The Environment

2009 Teen Socrates

June 29, 2009  • Institute Contributor

Environment and Energy: The World We Will Inherit and Build
As teenagers we are joining the conversation about stewardship of the Earth approximately forty years after the first Earth Day, and the early warning signs on global climate change. Former President Jimmy Carter referred often to the need for a transition to a renewable energy economy, and in the mid seventies said that solving the energy problem was the moral equivalent of war. And yet, for many reasons, the transition off of oil to renewable fuels has been delayed, and the many warnings about the costs of delay – economic, political, and environmental have become realities. The pace of global climate change, for example, has exceeded most of the responsible climate modeling predictions. What are we as teens to make of this? What values in our parent’s generation led us to this predicament, and what other values might actually make a difference going forward? What role can the US play as the developing world rapidly increases its consumption of resources? What are the new possibilities for change, and the basis for optimism?
Moderator: AO Forbes, Co-Founder, Tomorrow’s Voices


The Teen Socrates Seminar was held in conjunction with the summer seminars on June 26-29 in Aspen, CO. Click here to learn more about the Teen Socrates seminars.