Teenagers with eco anxiety being driven to school.

Weltsmertz

Teenagers these days are fragile and easily upset.
One of the things that seems to upset them the most these days is climate change. It makes them anxious and they even have protests and strikes to admonish adults for their irresponsible behaviors that contribute.
However many Irish teenagers unlike children years ago or children in other countries can no longer walk or cycle to school.
The roads are dangerous, stranger danger, they might get cold, they might get wet and catch pneumonia, they might hurt their backs from carrying schoolbags etc
However are they not being hypocrites. If they are concerned about climate change should they not look at their own behavior first and realise that being driven everywhere in a gas gusling SUV means that they are part of the problem and not part of the solution.

Graces7

Weltsmertz wrote: »

Teenagers these days are fragile and easily upset.
One of the things that seems to upset them the most these days is climate change. It makes them anxious and they even have protests and strikes to admonish adults for their irresponsible behaviors that contribute.
However many Irish teenagers unlike children years ago or children in other countries can no longer walk or cycle to school.
The roads are dangerous, stranger danger, they might get cold, they might get wet and catch pneumonia, they might hurt their backs from carrying schoolbags etc
However are they not being hypocrites. If they are concerned about climate change should they not look at their own behavior first and realise that being driven everywhere in a gas gusling SUV means that they are part of the problem and not part of the solution.

Too many variables and too many generalisations in your post. And rather patronising? Can you qualify more? One village I lived in organised a "walking bus" for small ones, to take away the need for multiple cars. It takes organisation. And parental willingness and example. The whole family needs to follow the same policy?
stles

Paddy Cow

Not every teenager is Greta whatever her name is.

Tangatagamadda Chaddabinga Bonga Bungo

The over reliance on cars is the biggest problem imo.

Using electricity to cook, clean, shower and refrigerate food are 'blood red line' issues. So nobody can ever give these up realistically.

But relying on walking, cycling and public transport to go about your business should be given priority.

One eyed Jack

That’s the second time in as many days I’ve seen the expression “eco-anxiety”, and each time the example given is of someone who claims to experience this anxiety, while at the same time flouting the same ideals they expect everyone else in society should adhere to.

They’re hypocrites of course, but I don’t think fragility is solely the preserve of teenagers, there appear to be far more adults experiencing the phenomenon of egocentric anxiety.

Weltsmertz

Graces7 wrote: »

One village I lived in organised a "walking bus" for small ones, to take away the need for multiple cars. It takes organisation. And parental willingness and example. The whole family needs to follow the same policy?
stles

Well. I think that you post is a good example of how Irish children are generation snowflake.
Years ago teenagers went out the door and walked to school. It didn't take organization and " walking buses" to keep them safe.
And the point I am making is not that they should not be entitled to be driven to school but that this kinda makes the lecturing they give to others about their behavior hypocritical.

Dravokivich

I see lots of teenagers walking to school in the morning. Not too sure what you're getting at OP?

wakka12

Unsubstantiated nonsense. Most do not drive to school. Most secondary school students take the bus or walk. Just 22% of college students in Ireland drive to college.

Among secondary schoolchildren, 43.3% went to school by car, while 28.4% used the bus.

Walking was the most common means of travel to college, accounting for 26% of students (48,812).

Meanwhile 65% of workers in Ireland drive to work. So maybe quite a lot of students genuinely are concerned for the environment and are putting their money where their mouth is, youll be sad to hear you cant use this one anyway to try to invalidate their very justified 'eco anxiety'

In April 2016, 65.6% (1,229,966) of those commuting to work either drove or were passengers in a car.

https://www.cso.ie/en/csolatestnews/pressreleases/2017pressreleases/pressstatementcensus2016resultsprofile6-commutinginireland/

Graces7

Weltsmertz wrote: »

Well. I think that you post is a good example of how Irish children are generation snowflake.
Years ago teenagers went out the door and walked to school. It didn't take organization and " walking buses" to keep them safe.
And the point I am making is not that they should not be entitled to be driven to school but that this kinda makes the lecturing they give to others about their behavior hypocritical.

I did say " little ones" … not teenagers.

And nothing of the snowflake about that. And yes the world has changed sadly.

"entitled"? their choice..

kneemos

Snowflake isn't a thing.

Weltsmertz

wakka12 wrote: »

Unsubstantiated nonsense. Most do not drive to school. Most secondary school students take the bus or walk. Just 22% of college students in Ireland drive to college.


So maybe quite a lot of students genuinely are concerned for the environment and are putting their money where their mouth is.

I specifically posted about teenagers going to secondary school and you try to use stats for college students. The stats are very clear. There has been a 90% fall in teenagers cycling to school and a significant fall in numbers walking. Do you remember school gates in the 80s being clogged with SUVs dropping children?

