Are older generation primarily responsible for unsustainable lifestyle, other probs?

[PamNY]

As for too much stuff acquisition from previous generations: A close friend of mine is trying to sell a 4 bedroom house that she inherited from parents. She lives in this home herself which is gettin' too expensive for her to maintain..and now has to deal with a pile of wonderful antique furniture her parents left behind which she and a sister is unwilling to give up.

Moral: Absolutely don't accumulate too much possessions for the next generation or even now.

I found it emotionally wrenching to get rid off my parents' "stuff" -- but that was my problem, not theirs! They weren't wealthy, but they had a wide range of hobbies and interests. So I had to deal with camping gear, yarn, wood for carving, gardening equipment, sheet music -- the leftovers from two full and interesting lives.

I also found evidence of the depression-era mentality -- screws and buttons and lots of things that might be reused were saved. It was a large, painful and difficult job for me to sort, sell or give away the contents of their house. But I would never say they should have limited their interests or activities simply to spare me that task.

I don't want to criticize your friend, especially if she is grieving, but I would wonder about the emotional maturity of anyone who can't handle disposing of parents' possessions. Such things are a normal, albeit difficult, part of adult life.

[OakLeaf]

This came up on FB today and I thought it was apropos. Viewing generations discretely makes as much sense as viewing humans as disconnected from our environment.

[GLC1968]

this came up on fb today and i thought it was apropos. Viewing generations discretely makes as much sense as viewing humans as disconnected from our environment.

*like*

[Crankin]

Every generation thinks the one after it is more rebellious, selfish, blah, blah, blah. I don't know. I enjoy my kid's company (31 and 28) and their values aren't so different from mine. Sure, they've had vastly different experiences, but still. I prefer them to some of my so called friends who just seem old. More like my grandparents!
I sort of agree with the growing population of humans issue; I can't quote evidence, though. I get upset when I see someone having 3 or 4 kids, even when they can clearly afford them. Of course, it's my personal bias, because I could have never handled 3 or 4 kids in my house.

[nuliajuk]

I think a lot of people who moan about "baby boomers" have no clue what a baby boomer actually is. They don't realize that the generation spans 20 years, which means that the youngest "boomers" could be the children of the oldest. They will even point to quite elderly people to make their point, not realizing that a person well past 70 is NOT a baby boomer.
And of course, they'll go on and on about how lucky we are, how we had everything handed to us on a silver plate, etc, etc. Well, in terms of financial luck, the baby boomers were not the luckiest generation. That title belongs to people born between 1932 and 1940, for several reasons:
- They were a relatively small cohort, because people had fewer children during the great depression. Smaller class sizes in school, less competition to get into good universities if they wanted to do that.
- Although they lived through the depression and the second world war, they weren't old enough to have to deal with the problems directly, their parents did.
- When they became old enough to work in the 1950s, employers were desperate for workers. It was very easy to get and keep a job.
The whole notion of moving to the suburbs, having two cars, and driving everywhere came about in the 1950s. The boomers were children then, it was their parents who embraced this lifestyle.

[Owlie]

Nuliajuk, I was going to say that. The problem wasn't so much the boomers. The car-dependent suburbs (and the shift in infrastructure to accommodate it), consumer culture, etc. are products of the boomers' parents more than the boomers themselves.

[Sylvia]

I thought I'd post this link. Its a bit of a one sided take, but the point it's trying to make is both the older and younger generations have had differing ways of conserving and being "green" even if it wasn't called that.

[aponi]

I thought the young kids were not buying cars because for whatever reason they have no desire for independence. Maybe it's that their parents are helicopter parents and they just don't mind. I don't get it. I work with someone who has two kids in college. They call her at least once a day. I was more independent at 14 than these kids are in their early 20's.

[Crankin]

Yeah, me, too. But my kids only called a couple of times a week. Sometimes we IM'd. When DS 2 was deployed (6 times, 4 in "dangerous" places), he generally called once a week, unless he was off doing his secret intelligence stuff. One of my adult sons and his wife live about 30 minutes away. We speak every week, sometimes 10 days go by, and how often we see each other depends on the time of year. Sometimes 3-4 weeks go by and we don't see them, but then it starts feeling a little weird. We are both very busy, but he makes an effort and we enjoy spending time with them. And they only have one car , by choice. My other son and DIL live in CA, and we talk every couple of weeks, but usually there's email and FB messages in between. They both call DH to talk about stuff that is more in his area of expertise, sometimes when he is at work.
One of my close friends in AZ talks to her adult kids incessently (they are the same age as my kids). I mean, I am just as close to my kids, but I don't feel the need to do that.

