scholarly journals Challenging Climate Strikers' Youthfulness: The Evolution of the Generational Gap in Environmental Attitudes Since 1999

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jasmine Lorenzini ◽  
Gian-Andrea Monsch ◽  
Jan Rosset

In 2019, youth took to the street to express their fears and ambitions in relation to climate change. Alongside, many adult and senior citizens expressed their solidarity. While the media present environmental issues as being generationally dividing, we know little about potential differences between generations in terms of environmental attitudes. In this paper, we analyze data collected in the framework of street demonstrations in Switzerland and longitudinal data collected in the Swiss population. Our analyses of survey data on climate strike demonstrators in Switzerland show that while the early demonstrations attracted mostly youth, the age composition of climate strike demonstrators became more diverse over time increasingly including members of different generations. Furthermore, we explore how age differences evolved over the last 20 years using the Swiss Household Panel data. Our analyses show that the share of individuals who favor the environment over the economy is greater among younger generations and that the climate strike generation stands out with the largest share of pro-environmental attitudes. However, all generations have moved in parallel over the last twenty years following a non-linear but generally upward trend illustrating that the political context affects all generations. Overall, our analyses contribute to understanding incremental changes in public attitudes in the environmental area and the role played by generational renewal in these regards.

2015 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 245-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. G. Moore

The coverage of natural history in British newspapers has evolved from a “Nature notes” format – usually a regular column submitted by a local amateur naturalist – to professional, larger-format, presentations by dedicated environmental correspondents. Not all such environmental correspondents, however, have natural-history expertise or even a scientific background. Yorkshire's Michael Clegg was a man who had a life-long love of nature wedded to a desire to communicate that passion. He moved from a secure position in the museum world (with a journalistic sideline) to become a freelance newspaper journalist and (subsequently) commentator on radio and television dealing with, and campaigning on, environmental issues full-time. As such, he exemplified the transition in how natural history coverage in the media evolved in the final decades of the twentieth century reflecting modern concerns about biodiversity, conservation, pollution and sustainable development.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zofeen Ebrahim

This booklet narrates the stories of five female journalists from Pakistan who are working on environment- and climate-change-related issues. Women are being disproportionately and adversely impacted by climate change and female journalists are uniquely placed to understand and share their stories. However, these journalists are ‘missing in action’ from the media in sharing their experiences of environmental activism and climate action. The publication covers a range of challenges journalists face, from limitations on mobility and harassment, to gender-based discrimination in media houses. It highlights why environmental issues sometimes make headlines while remaining dormant at others.


2015 ◽  
Vol 25 (61) ◽  
pp. 261-269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gislei Mocelin Polli ◽  
Brigido Vizeu Camargo

Environmental issues are given prominence in the media and scientific circles. From the 60’s until early 2010 there were changes in the way people related to the environment, with a paradigm shift occurring regarding the environment. This study sought to identify the representational content disseminated by the press media on the environment in different periods. A qualitative survey was therefore conducted of documents, and data were obtained through texts published in a magazine with national circulation. The data were analyzed using the ALCESTE program with a Lexicographic Analysis. It was identified that the press media reflects the paradigm shifts, and publications dating from the late 60’s are compatible with the old paradigm, evolving over time, and are now compatible with the new environmental paradigm. The results indicate that currently the environment needs care in all its aspects and lack of care creates global impacts.


2012 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 145-146
Author(s):  
Terrence L. Chapman

Despite increased attention to the linkages between domestic politics and international relations in political science literature over the last 20 years, considerable debate remains about how well equipped citizens are to act as informed constraints on governments or how attentive and responsive government actors are to public opinion. Debates about citizens' ability to act as a check on government behavior are not new, of course, and have a long tradition in political philosophy and in public discourse. Yet the proliferation of theories of domestic–international linkages in contemporary IR scholarship has unfortunately been accompanied by incomplete dialogue between public opinion and IR scholars and often by claims of unidirectional or unconditional causality regarding domestic constraints, elite framing and opinion leadership, citizens' informational capacities, and the role of the media. The relationship among these factors in shaping foreign policy is quite complex, however, and fortunately Thomas Knecht acknowledges this complexity and advances a conditional argument about the relationship between public attitudes and presidential decision making.


2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 67
Author(s):  
Obaid Said Al- Shaqsi

This survey study aimed at investigating the relationship between Omani media management of the 2007 Gono cyclone crisis and people’s behavioral responses and their attitudes towards media performance. The study was founded on the general principles of the Situational Crisis Communication theory and Stakeholders theory. A convenient sample of 140 affected individuals from three different places in Oman participated in this study. The results indicated that 96% of the informants followed Omani media warnings about the cyclone. The results also showed a positive correlation between respondents’ belief that the media have provided them with swift and transparent messages and addressed their interests and emotional concerns on one hand, and adopting positive behavioral responses, on the other hand. Overall, respondents were satisfied with Omani media performance during the different stages of the cyclone crisis. 


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amirreza Rezaei ◽  
Saba Ahmadi ◽  
Hamid Karimi

Purpose This study aims to determine the effect of online social networks on university students’ environmentally responsible behavior (ERB). This research aimed to develop and test a behavioral model in the context of online social networks, where students’ attitudes, knowledge and behavior influence their ERB. Design/methodology/approach This study used a quasi-experiment with a pretest-posttest design and a random parallelization control group. The research used a questionnaire to assess ERB, environmental attitudes and environmental knowledge. The researcher randomly assigned 120 students to an experimental and a control group of equal size. Both groups initially completed a pretest. The experimental group was trained in environmental issues over four months (an academic semester) via an online social network. Findings The findings indicated that the social network had a significant effect on motivating ERB. Additionally, it improved environmental attitudes. According to the results, online social networks such as Facebook can significantly aid in teaching and learning environmental issues in formal academic settings. Originality/value Online social networks facilitated significant cognitive progress in environmental education. The primary objective is to educate students about ERB.


Author(s):  
Lorna Heaton ◽  
Patrícia Días da Silva

The goal of this chapter is to draw attention to the interrelation of multiple mediatized relationships, including face-to-face interaction, in local citizen engagement around biodiversity/environmental information. The authors argue that it is possible to fruitfully theorize the relationship between public involvement and the media without focusing specifically on the type of media. Their argument is supported by three examples of participatory projects, all connected with environmental issues, and in which social media-based and face-to-face interactions are closely interrelated. This contribution highlights the local uses of social media and the Web, and shows how engagement plays out in the interaction of multiple channels for exchange and the use of resources in a variety of media formats. In particular, new media significantly alter the visibility of both local actions and of the resulting data.


2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 261-291
Author(s):  
Hui-Ju Kuo ◽  
Yang-chih Fu

Although similar environmental issues are present across the globe, residents of different countries vary in the extent to which they are concerned about and act upon these issues. Drawing on data from the 2010 Environment module of the International Social Survey Programme, this study tests the structural comparability of environmental attitudes across 32 countries and examines how pro-environmental behaviours are linked to relevant attitudes. A confirmatory factor analysis from structural equation modelling helps identify three latent constructs of environmental attitudes: willingness to sacrifice, biospheric orientation and environmental scepticism. Further regression analyses reveal that the linkages between pro-environmental behaviours and the constructs of environmental attitudes converge in some countries but are less consistent in others. The findings help pinpoint signs of global convergence and national disparities, which merit more extensive analyses amid the recent surge in the availability of diverse empirical data from around the world.


2008 ◽  
Vol 55 (4) ◽  
pp. 331-335 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lol Burke
Keyword(s):  

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