Weltsmertz

Graces7 wrote: »

And nothing of the snowflake about that. And yes the world has changed sadly.

"entitled"? their choice..

It is more your perception of the world that has changed. Children is other countries routinely walk or cycle to school. It is the narrative about how dangerous the big bad world is in Ireland that has changed.

Arrival

Imagine being an adult and thinking about writing a patronising post about children on forums like this...even worse to be an adult and actually follow through with writing it. You must lead one sad and small life

donvito99

Children are driven to school by their parents who are undoubtedly the worst generation this country has ever 'produced'.

Weltsmertz

ReginaldSmythV wrote: »

Yeah I’ll throw all the tools and spares on the bike carrier and cycle to Cork or Galway. Glad you’ve all the issues solved.

Why are you going to secondary school in Cork or Galway if you live in Dublin..

washman3

Dravokivich wrote: »

I see lots of teenagers walking to school in the morning. Not too sure what you're getting at OP?

So do I, but they live in the housing estate next to the school.
How far from the school are the teenagers you see 'walking'.?

Weltsmertz

Arrival wrote: »

Imagine being an adult and thinking about writing a patronising post about children on forums like this...even worse to be an adult and actually follow through with writing it. You must lead one sad and small life

Maybe I'm a teenager with eco anxiety that is concerned about the damage that is being done to the environment by parents like you who drive their children to school. Maybe you are the one that is being patronizing and inconsiderate.

wakka12

Weltsmertz wrote: »

I specifically posted about teenagers going to secondary school and you try to use stats for college students. The stats are very clear. There has been a 90% fall in teenagers cycling to school and a significant fall in numbers walking. Do you remember school gates in the 80s being clogged with SUVs dropping children?

Tens of thousands of college students are teenagers. What am I 'trying to use' them for? What are you 'trying to use' this thread for? To make young peoples anxiety about the environment seem hypocritical and invalid? I wasnt alive in the 80's so I dont know. But the stats are also clear that in urban areas like Dublin , a majority of young people walk or cycle to school rather than driving. Much less so in rural areas, but have you not considered how compared to the 80's people live in even larger more sprawling urban environments and walking may no longer be feasible for a lot of children particularly in rural areas? And I agree that children have less freedom than children did in for example the 80's, but you make it sound like the children are the ones who insist on being driven to school, how do you know its not because of the parents who insist on it out of being over protective?

gozunda

One eyed Jack wrote: »

That’s the second time in as many days I’ve seen the expression “eco-anxiety”, and each time the example given is of someone who claims to experience this anxiety, while at the same time flouting the same ideals they expect everyone else in society should adhere to.

They’re hypocrites of course, but I don’t think fragility is solely the preserve of teenagers, there appear to be far more adults experiencing the phenomenon of egocentric anxiety.

It's a thing....

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eco-anxiety

Dravokivich

washman3 wrote: »

So do I, but they live in the housing estate next to the school.
How far from the school are the teenagers you see 'walking'.?

From housing estates that are not beside the schools they are going to. They all seem to meet up in the middle of the village then split off to their schools in opposite directions.

The Bishop Basher

Anyone claiming to have eco anxiety needs to be told to cop the **** on and get over themselves.

We're all giving this nonsense too much airtime and yes I get the irony of posting that.

Weltsmertz

Official CSO stats
Percentage of secondary school students being driven to school by car has increased from 9% to 42%. Significant decrease in numbers walking or taking bus. Percentage cycling down by over 90%

And again these are the teenagers that are lecturing us about climate change.

riffmongous

Weltsmertz wrote: »

Official CSO stats
Percentage of secondary school students being driven to school by car has increased from 9% to 42%. Significant decrease in numbers walking or taking bus. Percentage cycling down by over 90%

And again these are the teenagers that are lecturing us about climate change.

Being driven to school..by their parents who come from the older generations

Mister Vain

The audacity of them. And they probably have avocados for their lunch which had to be sent over from god knows where.

Weltsmertz

Thousands of students and took to the streets to demand urgent action from political leaders to tackle climate change.

In Dublin, more than 10,000 children and young people gathered in the city’s Custom House Quay, and many held signs criticising the current Government and their environmental policy, such as “I’ve seen smarter cabinets in Ikea” and “Save the sea Michael D”. There were others saying “There is no planet B”, “The dinosaurs also thought they had time”, and “I want a hot boyfriend, not a hot earth”.

The crowds chanted for about an hour, calling out: “climate justice now”
One young protester, Rory Rusnak (14) from Sutton Park School, attended the march with his younger sister, and held a sign saying “Tick tock Taoiseach”, saying he felt he needed to send a direct message to Leo Varadkar.

