Millennials clean up environment

Nearly nine in 10 American Millennials — those born between 1980 and 1991 — say it’s up to their generation to clean up the environment, but a majority also believe that many Millennials go overboard when it comes to environmental issues.

These are the findings from a LifeWay Research study for an upcoming book by Thom Rainer and his son Jess Rainer titled “The Millennials: Connecting to America’s Largest Generation.” The research is based on a wide-ranging August 2009 survey of 1,200 Millennials in the United States.

Eighty-seven percent of Millennials agree, 41 percent strongly, with the statement, “It is up to my generation to clean up the environment.” Asians, Hispanics and people in the West have particularly strong convictions about their environmental responsibility. Most Millennials feel “previous generations did great harm to the environment,” but just 25 percent agree strongly with this assessment.

“Millennials show an acute awareness of the issues surrounding the environment,” said Thom Rainer, president of LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. “Any outright dismissal of environmental issues will be seen as crass ignorance regarding both the people and the planet.”  (BP)