How Could Gen Z’s “Eco-Anxiety” Aid the Climate Crisis?
Knowing that Gen Z is at the forefront of social media action & civil engagement, could their heightened concern affect the global climate crisis for the better?
The Climate Crisis is more real now than ever.
Massive, and deadly, heat waves rocking the United States South, brutal wildfires from Canada to Hawaii, and substantial flooding in Beijing are wake-up calls that the time to act is now. From the Industrial Revolution to the oil shock of 1973, “global warming” and climate change have been prominent issues around the world, with even more political and social emphasis nowadays. Millennials, Generation Z, and Alpha now have to live through the severe and unprecedented climate and environment, picking up the pieces due to ignorance and lack of action from generations past. However, with social media and the trend among younger generations to take more civic and social responsibility, maybe climate crises could be more effectively mitigated or adapted more widely. This piece reviews climate crisis statistics and timeframes, how younger generations are affected by this ever-present issue, what is “eco-anxiety” and how it manifests, and what our future look like alongside more environmental awareness out of Gen Z and Alpha.
The Climate Crisis by the Numbers — The Foundation of Our Anxiety
Climate change is extremely inequitable— with more vulnerable populations experiencing 15 times more deaths from drought, and flooding. This is including young, elderly, and chronically ill individuals, as well as indigenous, coastal, and economically disadvantaged communities.
Environmental changes occur in many different ways — severely increased temperatures, altered precipitation, acidified ocean waters, changing ocean currents due to rain, melting ice, and salinity differences, sea level rises (could keep going)…
Human health is another top concern — Warming on land leads to habitat loss, animal extinction, negative crop production effects, heat waves, droughts, and wildfires; all of which affect humans’ ability to get food, water, shelter, and safety. Additionally, a rise in vector-borne diseases, lack of clean water due to changed salinity, and flooding can lead to water-borne diseases.
With extreme weather events more and more commonplace, and anxiety increasing, we have the indication we need that the time to act is now.
What even is “Eco-Anxiety”? How does it manifest in younger generations?
Although not an official clinical diagnosis, it is defined as a “chronic fear of environmental doom” (American Psychological Association, or APA).
The APA assembled a 70-page document, “Mental Health and Our Changing Climate,” describing the effects of the climate crisis on humans. It explains how people can experience degrees of emotional threats from climate change — which can ultimately result in anxiety and depression, in both people directly or indirectly affected.
More severe psychological trauma can also be brought on by climate change due to “personal injury, injury or death of a loved one, damage or loss to property or pets, and disruption or loss of livelihood (Neria & Shultz, 2012; Simpson, Weissbecker, & Sephton, 2011; Terpstra, 2011.)” Other forms of stress caused by climate change can “increase stress-related problems, such as substance abuse, anxiety disorders, and depression (Neria & Shultz, 2012).”
Mental stress is often directly causal to physical health problems, with the APA citing that “chronic distress results in a lowered immune system response, leaving people more vulnerable to pathogens… and at a greater risk for a number of physical ailments. (Alderman et al.,2012; Simpson et al., 2011.)”
Dr. Navjot Bhullar, a professor of psychology at the University of New England in Australia studies the effects of climate change on mental health. She describes eco-anxiety as: “a sense of dread or doom and not being able to concentrate,” describing how it interferes with human’s “innate connection to nature” leading to “ecological grief, anxiety, worry, and distress.” Dr. Bhullar quotes a survey by the California Blue Shield used in her research, where 1,200 people ages 14–24 from the U.S. were polled in March 2021 about the climate crisis’s impact on themselves. The survey found that 83% of respondents are concerned about the planet, 3 in 4 said it impacted their mental health, and 69% said led to effects on their physical health.
By and large, climate change not only affects the biology and weather of the planet, but it can also and does have far-reaching ramifications on the livelihoods and ensuing well-being, both mentally and physically of human beings.
How are Generations Z and Alpha affected by the Climate Crisis and subsequent “Eco-Anxiety?
“Approximately 1 billion children are at an ‘extremely high risk’ of the climate crisis.” — UNICEF. Children today have never truly experienced a world and society where the climate crisis was absent, and although some young people are affected less than others, it is the reality that we all live in now and will have to endure going into the future.
Bangladeshi children (pictured above) live in areas with severe air pollution, putting them at risk of allergies, asthma, lung cancer, and heart disease. In other places, heavy rain led to the flooding of villages in farmlands in the Masisi Territory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2020, and a Fijian School was destroyed by Tropical Cyclone Yasa in 2021. These are not isolated occurrences; high-vulnerability areas are faced with events similar or even identical to the ones previously mentioned (UNICEF).
