Gen Z is constantly being told it’s the generation that will finally heal the world and fix all of our problems. But what does that actually mean, and is it fair?

On this episode of Four Generations Talk Climate, host (and Boomer) Dan Delurey welcomes once again environmental lawyer Heather White (Gen X) and energy economist Anna Broughel. The three are joined by a new Gen Zer, Hikaru Hayakawa, the executive director of Climate Cardinals, a youth-led organization working to make climate information accessible across languages.

The group tackle what motivates young climate leaders, whether the movement has become too focused on credentials for it’s own good, and why not every Zoomer needs to start a nonprofit to make a difference. Along the way, they debate climate anxiety, social media activism, burnout amongst younger generations, and whether older generations need to stop asking young people to save the world and instead help lead the charge with the time they have left.

Timestamps

00:00 Meet this episode’s four generations

02:30 So, is Gen Z actually doing enough?

03:50 Ways to bring young people into climate action

08:45 Climate Cardinals and breaking the language barrier

12:55 Are climate activists just the overachievers?

17:20 Climate Week, COPs and the selfie question

18:50 Gen Z pushes back: We’re the climate action generation

21:55 Values, credentials and Gen Z at work

25:45 What older generations get wrong about young people

31:20 Why young people don’t always show up

33:15 Maybe older generations should organize themselves

Quotes

“I would push back against the selfie generation. I think we’re also the climate action generation.” – Hikaru Hayakawa

“We really need to start the conversation in climate action with the who. ‘Who are you? What do you want your legacy to be? What are your strengths in service? And how do you want to show up for others?’” – Heather White

“Younger generations are looking at it like, ‘I don’t have a seat at the table. I haven’t been invited. The times suck. So I think I’m not coming.’” – Anna Broughel

“I've been participating in Climate Week since they were invented. And I went to most of the COPs (Conference of the parties). I went to COP01. But I found that a lot of people, not just Gen Z, would go to COPs and it seemed to be that their major takeaway was taking a selfie in front of the sign out in front of COP21 or COP25 or whatever.” – Dan Delurey

“We need to worry about our own selves, but have more of these conversations and get more people of our peers involved.” – Heather White

“When we are anxious, we usually close down and just think that we’re alone in our little bubble. So getting out there and getting to events is my recipe.” – Anna Broughel

“You don’t need to establish a new organization. It’s about effective changemaking, ultimately.” – Hikaru Hayakawa

“If a young person is [in the room], that young person can say: ‘This is my future, my personal future.’ It’s not some older person talking about the younger generation. That would make a difference.” – Dan Delurey

• Check out more from Four Generations Talk Climate

• Follow host and Boomer, Dan Delurey on LinkedIn

• Don’t forget the Gen Xer, Heather White

• Millennial Anna Broughel needs her participation trophy

• Is Gen Z even on LinkedIn? Hikaru Hayakawa is!
  

Why isn’t it easier for all of us to talk about climate change?

On this episode of Four Generations Talk Climate, host (and Boomer) Dan Delurey is once again joined by environmental lawyer Heather White (Gen X), longtime climate and news producer Tracy Wholf (Millennial), and climate activist Kevin J. Patel (Gen Z). Together, they discuss how climate concern can be at an all-time high while real conversations about what can be done are seemingly disappearing.

In a world with so many different methods of communication, the conversation covers lived experience, generational language barriers, climate disinformation and the exhaustion of experiencing one crisis after another. Kevin argues that young people need true power-sharing rather than a token seat at the table, Tracy explains why climate has professionally and politically been harder to discuss in recent years, and Heather makes the case that anger might be the best common ground for intergenerational collaboration. 

Then, Dan discovers he may have touched a generational nerve by asking “what is the message that will get more Gen Z out to actually vote in the coming election?”

Timestamps

00:00 Meet this episode’s four generations

02:50 Why aren’t we talking about climate change?

04:50 Articles, podcasts and 30-second TikToks

08:45 Where Gen Z gets its climate information

11:45 Lived experience, tokenism, and power sharing

15:00 The political cycles of climate discussion

19:55 Does Gen Z know how much power it has?

