and a majority of the top youth issues are on the ballot, including climate change, abortion, gun control and LGBTQ rights.
“If we think about what’s coming with the climate movement, when we see, you know, the young people who are protesting, who are getting trained in civil disobedience … that’s happening as the planet warms up and we experience substantial climate shocks,” said Dana Fisher, a professor of sociology at the University of Maryland who studies protest movements. “So I think what we’re going to see is that come together to push for social change.”
Social change, eh? Why does it always come down to politics? It’s almost like this isn’t a science? When do these Gen Zers give up their own big carbon footprints and practice what they preach in their own lives?
“Gen Z overall really pushes for gun safety, climate change, the right to choose. And, that’s all kind of backfired,” said Kate Fraser, a 17-year-old from Florida who is not old enough to vote during this election cycle but has been working to register hundreds of her peers to vote on a climate platform.
“I think it could absolutely be big if we actually get people registered, and we actually get people to the polls,” she said.
Just science, right?
Read: Gen Z Voters Have Climate Crisis (scam) At The Top Of Their Minds »