Do older people need to have global warming explained to them?

I think there are two things to consider here.

The BBC article is about how a young person can talk to their parents about changes they want to make that they think are important, but their parents might not be on board with. It’s not about explaining climate change to old folks. I can’t see how helping young people communicate better with their parents can be a bad thing?

As for the XR/hypocrite thing, it absolutely drives me bonkers that anybody thinks that this is hypocritical. The thing that XR is campaigning about is that the current society we live in means that we have to do things that are bad for the planet. The campaigning is about changing things at the roots, its not expecting everybody to immediately only eat kale and travel everywhere by bike. If the woman has to use a car to pick up her kids from school or get the shopping done, what do you propose she does? If the only veg in the shop is from far away, do you suggest she just eats turnip?

Maybe people do need climate action explained to them after all.

The article certainly suggests to me that people are not sufficiently aware and need to be educated by their children, shown how to change their ways. I can’t think of anyone I know who is in need of such education.

I know plenty of people who don't "get it".

Or don't believe, perhaps that is the problem.

You can drag a horse to water but you can’t make it drink.
All the education on climate warming won’t make one bit of difference, you only have to read this forum to witness the ignorance of this subject with some posters.

Nor me, Germanshepherdsmum. The old saying about teaching your elders to suck eggs comes to mind.

I’m not saying these were typical, but nieces from Singapore attending 6th form boarding school here, told me of several cases of fellow pupils putting the communal washing machine and tumble dryer on for one garment they wanted to wear later.

Ooh my hackles went right up!
I dont need a child or adolescent (or Greta Thunbetg) to explain things to me, I am educated, I read, I watch tv and I listen to Radio 4. What more do you want?
Seriously the wisdom and common sense we have honed over the decades seems to have escaped some younger people.
We were brought up to save energy (because we couldn’t afford to squander it), to walk or use public transport - no mummy or daddy in 4x4’s to drive us to tennis or gymnastics, we used and still use reusable shopping bags or even granny trolleys, not umpteen disposable plastic bags, in my childhood we folded present wrapping paper flat (even ironing it) so that it could be reused, washing was (and is) dried outside, not in tumble driers, convenience food meant a tin of peas (or maybe peach slices for pudding, )
Flying less?
Less than not at all until I was 18 in my case!
Oh I could go on but you will be grateful that I’m not!

The absolute defensiveness of some people is a wonder to behold.

Some young people squander the earth's resources. Some old people are "green". Not always because they want to be and know how important it is, but because that's how society was when we were young.

So the knee jerk response is, "I don't need some kid telling what to do." You do need Thunberg to explain it to you, you just won't listen because you think you know it all because you listen to Radio 4.

It'd be laughable if it wasn't so serious.

Serious SOH bypass volver -wasn’t it you who spoke of nuance a while back?
I regard myself as an intelligent, educated, thinking adult with pretty adequate life experience.
I have also taught some of the areas referred to, so no, not being defensive and any laughing might be directed in the opposite direction.

I don't have any problem with children feeding back climate change details to their Parents or Grandparents, as it's sadly only too obvious how the message about human responsibility for global warming is just not getting through. A poll carried out in the U.S. for the Economist in 2021 found that nearly 10 percent didn't believe that global warming is occurring at all.. Neither does Trump. A further 25%percent accepted that climate change was happening, but believed that this was a "natural" process, and not caused by human activity. An additional 14% were in the "don't know" category. So almost half of those surveyed could not put a tick in the "Yes, we're responsible" box. Such profound ignorance is so depressing. I'll be done and dusted long before the worst of the effects kick in, but I fear for my Grandchildren. What a legacy we are leaving them.

Maybe it's thought that we need educating because we don't get in a tizz about it all the time. We know, we care, we try to do what we can but we don't always make a big fuss. Perhaps we should put that down to maturity.

When I see reports about damage to the environment, I don't want to just see the shock horror stuff (which actually makes me lose interest). I want to know what I can do as an individual to help mitigate the situation, even if it's only something small.

And you're right Foxygloves.

Foxygloves

Serious SOH bypass volver -wasn’t it you who spoke of nuance a while back?
I regard myself as an intelligent, educated, thinking adult with pretty adequate life experience.
I have also taught some of the areas referred to, so no, not being defensive and any laughing might be directed in the opposite direction.

Yeah, I don't have a lot of humour where climate change is concerned.

Read the room.

Yeah, I don't have a lot of humour where climate change is concerned.

Indeed?
No surprises there. I don’t need to read the room , I have read the posts

Can I say that many of our generation don't get in a tizz about it because we know we'll be long gone when the water runs out?

Oh, and don't show me that dying polar bear, I'm SO bored with that. 😠

Don’t worry, nobody had suggested it.

Only if the explanation is combined with an intensive course in sucking eggs.

It should also include the old person explaining to the explainer all about -
-1) - how to avoid waste by not throwing out foods which don't actually go "off" because they are preserves, pickles, fresh vegetables or fruit which look, smell and taste absolutely perfect, or leftovers due to over-estimating quantities for the meal.
-2) - the benefits of wearing old clothes for messy occupations instead of new ones.
-3) - why they don't need to throw every single item worn today into the washing machine and wear a completely new set tomorrow.
-4) - how to clean a home without pouring bleach and other strong chemicals over everything.
-5) - how interesting it can be to take holidays/vacations nearer to home, somewhere that doesn't involve a long-haul flight.

I'm really surprised at some people's attitudes.

Rather than Phoebe lecturing her mother about flying, a few words about hair and makeup might have been helpful. Now you can be surprised, nay shocked, at my attitude volver.

Did you really just say that?

What an unp...

Oh no wait, I got deleted for saying that yesterday.

Personally I like a two way converasation with my grandchildren.
We both recieve information and learn new ideas.
It is my grandchildren future that is my main concern.
So whatever I learn from them or others will helpfully enable me, as my grandson would say 'to make the right choices '

Perhaps no-one attempts (more than once) to patronise you, Volver, so you are not familiar with the annoyance of automatically being considered the generation most likely to be ignorant of Real Life by yet another journalist young enough to be your grandchild
(article is Georgina Rannard who graduated MA from St Andrew in 2009, before getting a PhD from Edinburgh, so is probably in her early thirties)

Nobody is actually reading the article, are they? Or at least not reading for comprehension.

I'd rather they challenged the aggressive, ignorant (mostly male) posters on Microsoft News who insist climate-change is a snowflaky, leftie, woke plot designed to turn the country into a socialist State (no I don't get the connection, either).

Their fresh young minds and intelligence on the matter might be a match for the gnarled middle-aged idiots who clearly know little, and agree that Piers Corbyn is a 'nutter' - "but he's right on this" (though they hate his brother).

They're younger than we are, and far more dangerous because as they fester into old age, they're not gaining any wisdom.

I haven't the emotional energy to challenge their comments any more.

Over to you, kids.

Does one read for any purpose other than comprehension?