Today an article was published in The Independent (UK) to express concern over growing tensions among teens and young people who fear the apocalypse is on the horizon. The term ‘eco-anxiety’ can be explained as having a fear of the inevitable ecological disasters that will arise due to climate change. As a twenty-something architect in Northern Ireland, I can undoubtedly empathise. Studies for my PhD prove that constant research in the topic creates overwhelming asphyxiational symptoms.
Is this panic positive? The bottom-up movement of climate activism has proved it’s the only way to get shit done. As Greta herself said “Adults keep saying, we owe it to the young people to give them hope. But I don’t want your hope, I don’t want you to be hopeful, I want you to panic”
Below is an extract from the article:
“A growing number of children are being affected by eco-anxiety – concern about ecological disasters – new research suggests. In order to find out more about how children feel about climate change, BBC Newsround conducted a survey of 2,000 eight to 16-year-olds. The poll showed that young people are feeling frustrated and anxious about the state of the planet with 80 per cent saying the problem of climate change was important to them, and more than a third saying it was very important.”
