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As baby-boomers, we must face the possibility that our generation may go down as the most despised in history. Why? Because, despite being the wealthiest and most politically powerful generation on earth, our legacy may be a ruined planet. That bequest would be ironic since, just a few decades ago, baby-boomers were synonymous with ecological awareness and the conservation movement.

We baby boomers, after all, were the prototypes for tree-huggers. Baby boomers celebrated the first Earth Day, launched Green Peace, enacted the Endangered Species Act, enforced the Clean Air Act, and created more national parks, monuments, and wilderness areas than at any other time since the Great Depression.

It was we baby-boomers who saved the whales and brought the wolves back. Who invented communes and organic vegetables. Well, maybe not actually invented them (there may have been a Biblical precedent here or there) but, at least, we gave them product recognition and market share. At one time, it looked like baby-boomers might be the generation destined to save the Earth. But not any more.

Now, as we preside over the greatest environmental debacle in history, as we stagger under the weight of three decades of scientific data about fossil fuel emissions, holes in the ozone, disappearing rain forests and the vanishing polar ice caps, we might face the prospect of being remembered for what we failed to do rather than what we accomplished.

Our generation may be accused of smug complacency and even criminal negligence because we have so much convincing evidence in front of us. Nero was infamous for fiddling while Rome burned but what if our generation serves an entire string section while the planet is consumed?

All the dire trends are graphed. The satellite photos in hand. The polar ice specimens evaluated. Baby boomers may be condemned because no other generation has had the benefit of so many warnings. We simply cannot claim we didn’t know. The impact of rising carbon dioxide levels has been documented across all ecosystems. It is affecting flora and fauna all over the planet. And yet, so far, we have failed to stop it.

As scientists come forward to warn us that we are fast approaching the “tipping point”–beyond which we can no longer reverse the damage done by greenhouse effect–I wonder how shall we answer our grandchildren when they ask us: “Grandma and Grandpa, why did this happen on your watch?” Remember our parents’ generation was asked: “If you knew about the concentration camps and the holocaust, why didn’t you act?” Our children and grand children will similarly wonder: “If you knew this was happening to our planet–to the only place we could live–why didn’t you take action in Kyoto? Or Copenhagen?” I don’t have an answer.

It strikes me as doubly regrettable that so many of our leaders (and, by proxy, us) hide behind the premise that we cannot stand up and resist global warming because countries like China and India will not guarantee verifiable reductions of carbon emissions. Can’t we set an example instead of condemning other nations? Can’t we agree the economies of these nations, struggling out of the agrarian third world into the first industrial, might be allowed the luxury of “sinning” even as we change our own evil ways first? And since when has America justified its actions based on whether other nations do the right things?

As a baby boomer, I may nominally be a member of the generation that gave birth to the green revolution but I have not yet earned my rightful place in that ecological heritage. We can only stand out as a generation when we have stood up. So now it’s time to take up in earnest an old familiar chant: “Earth first! Earth first!” The reversal of global warming is the greatest test the human race has ever faced. It is a challenge that can define this baby boomer generation or condemn it. And it’s not a fight that any of us can afford to lose. I finally understand now that it’s personal: because this is my kids’ planet. And if I do something—enough—it might even be a better planet for their children.

So here are ten things, as individuals, as baby boomers, that I (and hopefully you) can start doing today to help:

1. Carpool or drive a car that gets thirty miles or better to the gallon.
2. Better yet, walk or bike.Set up a complete recycling program for your household.
3. Start a vegetable garden. Even if you only have a few pots, it’s a start.
4. Think local, buy local.
5. Make sure every bulb in your house is energy efficient.
6. Plant a tree or volunteer to help on a “green belt” project in your area.
7. Make your voice heard; let your representatives know this is a pivotal issue for you as a voter.
8. Don’t buy bottled water.
9. Get a permanent, dishwasher-safe, reusable water bottle and a water filter.
10. Eat only grass-fed beef.

Margaret Mead’s famous quote keeps echoing in my head: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” I imagine then that an entire generation of thoughtful, committed citizens could save it.

You may respond to Dr. Hamilton below or email him at ahamilton@boomer-living.com

Tags: baby boomers, ecological awareness, green peace, organic vegetables, rain forests

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