In the second and final part of our interview with Michael Shellenberger, the Energy Action Coalition and the Power Shift organizing and outreach team chat with the author of "The Death of Environmentalism" and the new book Break Through about the exciting "break through potential" of young climate activists and their role in the broader movement for climate solutions.Part one of the interview can be found here.
Power Shift: What kind of impact do you see the youth climate movement having on electoral politics (especially the 2008 elections)? How can youth maximize their impact?
Michael Shellenberger: For students and young Americans to have a powerful impact they'll need to challenge the assumptions of the older generation of political and environmental leaders who often treat anyone under 30 as water-carriers for outmoded ideas.
What can be done to win action on global warming in Congress?
We need to shift our political and policy framework from a narrow focus on stopping global warming through pollution limits to an expansive vision of making clean energy cheap, creating jobs, and achieving energy independence through investment and innovation. Not only is this framework more in line with core American values of ingenuity, enterprise, and creativity, it is also far more popular.
Do you see the new generation of young climate activists as an opportunity to shift the prevailing mindset of the environmental movement?
Yes. Young Americans aren't yet locked into the older environmental movement's pollution paradigm and politics of limits, and thus tend to be more open to embracing a more expansive framework for dealing with the challenge. One place for that is through Breakthrough Generation, a new student group affiliated with the Breakthrough Institute, which was founded by Teryn [Norris] and Aden [Van Noppen]. They'll be having their first national meeting next January.
But, that being said, there are still plenty of young environmentalists who think like old environmental leaders.