A 2019 Ninth Circuit Appeals court heard the case Juliana vs. United States, in which 21 young people, ages 8 to 19, from Oregon, filed a lawsuit against the federal government alleging that the government’s inaction to address climate change violated their right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Although the case was dismissed without seeing any litigation, with the court claiming that the concern should be addressed with the legislative and executive branches, it did produce a mountain of evidence assembled by a team of 80 scientists from 15 health organizations proving the various ways the climate change can affect the mental and physical health of children. The evidence cites emerging evidence supporting a correlation between hotter temperatures and mental health impairments in children (Nick Obradovich et al.). The paper later notes that when children are displaced, lose family members, experience school interruptions, and scarcities of food and/or water it can lead to negative effects on children’s early cognitive and biological development, which is vital in the development of their mental and physical health (Martinez Garcia & Sheehan). Garcia’s and Sheehan’s assertion is supported by evidence describing mental health post-hurricane Katrina among school kids directly affected, with 50% of preschoolers and 71% of sixth and seventh graders being identified with PTSD (Hensley & Varela).
In essence, all of these facts point to the now tangible influence that the climate crisis has had on youth. Extreme weather, pollution, lack of action, and dissatisfaction with authority contribute to what we know to be “eco-anxiety” and other more severe health conditions.
What does our future look like with Eco-Anxiety? How is Gen-Z advocacy helping?
There is no mistaking that Gen-Z is obsessed with social media, but that isn’t a totally bad thing. Kids online are using their platforms and technological abilities to make social, and in this case, environmental change.
A Pew Research Center survey studying how involved Gen-Z is in climate activism on and offline, found that: 56% of Gen-Z have seen social media content about the need for climate action (with 46% of millennials and 42% of Gen-X reporting seeing the same content), 45% of Gen-Z engage with climate crisis-related content on social media (compared to 40% of millennials and 27% of Gen-X), and Gen-Z leads the polled generations on personal climate action with the last year.
Greta Thunberg, a Swedish Gen-Z climate activist, is one of the most well-known advocates for environmental reform in the world, making the cover of Time Magazine as 2019’s Person of the Year. Thunberg began her “Fridays for the Future” campaign in 2018, striking from school to protest in front of the Swedish parliament. The strikes gained massive traction and spread around the world, continuing for 251 weeks, and have evolved into more concrete, legislative action taken by young people worldwide.
Impact is an Instagram account with over 2 million followers, founded by Gen-Z college students, that addresses an impressive variety of current social issues around the world. A recent post by Impact talked about Royal Caribbean’s “Icon of the Seas” ship (set to be the biggest cruise ship in the world), its negative environmental output, the corrupt history of cruise companies when it comes to environmental accountability, a cruise-goers carbon footprint, and the harmful nature of cruises on the planet. Another post criticizes the horrid fast-fashion industry and its effect on the environment, mentioning its horrible sustainability initiatives and habits and its history of labor force issues and child labor.
Another notable highlight in Gen-Z’s climate activism history was the widespread backlash of the Biden Administration’s approval of the “Willow Project” in Alaska. The Willow Project is an expansive and invasive oil development project in remote Alaska, close in proximity to North Slope communities like Utqiaġvik (AKA Barrow) and Wainwright. The hashtag #stopwillow gained over 50 million views on TikTok at was trending as a top-10 topic on the platform, with users voicing their frustration on the president not sticking to his word about his climate agenda through the Willow Project. Furthermore, A petition on change.org gained 3 million signatures from people against the oil venture. Anti-willow activists called the project a “carbon bomb,” while also expressing their feelings of alienation as young voters by the administration. Although the project did end up getting approval, Biden’s decision has led to climate-focused voters being skeptical or outright against Biden to this day, which could potentially lead to some waves in the upcoming 2024 election.
All things considered…
Generation Z had to grow up with an economic recession, 9/11, and the climate crisis in the background of their childhoods. However, it has shaped us into passionate, tech-savvy, and stubborn young adults who won’t settle for anything less than what we know is right. The Climate Crisis used to be known as climate “change”, but that didn’t reflect its true nature: crisis. It’s killing people and animals, destroying ecosystems and homes, and decaying the well-being and livelihoods of people in high-vulnerability areas, but we should expect these effects to reach the entirety of the planet before we know it. Gen-Z’s eco-anxiety, although not a clinical condition, isn’t something entirely bad: it can inspire our generation to make positive actions to benefit every single one of us, and it can motivate us to make good choices when it comes to our consumerism and habits, and it can also give us reason to spread solutions and facts to everyone around us because it matters so much. Fear shouldn’t be something to hold us back, especially in such a dire time like the present, it should be something that lights our fire to do what we know is right, even if it’s scary.