23:45 Language barriers between us all

26:05 Climate exhaustion and the new disinformation problem

30:50 Dan asks a very boomer question about voting

Quotes

“Can we act without speaking on it? Because acting on it is the real thing that we need to do.” – Dan Delurey

“My kids, my Gen Zers, are sick and tired of all the praise. They don’t want to hear about how brilliant and amazing they are. They want action.” – Heather White

“We are living in a political time where we don’t feel like we’re allowed to speak about it anymore because it’s so toxic.” – Tracy Wholf

“Putting one young person on a panel with seven leaders isn’t automatically an intergenerational conversation. A real conversation means young people help make the decisions.” – Kevin J. Patel

“There is an utter exhaustion with the reality that we’re facing. We are seeing climate impacts, and there’s also a massive disinformation campaign happening.” – Tracy Wholf

“If you look at the polls today, the ratings are high on climate concern, climate anxiety, and all sorts of other questions that are asked. But the one question that ranks really low is: ‘Are you talking to other people about climate change?’” – Dan Delurey

“If 10-year-olds cannot imagine a healthier, greener, more just future, it is a call to action for all of us to start painting that picture of what is possible.” – Heather White

“It’s not whether we’re having the conversation, but whether we’re participating in the same conversation.” – Kevin J. Patel

Links

• Check out more from Four Generations Talk Climate

• Follow host and Boomer, Dan Delurey on LinkedIn

• Don’t forget the Gen Xer, Heather White

• Millennial Tracy Wholf needs her participation trophy

• Is Gen Z even on LinkedIn? Kevin J. Patel is!

What happens when a Boomer, a Gen Xer, a Millennial, and a Gen Zer sit down to talk about climate change? Welcome to Four Generations Talk Climate, the new podcast designed to bridge gaps between generations and highlight what it will take for real progress to be made.

Host, Boomer, and Ex-White House Director Dan Delurey will lead each discussion – mainly because he has the most time on his hands. Today, he is joined by environmental lawyer and One Green Thing founder Heather White (Gen X), energy economist and Johns Hopkins SAIS educator Anna Broughel (Millennial), and climate activist Hannah Testa (Gen Z). 

Together, they debate whether it’s actually time for Boomers to “leave the stage,” and what that would even look like in practice. They also take on generational blame, political power, climate anxiety, protest, jobs, personal responsibility, and the increasingly complicated question of what kind of future each generation expects to inherit, or leave behind.

Beneath all the jokes you’ll find the bigger picture: climate change is an intergenerational problem, and solving it may require less finger-pointing and a lot more listening.

Timestamps:

00:00 Four generations walk into a climate conversation

02:00 Are Boomers to blame for climate change?

04:55 Gen Z wants the microphone, and some actual power

07:20 Millennials, the American dream, and brunch

09:35 Parallels between Gen X nuclear anxiety and Gen Z climate anxiety

11:30 What kind of future are we leaving behind?

15:05 “The young people will figure it out”

17:40 Do we need a bigger climate wake-up call?

21:05 Can everyday choices actually change the system?

22:15 Why talking across generations matters

Quotes:

“When we talk about future generations in the environmental community, we kind of act like they’re strangers. But they’re not. They’re the young people in our lives.” – Heather White

“Gen Z is known for being great in photo ops, ‘thank you, young people, for being here. You're the solution,’ but there's no support behind us to actually [solve anything]. And it feels incredibly unfair.” – Hannah Testa

“I'm thinking about all the places that I might not get to visit myself. And also where my daughter, even if I take her there, she might not find these places. So thinking about my legacy, I would have loved to keep these amazing natural places intact. And I don't know if we have the time.” – Anna Broughel

“Ask your kids at the dinner table. To that person, it's a game changing conversation. And that's the invitation we need. Everyone is welcome. Everyone is needed in this movement. We all show up in different ways, but we have to keep talking and listening.” – Heather White

“I'm a little bit unlike my peers in trying to think about an intergenerational legacy. That it doesn't all end with me. And it didn't end with the people above me in my line.” – Dan Delurey

“We don’t hold the institutional power. We still need you around to help assist us and provide the systematic support that we need.” – Hannah Testa

Links:

• Check out more from Four Generations Talk Climate

• Follow host and Boomer, Dan Delurey on LinkedIn

• Don’t forget the Gen Xer, Heather White

• Millennial Anna Broughel needs her participation trophy

• Is Gen Z even on LinkedIn? Hannah Testa is!
  

Welcome to the Four Generations Talk Climate Podcast, the podcast where a Boomer, a Gen Xer, a Millennial, and a Gen Zer gets to bash the other for what they did, didn't do, or aren't doing now. New episodes every week, available wherever you get your podcasts!