Among the greatest compliments I received from viewers during my television news career was 'although I've never met you, I consider you a friend, almost a part of my family. You're a nightly guest in our homes on good days and bad-we feel you understand our needs; we trust you'. When I retired, I was moved by viewers who wrote me personal notes describing a sense of loss, some even driving to our studio to stand outside our observation window and wave goodbye. I was very thankful, but also emphasized there'd be new and talented colleagues who would be working very hard to gain their trust.
We continually face the need to build new relationships; it can be uncomfortable adjusting to a new and younger physician; financial advisor, teacher, faith leader, co-worker or neighbor. But the transformation of the girl or boy next door or down the street into a productive adult is what maintains the viability of our businesses, industries or professions; our community, state and country; the flow of money, energy and imagination.
Careful research suggests the assumption that process will continue is a shaky one. Demographers refer to what they call the coming gray tsunami; the aging of the US work force and the diminishing growth of women entering the job market. I was struck by the insightful if worrisome conclusions of research conducted by Mark Watson of Princeton and James Stock of Harvard. They predict those changes, if not reversed, will lead to slower growth, deeper recessions and weaker recoveries. But I was also struck by a point they didn't cite-one explored by Matthew Schneider-Mayerson of Yale/NUS College in Singapore. I was glad I was sitting down when I read it his paper; the potential impact of climate change on decisions to have children.
The study bears the rather dry title of 'Eco-reproductive Concerns in the Age of Climate Change'. It only hints at the powerful implications of the survey of young American adults, ages 27 to 45. Almost all, 96.5%, stated they were very or extremely concerned about the well-being of their children-either existing or expected, due to climate change. A sizable majority, 59.8% cited that worry as reason to reconsider having children. And six percent expressed regret that they'd brought children into this world; not because they were unhappy with their children or being a parent, but because of the world those children face, now and in the future. The younger the study participants, the greater their concern; male and female respondents expressed equal anxiety due to ongoing climate change and environmental degradation.
This is probably the most empirically rigorous study performed to date, but it essentially confirms the conclusions of other scholarship on the issue of environmental psychology, sociology, demographics and climate mitigation. The results amplify the potential damage of 'the gray tsunami' on our lives and the lives of generations to come, and our need to address the building wave of climate change and it's companion, often called climate or eco-anxiety.
Jeff Renner leverages four decades of experience as a practicing and award-winning Atmospheric Scientist and Science Journalist to provide knowledge and perspective of trends in climate change and climate anxiety.
