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| Leading the Way on Climate Action

| John F. Wasik

Despite the cacophony of national politics, a quiet movement is growing that addresses an existential threat to humanity: global warming. Older Americans are taking to the streets in increasing numbers agitating for political change. Grist magazine chronicled a nationwide protest in 2023, and the movement continues to grow.

While there’s little reliable academic data on how many Americans over age 60 are engaged in climate action, a study by Pew Research found that 21% of Baby Boomers and older adults had done at least one climate action activity, compared with 32% of Gen Z.

Estimates of how many older Americans are actively engaged in climate action vary widely. Third Act — one of the most visible groups,  organized by environmental leader Bill McKibben — has roughly 90,000 members, most of them 60 or older. The Cornell Initiative for Research on Climate and Aging lists more than 30 groups “that support exploring the fields of aging and climate change,” although it doesn’t provide membership estimates.

Although available data indicates that older Americans may be less likely to attend protests for climate action, they are “ more likely to engage in personal pro-environmental behaviors, like recycling, lower energy use, etc.,” notes Karl Andrew Pillemer, a gerontologist with Cornell University.

Climate activism, though, is clearly gaining more attention from older Americans. Several groups have emerged to address fossil fuel disinvestment, environmental lobbying and related issues. Third Act has chapters in several states. The organization was involved in a wide range of activities from bank protests to pro-democracy rallies loosely affiliated with the “No Kings” movement.

“We promote ourselves as an organizing home for people over age 60 —the majority do appear to be over that age,” said Veronique Graham of Third Act, noting,  “We seem to have attracted people from across the country from all walks of life, from varying backgrounds, careers and education levels.”

The larger goal, elder climate advocates say, is to create a social movement that embraces younger and older generations. While many involved in climate action know they have the time and wealth to pursue environmental action, they acknowledge the difficulty of engaging younger activists.

“We need multi-generational advocacy on climate advocacy,” says H.R. “Rick” Moody, one of the leaders in the Eco Elder movement. The former chief academic officer at AARP, Moody, 83, is based in San Mateo, Cal., and internationally known author on aging issues. He also publishes a Substack newsletter on climate action and meets with local activists every week.

With the lion’s share of global attention concentrated on AI, the Iran War, energy prices and other political calamities, it’s difficult for many climate activists to stay focused on the existential threat of global warming. Nevertheless, the past summer postedthe warmest temperatures ever recorded. Wildfires raged from Canada to Europe.

The tsunami of bad news tends to be more than most can handle, so they stay disengaged, even though the reality is that all ecology is local. It’s getting hotter everywhere.

“There needs to be a lot of local initiatives,” Moody notes, who suggests that a diverse group of citizens across all ages and interests need to become more deeply involved in climate action in their communities. Still, what needs to be done to tackle global warming is daunting, which needs to engage millions of activists and lobbyists globally in every community.

“The first thing to remember,” notes McKibben, “is the real goal for people who care about the climate above all is not to build more renewables, it’s to drive down the amount of carbon flowing into the atmosphere. Building more renewables is a key way of doing that—but only if they displace fossil fuel.”

Yet climate activism is emerging from unexpected places. The late country music icon/philanthropist Dolly Parton released “World on Fire,” a song about global warming. (Moody says she deserves the title of Eco Elder).

“It’s hard to get younger people engaged,” Moody adds. “They are either in school or working, but it’s important to get older people engaged, too. The next generation might not be able to do anything.”

John F. Wasik is the author of 20 books and the Substack newsletter “Refinement.”