The task ahead for Generation Y

[Peacetrain]

My 22 year old son, and all his fellow Millennial's.. are being handed quite the task..

Literally.... Save the Earth.

Every generation has a task handed to it, and it has to accomplish to move us all forward.

The good news is, they usually do it.

The bad news is, there is always a new task for the next generation.

But looking a BP, oil usage, the gulf spill, energy needs..and a burgeoning third world economy (which is good) but along with it comes greater energy needs (which is bad)... how to balance that, and bring us into some kind of harmony with the planet.


The rest of us are in this mix also, we all have the same responsibility. but you will be the ones who implement the solutions.

You may be the next "greatest generation" in the global scope of what needs to be accomplished.

[glowing]

1. Only if the so-called leaders get out of the way. Old ass lawyers who don't

even believe in Global Warming or the idea of our Global connection for viability for the future.

Then again... many of them also have been raised in a me, me, me world with little accountability. I'm not sure which way will win out... some are very socially aware and want a better way. AND other's are wishing for their bling car, needing the latest gizmo gadget, and having to have the latest style or trend.

We will see what happens... AND it may not be the US that leads. A huge social upheavel in China would have a bigger impact on our planet than the US kids going green.

[Peacetrain]

2. You make a great point.. talk about being lawyered up.. the right

siders who oppose anything that would be a green solution.

[glowing]

5. The fact that Hemp is banned in the US drives me insane. There are so

many practical non-toxic uses for hemp its NOT even funny. Years back, it was Patriotic and mandated to grow... Now, its banned, like anyone could even use it to get high off of.

Clothes, glue, paint, paper product,the instead of plastic item... Its way too good of a crop to ban. AND its cheap to grow ANYWHERE... and so useful.

Growing corn, soy, and wheat.. subsidizing the fuck out of it and making Iowa #1 in the Presidential pick drives me nuts. We need all kinds of fruits and veggies. AND more people need access to it and the time to use them in real meals... Not on a cheeseburger from a fast food place.

Publicly funded education from start to finish. National Daycare services (free and safe).

30hr wrk weeks that adequately cover the cost of living and leaves a little extra for a vacation and a savings acct for emergency efforts. If you can and want to work, you should be able to find a job and a job that pays. 4 wk vacations, medical leave time (maternity/ paternity leave).

A socialized national Medical service with access to Dental and Vision care. The latest sham was disgusting and basically made Ins a too big to fail side-arm of the govt.

AND in a Global world.. the lines that hold us within are imaginary lines drawn on a map. In the large scheme, we are all one. We should all behold the wonders of the world. Flying flags and marching around soldiers does very little in making for a free and fair world.

AND getting more women into places of power to even the scale a bit world wide would help tremendously.

[Peacetrain]

11. The hemp ban makes no sense at all!

I live in Iowa, so I will not get into you with that discussion ;)

But subsidizing corn, for fructose has added some more to our health issues than anything I can think of right now.

That and putting antibiotics in animal feed.. or putting animal byproduct in the feed of animals that do not eat other animals..

[glowing]

14. Its terribly sad that a country that refuses to give its citizens a right to medical access

literally poisons them from within with all the crap products... Its impossible to live toxic free; with adequate nourishment.

With the Iowa issue... I come from VT originally...Its a state that is very passed over.. So passed over that I am continuously asked where that is or what state the town Vermont is in. The idiocy knows no bounds.. Is it a wonder we are in such an f-d up state of affairs.

[notesdev]

3. What was the boomers' task?

Be an example of what not to do for countless generations that follow?

[Peacetrain]

4. Well the Boomers did not do much I guess.. Civil Rights, Womens Rights

Ending Vietnam, the Beginning of the Ecological Movement.. they had a plateful too..

Edit to add.. I was being sarcastic about them not having much to do

[notesdev]

6. Not quite

All the most important advances in womens' rights (1920s) and civil rights (50s/early '60s) precede the boomers' rise to political power, as does the ecological movement (Teddy Roosevelt). These things are properly credited to the WWI and WWII generations respectively.

Ending Vietnam, I give them that. Turning around and then sending their kids to far off lands to repeat the same mistake over and over again, however, implies that the motivation was somewhat less than principled.

And for the remainder of their lives they turned into the most narcissistic, materialistic, selfish and decadent generation seen since the fall of Rome, the end result of which is this Greater Depression that we have now been plunged into. Nice legacy.

[Peacetrain]

12. Okay, Boomers bad.. everyone else pristine and pure.. gotcha..

That makes no sense at all.

Edit to add. The "greatest" generation gave us nuclear war ... hello, what do I do now with that...

Generation X gave us the wall street greedathon.. now what do I do with that..the rush to the MBA's of the 80's and all that ensued.

No generation is better than the next.. thank you very much

Each one has its challenges for its youth who will become the power brokers later.. thank you very much

Also before you sweetly kiss off all baby boomers..you can at least thank them for getting rid of the draft if nothing else..

[Subdivisions]

7. It's either save the Earth or die off. The FIRST priority is to get off oil. That

will take care of a LOT of problems, not the least of which is catastrophes like the BP gusher and our current resource wars.

[Peacetrain]

9. Getting away from carbon based fuels for the world is going to be tough

and it will take care of a lot of problems..

[jotsy]

8. I say it like this:

We are obliged to nurture the young and care for the aged for as long as we are between the two.

[Peacetrain]

10. Sandwiched in between.. But we all end up in that space sooner or later

[Jeffersons Ghost]

13. K&R

[Juche]

15. I don't agree

I've read Strauss and Howe and understand the concept of a civic generation.

But many of us (I'm in the period between Generation X and millennial but consider myself millennial) are barely able to make ends meet. We are entering a two tiered wage workforce where the older established workers have job security, benefits and stability while we have contract jobs with no benefits or security punctuated by months of unemployment.

I think many of us are too busy trying to avoid being homeless or living at home forever to save the world. I seriously doubt that the 'masters of the universe' planned it that way, but that is what happened.

It is harder to worry about that stuff when you are unemployed for months at a time, and the best you can hope for is a contract job where you are last hired/first fired.

Also, the US is rapidly losing influence and will continue to do so. The youth in China will have a bigger impact on global events soon. In fact China is taking a leadership role in creating a sustainable future. That sounds like bunk, but the environmental issues there are so severe that they are being forced to confront them.

Hopefully millennials in the US play a role in helping to create a sustainable economy. I think we will because polls show we care about sustainability and are willing to sacrifice (ie higher taxes and expenses) to make it happen. But by and large in between the tons of economic problems we are already facing (no jobs, student loan debts, no security, entitlement crisis) combined with te fact that nations outside the US are surpassing us, we will only play a role, not the central role.