I thought the younger generation cared about the planet?

Who opens that bank of Mom and Dad?

Too much access to Bank of Mum and Dad I think.

Beswitched

I don't see why the OP is getting such criticism. Of course people of all ages are careless or uncaring about the environment.

But a significant minority of the younger generation has been very vocal in blaming and shaming older generations, while happily racking up air miles, devouring junk food, buying primark clothing etc.
Including, I have no doubt, many of those who took days off school to protest and march.
It's a valid point.

Because it is dividing the world up into groups, young old, male female, white black and then finding a relatively small number of people in that group behaving badly and assuming that everyone else in that group behaves badly.

I don't see why the OP is getting such criticism. Of course people of all ages are careless or uncaring about the environment.

But a significant minority of the younger generation has been very vocal in blaming and shaming older generations, while happily racking up air miles, devouring junk food, buying primark clothing etc.
Including, I have no doubt, many of those who took days off school to protest and march.
It's a valid point.

My DD and her OH run huge events: outdoor orchestral concerts with cannons, fireworks, red arrows, spitfire etc.- and also a folk festival. They have up to 10,000 at each event. There is never a jot of litter left. An environmental organisation called the Compleat Wasters is employed - they give out bin bags to each group of picnicking people, go round regularly and deal with the bags, and they recycle all that can be recycled.

By the end of the day there is nothing left at all. All festivals could do this if they chose - they just do not care.

My DD and OH really care about doing this properly, and would not dream of allowing a mess to be left.

My husband and I went to a local dance festival a few years ago (and we were't even the oldest people there!) and were disgusted about the amount of litter being dropped on the ground (not a camping festival fortunately). However, most of us were using reusable plastic glasses that could be returned for the £1 deposit back - we made quite a bit of cash picking up all the abandoned ones and returning them! I wouldn't mind but there were plenty of bins around, including recycling bins for cans etc. What we made by being good citizens paid for our drinks for the entire weekend

Elvis58

Leeds festival the same.The majority of people there were the younger generation, its disgusting the waste and inconsideration and the tenacity to blame the baby boomers is beyond the pale for the state of the world.

The majority of the people there were the younger generation but the majority of the younger generation were not there.

But we shouldn’t blame the young/old/ Greta Thurnberg or David Attenborough . That’s just a blame game and an excuse not to do anything. We should all be aware of the urgency of the climate crisis and be prepared to reduce, reuse, recycle, ban unnecessary single use anything, put pressure on governments and big businesses to make unpopular choices.

I was so incensed seeing all the Reading mess.
Because of Covid, charities cannot use the discarded tens.
We live in such a disposable society. I despair for future generations.

Young people bashing on Gransnet and old people bashing on Mumsnet - I don't approve of either.

Single-use tents?! - what the heck? How wasteful. At the very least make them recyclable. Anything for profit it would seem.

Figures on tents recycled completemusicupdate.com/article/association-of-independent-festivals-pressures-retailers-to-stop-selling-single-use-tents/
I’ve been to festivals and very recently to a cricket match (part of the 100 series) overflowing bins everywhere, even the provided skips. They sell food and drinks in containers (not allowed to bring your own in) at a goodly profit, but disposal points are inadequate and not emptied often enough. I’m not condoning those who litter, definitely not those who leave tents and other detritus. But no matter how willing you are to dispose of your rubbish sensibly, sometimes it’s hard.

Leeds festival the same.The majority of people there were the younger generation, its disgusting the waste and inconsideration and the tenacity to blame the baby boomers is beyond the pale for the state of the world.

I used I thought the younger generation cared about the planet as the thread title because of the amount of interviews I have seen/heard by the under 30’s bemoaning the fact that everything that is wrong with the planet/climate is down to the older generation (predominantly baby boomers )

They fail to recognise that all the lifts to school, their latest phones/tablets/PC’s along with throw away fashion, fast food and foreign holidays also contribute to the problem.

If everyone done their bit it could help the situation.

It seems a lot of posters here might have forgotten all those cheap flights with Ryanair, easyJet,. And the cruises they’ve mentioned, the diesel cars they drove because it was cheaper.
Every time you click buy now. You/ we are all adding to it.
People in glass houses ?

Agreed. Division between generations is deflecting from the real issue.

Exactly what I was thinking.

That's part of the problem with most issues though - whether the factions are political, gender-based, age-based, whatever. So many people pend so much time screaming about what was/wasn't done instead of using their time and energy to look for a way forward.

MissAdventure

I'm sure we weren't saintly, any more than any other group in society.
Good and bad apples in all groups of people.

Agreed. Division between generations is deflecting from the real issue.

I'm sure we weren't saintly, any more than any other group in society.
Good and bad apples in all groups of people.

I think she is still banging on about how the young will be left to clear up the mess older people have made of the planet.

And she's right. However saintly we all think we were last century, we used up the planets resources, we polluted like there was no tomorrow and now those in charge won't do anything about it except turn up at useless climate change conferences and show off about their targets which they will never meet.

Well thunberg started it!
I think she is still banging on about how the young will be left to clear up the mess older people have made of the planet.

There is a lot of stereotyping going on, on this thread

Nanna8 but I bet most of you and your friends now have tv, microwave, tumble dryer, washing machine and fly off on holiday etc. All because you didn't have them a few years ago. How many of those polishing their halos had coal fires and cars guzzling leaded petrol?

My brother ( in his 70s) along with other Rotarians, goes to Weston Park after their festivals to collect tents, make up complete tents and then pack them to send to disaster zones. We are the reuse society!

The ruining of the planet can apply across the generations. Young and old people drop litter, use plastic, do or don’t recycle etc.
I don’t mind GT raising awareness-that sort of publicity, although spread worldwide by the use of energy consuming devices, is the sort of reminder we need. I thought young people would be far more likely to listen to her, than to David Attenborough for example.
The problem is that people, young or old still don’t see their actions as what causes global warming. (GW)
School children got dropped off/picked up by car to gather and demonstrate about GW and left their fast food wrappers all over the place.
Festival campers dumped their equipment.
People of all generations gathered on beaches and in parks and left others to clear up their mess.
People (me included) like cars, holidays, electrical equipment, food from abroad with a huge carbon footprint.
All generations must try to do something, however small, but I don’t know how we can stop GW.
Playing the generation blame game will not help.

Just look at what the young ones have in their homes. Did we have TVs, washing machines, dryers, microwaves, dishwashers,fridges when we got married? We certainly didn’t and neither did any of our friends. Did we fly around the world and have a car each ? No. Did we use plastic nappies and plastic bags? No. But do we say they are ruining the environment?