[shootingstar]

I had understood that at least some kids living in big cities (that tend to have higher rental costs or home ownership costs) and if they have graduated from university/college with debt, they simply can't afford a car at this point in life. They need their money....for technology, laptop/mobile devices, paying for Internet use, as well as living expenses etc. Regardless of whether or not they live on their own or with a parent.

Well some parents have better relationships with adult children than other parent-adult child relationships.

I really don't want to hear at work a parent on the job, talking with their adult, just-graduated-from-university child (who is still living with parent), about various chores/where are you? Etc. And yes, I do blame some boomer parents being way too involved in child's life. Let the adult child figure it out, make mistakes, etc. Sustainability means sustaining a healthy relationship among family members too with lots of room for people to grow.

[smilingcat]

This came up on FB today and I thought it was apropos. Viewing generations discretely makes as much sense as viewing humans as disconnected from our environment.

big +1 from me.

Yes I was rebellious. Even in high school, I was out collecting rain water from a mine runoff. What are they going to do with a hippie kid anyway... Yes it was extremely acidic loaded with heavy transition metals.

Anyway, baby boomers just because of sheer number of them are going to put more strain on the natural resources. If human population was less than a billion, we wouldn't be having the problem we are having today to large extent.

Today's younger generation are more likely to opt out of car ownership but I think that has to do with $$.

[malkin]

Eh .. I told my kids to hold an auction for what they don't want after I am gone.

Just haul it out to the curb!

[goldfinch]

I remember being in high school and the boys were worried about the draft and their lottery numbers. We had a debate in Civics class about whether 18 year olds should be able to vote if after all they are expected to go to war. Only one other in my class besides me believed that 18 year old were responsible enough to vote.

Ever since I have been dismayed by my generation.

I went from growing up with a dad who taught us how to hunt and how to gather wild foods to eat and live off the land, to being a conspicuous consumer, with two homes, a motorhome, a couple of cars and assorted toys. I am at times dismayed at myself. I recycle but I question its value. http://www.english.umd.edu/sites/def...ettehadieh.pdf I eat local and organic, but not because it is healthier as that is questionable, but to support the local economies. Which may be to the detriment to other economies. I only eat meat that is not "factory farmed" for moral reasons, but I actually believe I should not eat mammals or birds at all. I ride my bike to the local grocery store but then drive 500 miles to visit a friend.

At least I did not reproduce.

[Crankin]

I am extremely proud to be of my generation. I've been rebellious all of my life and I was born at the perfect time for it.
My own kids covered their ears and said "I don't want to hear it," when I would reminisce about the late 60s/early 70s.
Of course, by the time I was 22 or so, it was out of my system, but I've done my part by steadfastly clinging to my belief that my life would not be defined by my kids and never stopping my career. Oh yeah, and my DH staying home with the kid for half a year, in 1983 caused quite a commotion. Frankly, these things seemed more important to me than others. I hate the holier than thou attitude some of my neighbors have. It's like reverse snobbery.

[shootingstar]

Too bad your niece prefers gymnastics instead of walking. I have seen far too many kids permanently injured from excessive training and competition in sports when their joints are developing. Ask former gold medal winners/athletes from the 70's- 80's how they are dealing with arthritis now.

We'll see. She's not competing for Olympic nor provincial level entry. She's probably simply training double the amount of time per wk. vs. kids enrolled in gymnastics as a start. What is good to see is a sport which a kid works towards in a goal-oriented way and learns about self-discipline and perseverance along the way. Skills that will help any kid later in life. If she does get some arthritis, better than diabetes or heart problems later when not physically active at all?

So boomers get blamed for burdening the health care system later/soon. We'll see...if soon the younger generation if some don't adopt healthier lifestyle, may need medical care for some health problems that could have been prevented. After all, we seem to hear, read enough about increasingly inactive kids/ sedentary lifestyle, etc.

Agree, that TE is not representative of all women with our lifestyles / cycling tendencies.