“I think it’s important Leo Varadkar act on climate change, we young people are going to inherit the earth and it’s being destroyed right now for profit,” he said.

“The Government needs to do much more, I’d like them bring through real legislation and listen to young people .”

One mother who joined the protest, Christine McGee, said she was inspired by her children to become a climate activist. “The students are telling us we have to act now,” she said.


“Leo has to be bold, stop the fossil fuels. I consider myself a climate activist now, after listening to my children. I was inspired by them.

gozunda

The Bishop Basher wrote: »

Anyone claiming to have eco anxiety needs to be told to cop the **** on and get over themselves.

We're all giving this nonsense too much airtime and yes I get the irony of posting that.

Like this ...

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-49836830

1o059k7ewrqj3n

I grew up in an era where literally some underpaid Russian conscript in a freezing nuclear missile command bunker could misinterpret the readouts from his faulty console and trigger nuclear armageddon. On several occasions this was very close to happening. CND was pretty big but nobody was getting anxiety from it, I didn't lose any sleep. This was even after Chernobyl and tv shows like Threads and When the Wind Blows.

NeinNeinNein

kneemos wrote: »

Snowflake isn't a thing.

It's as much a thing as eco anxiety.

CoBo55

kneemos wrote: »

Snowflake isn't a thing.

Loads of them in The Antarctic... For the moment!!

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

CoBo55 wrote: »

Loads of them in The Antarctic... For the moment!!

There's aren't actually. It's mostly ice and considered a desert, due to the lack of precipitation. It rarely snows in Antarctica with only the outer portions of the continent experiencing up to 6 inches of snow per year.

PopePalpatine

Mister Vain wrote: »

The audacity of them. And they probably have avocados for their lunch which had to be sent over from god knows where.

A good half pound of gammon instead will set them straight!

M256

Weltsmertz wrote: »

Official CSO stats
Percentage of secondary school students being driven to school by car has increased from 9% to 42%. Significant decrease in numbers walking or taking bus. Percentage cycling down by over 90%

And again these are the teenagers that are lecturing us about climate change.

The last couple of generations in the western world did not experience any real hardship, so people naturally got bored, this is why we have all these protests. Same time people in the west got much softer, walking to school is now too dangerous, kids need to be driven literally to the school doorsteps. Things are so mixed up.

DEFTLEFTHAND

I was told by my teacher in 2nd class back in 1997 that the oil would be gone by 2020, in 2019 Shell alone are stating that they've 300 yrs of know supply, more is found in prospecting each yr. The patch found off the coast of Waterford in the 90s is not scheduled to be drilled for another 100 yrs . There's always been a sense of fear mongering around the climate business.

There's money to be made there, I've gone into DEF recently and I've no regrets or qualms. I know I'll make money even though it's a racket. If this is the way the world is going then I'm to take advantage of it.

iamwhoiam

Weltsmertz wrote: »

It is more your perception of the world that has changed. Children is other countries routinely walk or cycle to school. It is the narrative about how dangerous the big bad world is in Ireland that has changed.

Children in Ireland also walk to school routinely . I walk a grandchild to school and the paths are chock a block with juniors going on way and seniors the other way

Mules

Weltsmertz wrote: »

I specifically posted about teenagers going to secondary school and you try to use stats for college students. The stats are very clear. There has been a 90% fall in teenagers cycling to school and a significant fall in numbers walking. Do you remember school gates in the 80s being clogged with SUVs dropping children?

That's the parents decision, it's not the fault of the children.

Weltsmertz

Mules wrote: »

That's the parents decision, it's not the fault of the children.

There may be something in that. However if that is the case maybe the teenagers concerned about climate change would make a real difference if they had a quiet word with their mothers rather than going on protests and making demands of other adults.

BENDYBINN

My poor teenagers are so concerned about climate change that they need to take hour long showers to calm themselves...........

beggars_bush

Dravokivich wrote: »

I see lots of teenagers walking to school in the morning. Not too sure what you're getting at OP?

Walking from their parents car to the school door

Dj Stiggie

Steyr 556 wrote: »

I grew up in an era where literally some underpaid Russian conscript in a freezing nuclear missile command bunker could misinterpret the readouts from his faulty console and trigger nuclear armageddon. On several occasions this was very close to happening. CND was pretty big but nobody was getting anxiety from it, I didn't lose any sleep. This was even after Chernobyl and tv shows like Threads and When the Wind Blows.

It was certainly a thing in the States. People built fallout shelters and stockpiled food. Sitting presidents received letters from children begging them not to push the button. There's documentation of night terrors.

