AAU "Clean & Green SF Community" Team!“The only ethical decision is to take responsibility for our own existence and that of our children." (Mollsion, 1990)
The youth have an enormous impact in the present and future state of the planet. UNESCO states that “The lifestyles of the youth influence commerce and media - and shape the process of production, marketing, and consumption patterns of goods and services.” As future workers, entrepreneurs, parents, political leaders, and policy makers, it is integral to create an environment that will influence their future decisions and actions to benefit the generation after them. In 2007, United States ranked 1st as a global warming polluter, compared to other large nations. The youth drive the market in media, fashion, and entertainment, but there is a lack in influence in integral and critical issues that is responsible for their future – the disastrous effects of global warming.
Generation Y includes anyone that was born after 1981. San Francisco’s population profile states that 1/4 of the San Francisco residents are below 30, and considered as part of Generation Y. The young generation ais acknowledging that climate change initiatives must be taken but, there is a lack of participation. "My generation's biggest icons aren't politicians and Nobel Peace Prize Laureates — they're rappers and rock stars," said Luke Ramersad, a junior at Lowell High School, San Francisco, Calif. In the United States, there has yet to be a single bill passed by Congress to cut global warming pollution. Yet, is it common to see a young San Francisco resident lobbying for stronger climate change policies?”
With 80% of the world’s CO2 coming from cities, it is evident that the youth’s actions and lifestyle are responsible for the mitigation of climate change. The U.S. Census Bureau and the National Geographic Society’s Green Guide states that San Francisco is the second greenest city in the US, after Portland. San Francisco is one of the cities that have leaders that support the environment. Mayor Gavin Newsom, is aiming for 75 % waste diversion by 2010 and have Zero-waste by 2020. Most importantly, Mayor Newsom believes in integrating environmental awareness in the education system. “I’d like to see comprehensive curriculum in our schools as it relates to environmental stewardship. I’d like this city to be the example for the rest of the country,” says Newsom at an interview with Ecocity World Summit. Agenda 21, the sustainable development blueprint for the 21st Century, recognized in Chapter 36 that education, public awareness, and training are critical for sustainable development, and that participation and involvement of young people, alongside other eight major groups, are essential in its implementation .
Jared Blumenfeld, Director of the San Francisco Department of the Environment, thinks that the biggest sustainability challenge is sustaining people’s attention, “It’s difficult because we’re competing for people’s attention. So, keeping it relevant and interesting and cool and impactful is the constant challenge,” he says. How can San Francisco engage the youth in tGlobal Warming & Climate Change and use their power to create positive change?
In the upcoming months, Obama’s greatest challenge is to find a careful balance stimulating the economy and investing in the long-term future of the environment, said Raj, the professor of economics for Univeresity of California, Berkeley. Sustainable development is defined by Britannica as “an approach to economic planning that attempts to foster economic growth while preserving the quality of the environment for future generations.” Development begins with the community and it is only sustainable if it is supported by members of these communities. It is not only about 10% of the population reducing their carbon footprint, it is people working collectively together in the community to contribute in enhancing the environment. The San Francisco community should propose a budget plan that provides the youth with an opportunity to acknowledge and support sustainable development. The youth imposing and practicing sustainable development will benefit future generations to come.
If Global Warming and mitigating Climate Change had the attention of Generation Y, they will affect their parents, the media and help the economy move forward in a direction that will benefit not only their generation, but the generation after them. Al Gore, while accepting the Nobel Peace Prize, said at the end of his speech, “Make no mistake, the next generation will ask us one of two questions. Either they will ask: “What were you thinking; why didn’t you act?” Or they will ask instead: “How did you find the moral courage to rise and successfully resolve a crisis that so many said was impossible to solve?” The Generation Y has an opportunity to become that generation, and we can start in San Francisco, the city mentioned by Newsom “We’re about civil rights and equal rights, you better believe it.”
Work Cited:
“Global Warming by the Numbers. Chilling statistics to think about.” Environmental Defense Fund. 24 Febuary 2009.
Corcoran, Peter; Blaze, Peter. “Young People, Education, and Sustainable Development. Exploring Principles, Perspectives, and Praxis Editors. 2 February 2009. < www.fgcu.edu/CESE/Files/Kitabu_Concept_Statement.pdf>
“San Francisco Visionaries.” Ecocity World Summit. 6 February 2008.
Barabak, Mark. “San Francisco’s Mayor Gavin Newsom launches exploratory bid for governor.” LA Times. 2 July 2008. http://articles.latimes.com/2008/jul/02/local/me-newsom2
“San Francsico: Population Profile.” City Data. 21 February 2009. < http://www.city-data.com/us-cities/The-West/San-Francisco-Population-Profile.html >
Vaccaro, Amie. “Interview with Jared Blumenfeld, Director, San Francisco Department of the Environment.’October 17th, 2008
“Sustainable Development.” Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 25 Feb. 2009. < http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/765435/environmental-law/224618/Sustainable-development#ref=ref750231>
Leach, Adam. “Global recession - keeping business at the heart of sustainable development.”19 November 2008. http://www.iblf.org/resources/ebulletin/November08.htm
Azadeh, Anzari. “Energy, economy create balancing act for Obama.” CNN. 30 January 2009.
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