UCAR. “Predictions of Future Global Climate.” UCAR, Predictions of Future Global Climate | Center for Science Education (ucar.edu). Accessed 8 Sept. 2023.
UCAR. “Climate Change Impacts on Human Health.” UCAR, scied.ucar.edu/learning-zone/climate-change-impacts/human-health. Accessed 8 Sept. 2023.
Schiffman, Richard. “For Gen Z, Climate Change Is a Heavy Emotional Burden.” Yale Environment 360, 28 Apr. 2022, e360.yale.edu/features/for-gen-z-climate-change-is-a-heavy-emotional-burden. Accessed 8 Sept. 2023.
Wray, Britt, et al. “Young People’S Voices on Climate Anxiety, Government Betrayal and Moral Injury: A Global Phenomenon.” SSRN, 7 Sept. 2021, papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3918955. Accessed 8 Sept. 2023.
Jacobs, Wendy B., and Shaun A. Goho. “Juliana Public Health Experts Brief with Paper Copy Certificate.” Harvard Law Clinics, 1 Mar. 2019, clinics.law.harvard.edu/environment/files/2019/03/Juliana-Public-Health-Experts-Brief-with-Paper-Copy-Certificate.pdf. Accessed 8 Sept. 2023.
Carlisle, Madeleine. “A Federal Court Threw Out A High Profile Climate Lawsuit. Here’s What It Might Mean For The Future of Climate Litigation.” Time, 19 Jan. 2020, time.com/5767438/climate-lawsuit-kids/. Accessed 8 Sept. 2023.
Nick Obradovich et al., Empirical Evidence of Mental Health Risks Posed by Climate Change, 115 Proc. Nat’l Acad. Sci. 10,953 (2018); Jose Guillermo Cedeño Laurent et al., Reduced Cognitive Function During a Heat Wave Among Residents of Non-Air-Conditioned Buildings: An Observational Study of Young Adults in the Summer of 2016, 15 PLOS Medicine e1002605 (July 10, 2018).
Daniel Martinez Garcia & Mary C. Sheehan, Extreme Weather-Driven Disasters and Children’s Health, 46 Int’l J. Health Services 79 (2016).
Lauren Hensley & R. Enrique Varela, PTSD Symptoms and Somatic Complaints Following Hurricane Katrina: The Roles of Trait Anxiety and Anxiety Sensitivity, 37 J. Clinical Child & Adolescent Psych. 542, 546 tbl.2 (2008); Michael S. Scheeringa & Charles H. Zeanah, Reconsideration of Harm’s Way: Onsets and Comorbidity Patterns of Disorders in Preschool Children and Their Caregivers Following Hurricane Katrina, 37 J. Clinical Child & Adolescent Psych. 508 (2008)
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Clayton, Susan , et al. “Mental Health and Our Changing Climate.” American Psychological Association, www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2017/03/mental-health-climate.pdf. Accessed 8 Aug. 2023.
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“GEN Z YOUTH SAY CLIMATE CHANGE IS ADVERSELY AFFECTING THEIR PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH IN NEW NATIONAL SURVEY BY BLUE SHIELD OF CALIFORNIA.” Blue Shield California, 15 Apr. 2021, news.blueshieldca.com/2021/04/15/NextGenGoals#:~:text=The%20survey%20was%20conducted%20in%20March%20to%20help,aged%2014%20to%2024%2C%20from%20across%20the%20U.S. Accessed 8 Aug. 2023.
Impact (@impact) • Instagram photos and videos
https://www.instagram.com/p/CvqEv-gOiZr/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CsBmE75uj8d/
Tyson, Alec, et al. “Gen Z, Millennials Stand Out for Climate Change Activism, Social Media Engagement With Issue.” Pew Research Center, 26 May 2021, www.pewresearch.org/science/2021/05/26/gen-z-millennials-stand-out-for-climate-change-activism-social-media-engagement-with-issue/. Accessed 8 Aug. 2023.
“Climate Change: Greta Thunberg School Strikes Began a Year Ago.” CBBC, 20 Aug. 2019, www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/49405357. Accessed 8 Aug. 2023.
Mark Thiessen, et al. “TikTok Push Targets Biden on Alaska’S Huge Willow Oil Plan.” AP, 8 Mar. 2023, apnews.com/article/alaska-oil-biden-tiktok-willow-climate-conocophillips-0d6837053e703fa3b3c7084646e7d5d9. Accessed 8 Aug. 2023.