But it didn't happen to you directly, so of course it's not real.

Hoboo

It's not about climate change, it's about feeling rebellious, and a day off school.

Badly Drunk Boy

Weltsmertz wrote: »

There may be something in that. However if that is the case maybe the teenagers concerned about climate change would make a real difference if they had a quiet word with their mothers rather than going on protests and making demands of other adults.

Did you consider that a lot of these teenagers protesting on the streets of Dublin and elsewhere are doing so for the day off school, or even just for something different to do? Obviously, some are really genuine about it, but I reckon a significant proportion are doing it for the buzz/bandwagon-jumping/missing school.

kowloon

Weltsmertz wrote: »

Do you remember school gates in the 80s being clogged with SUVs dropping children?

Do you remember kids in the 80s being obsessed with their phones?

wakka12

Badly Drunk Boy wrote: »

Did you consider that a lot of these teenagers protesting on the streets of Dublin and elsewhere are doing so for the day off school, or even just for something different to do? Obviously, some are really genuine about it, but I reckon a significant proportion are doing it for the buzz/bandwagon-jumping/missing school.

Even if so, what is the big deal? Hardly the worst bandwagon young people could be jumping on. Surely nice to see young people thinking about trying to improve the collective future of our planet, or at the very least supporting their peers who genuinely do care

Weltsmertz wrote: »

There may be something in that. However if that is the case maybe the teenagers concerned about climate change would make a real difference if they had a quiet word with their mothers rather than going on protests and making demands of other adults.

How would you know they havnt already?

Paddy Cow

Dj Stiggie wrote: »

It was certainly a thing in the States. People built fallout shelters and stockpiled food. Sitting presidents received letters from children begging them not to push the button. There's documentation of night terrors.

But it didn't happen to you directly, so of course it's not real.

This was before my time but I was told that the Irish government sent out iodine tablets. Did this actually happen or was I being fed a porkie?

Hoboo

Paddy Cow wrote: »

This was before my time but I was told that the Irish government sent out iodine tablets. Did this actually happen or was I being fed a porkie?

I still have them somewhere. They were always kept in a bowl on the piano, so everyone knew what to do when the **** hit the fan. My parents thought it was hilarious it was that ridiculous.

KWAG2019

Anxiety is not being worried about something. If someone suffers from anxiety accusing them of hypocrisy and offering simplistic reasoning will not help them. But that was never the goal was it.

mrsdewinter

Paddy Cow wrote: »

This was before my time but I was told that the Irish government sent out iodine tablets. Did this actually happen or was I being fed a porkie?

The iodine tablets went out in the wake of 911 when the Govt got a bit antsy remembering that Sellafield was just across the water and if people were flying planes into high-profile/sensitive targets, a nuclear power station may well be on their radar.

So, no, that happened long after the Cold War ended.

uck51js9zml2yt

If my kids spoke to an adult like Greta what's her face did they'd get an almighty slap for such disrespect. I've taught them better.
The kid has autism and is being abused by whoever is behind her.

It's the greatest load of garbage ever. We've already had "global warming" and cooling.
Anyone remember the ice age?
Had to come from somewhere and then they melted.

One eyed Jack

mrsdewinter wrote: »

The iodine tablets went out in the wake of 911 when the Govt got a bit antsy remembering that Sellafield was just across the water and if people were flying planes into high-profile/sensitive targets, a nuclear power station may well be on their radar.

So, no, that happened long after the Cold War ended.

‘Twas a few years before then mrs d - 2002, but you’re right about the idea that it was in the event of a breach at Sellafield -


The 2002 batch – 14.2million tablets at a cost of €630,000 – expired in 2005.

They will not be getting replaced, the Department says, because the threat of a nuclear meltdown has receded and taking them wouldn’t do anything, anyway.


Remember iodine tablets? You won't be getting them again


I remember people couldn’t take the idea seriously at all

lalababa

Walking to school in towns and citys should be very much encouraged, alas, alot of Irish people don't know what an umbrella is.
In the countryside however , driving cluture/habits make it even too dangerous for an adult to walk. Traffic is just too fast.

Better Than Christ

Aaden Sticky Skullcap wrote: »

If my kids spoke to an adult like Greta what's her face did they'd get an almighty slap for such disrespect. I've taught them better.
The kid has autism and is being abused by whoever is behind her.

Whatever about disagreeing with her views (which also happen to be the views of almost every climatologist in the world), I've never heard her speaking in anything other than a polite and respectful tone. But I suppose, if you're into slapping children, then your idea of what constitutes respect probably emanates from an era when children were supposed to be seen and not heard.

Also, it's a low blow using her autism against her.