Climate change is a multi-generational issue, but it does not impact all generations in the same way. Correspondingly, older Americans and younger ones differ greatly in how they perceive the issues surrounding the world’s changing climate and how they respond. Intergenerational perspectives on climate change will be the topic of Inn Along the Way’s next installment of “Challenging Conversation Circle – Living in Unprecedented Times” at 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 1, in the Long Barn at the Chapman Farm, 741 Main St., Damariscotta.
The term “climate change” refers to the increasing changes in the measures of climate over a long period of time, including precipitation, temperature and wind patterns, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The impacts of climate change include warming temperatures, changes in precipitation, increases in the frequency or intensity of some extreme weather events, and rising sea levels. These impacts threaten people’s health by affecting the food we eat, the water we drink, the air we breathe and the weather we experience.
The Oct. 1 discussion will feature three activists from two generations. John Hagan, a baby boomer, is president and CEO of Our Climate Common; Anna Siegel, a member of Gen Z, is the advocacy director and co-founder of Maine Youth Action; and Audrey Hufnagel, high school student and member of Gen Z, is a member of the Lincoln Academy Climate Action Team and Maine Youth for Climate Justice. Hagan and Siegel co-authored an article in the Stanford Social Innovation Review titled “A Baby Boomer and a Gen Zer Walk Into a Climate Action Meeting.”
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