Materialism up, Conservationism down

[coberst]

Materialism up, Conservationism Down

Laura Wray: “An inconvenient truth about youth”
http://www.sacbee.com/110/story/22569.html

Laura Wray wrote an article recently that appeared in more than one newspaper regarding the apparent tendency of youth to regard the importance of conservation inversely to their regard for material possessions. The more materialistic the youth the less inclined is that youth for conservation of natural resources.

Since the 1990s materialism has risen in our youth while conservation has diminished. Youth constantly regard government to be responsible for conservation but not them personally. Evidence indicates that the attitude of our youth tend to mirror the attitudes of the White House.

Conservationism was most highly regarded during Carter’s administration and it declined significantly during the Reagan administration. It picked up somewhat during the Clinton administration. The good news is that when governments respond positively to conservation so does youth. The bad news is that when the White House responds negatively to conservation so do the youth.