Comments on: 5 tips on talking to teenagers about climate change

By: food warmer

food warmer — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 20:34:37 +0000

That is numerous inspirational stuff. Never knew that opinions could be that varied. Thanks for all of the enthusiasm to will offer you such helpful information here.

By: jane

jane — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 09:22:45 +0000

I’m sorry you felt my post was condescending but that was never my intention.

I can only speak for myself and from the experiences I have had here in Perth Western Australia working with teenagers.
It’s wonderful to hear that you see young people engaging in green projects and wanting to protect wildlife because of it’s intrinsic value.

This post really isn’t just about communicating with teenagers. It’s about climate change communication with EVERYONE. Opinion polls are showing that the Australian public has switched off to this issue. What social science research is telling us is that we need to relate climate change to people’s everyday lives and their local area. In other words, we need to relate it to them.

By: Wren

Wren — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 08:21:28 +0000

This is really kind of condescending, don’t you think?
I was raised in the U.S., but even there teenagers don’t want you to think of them this way.
That said, most of the kids I knew back in Florida promoted green projects, and knew exactly what they were about. They were never bored with it, and it never became ‘about them’- It was all about the dolphins, fish, and sharks that they saw down at the beach. Or it was about the plight of polar bears.
If you’re going to talk to teens about things like this, you might want to consider that they can be more informed and open-minded than even their parents are, as they’re growing up with a new, more environmentally friendly generation.

(On an offhand note, ‘vegetarianism for the environment’ makes no sense at all, as you’re eating plants instead of methane producing animals. Nothing personal, just a note.)