Leave No Child Indoors: Part 2 of 3
May 13, 2008
Larry Schweiger is President and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation and an occasional contributor to Creation Care magazine.
This is part 2 of 3 and originally appeared in Creation Care Magazine. Part 1 and Part 3 appear here.
DOES IT MATTER?
You might be asking, so what? Why does it matter to society whether or not our kids go outside? As a conservationist, I am concerned that there is an important link between being outdoors and caring for nature. Children who fish, camp and spend time in the wild before age 11 are much more likely to grow up to be environmentally-minded and committed as adults, according to Cornell researchers. Their study indicates that participating in wild nature activities before age 11 is a “particularly potent pathway toward shaping both environmental attitudes and behaviors in adulthood,” When the Kaiser Family Foundation research showed kids are now spending six hours or more hours a day in front of a screen, we all should be worried about that. Let me suggest that the unprecedented threat from global warming has been far too long ignored by indoor people who spend their time in front of a TV or computer isolated in an air-conditioned space.
I worry that we will not address global warming… until it interferes with our television reception. The media makes matters worse by giving us information and entertainment they think we want – not what we may need. They fail to cover what’s happening to the outside world because they have concluded we are not that interested in the natural world and what is happening to it.
As an example, a team of scientists from the University of Alaska at Fairbanks published an alarming report indicating that methane is leaking from the vast stores frozen under the Siberian tundra at five times the rate that earlier scientists had found. This finding suggests that the planet is hitting a tipping point, where human-caused warming is forcing nature to give up methane which is 20-30 times more potent a heat-trapping gas than CO2. Scientists also estimate that there may be 70-80 billion tons under Siberia waiting to escape.
This alarming study was published and released to the public last September. The media didn’t cover the story. They were too busy covering JonBenét Ramsey’s supposed killer. There were 42 satellite trucks and camera crews in front of the Boulder, Colorado, DA’s office that same day.
Last summer, the boreal forest in Russia suffered from multiple fires that consumed about 29 million acres. If Pennsylvania burned last summer, it may have made news, but because it was in Russia, our media concluded that we do not care and never covered it.
Recently, the IPPC released their 4th report, concluding that human-made pollution is heating the planet and warning of many dangers ahead. The television media has given little time to the matter again; they were fixated on the body of Anna Nicole Smith for weeks. It’s sad that we give more attention to a dead celebrity than we to the future of nature. My organization has polled hunters and anglers all across America. These polls demonstrate that outdoor enthusiasts have a much higher recognition of the threat of global warming on their local world than does the public at large. So being “out there” matters for our attitudes and understandings.
WHAT MUST BE DONE
At the organization I lead, the National Wildlife Federation, we are asking partner organizations to join us in several key efforts.
1. More research and information
The emerging nature deficit issue is complex and requires significant understanding, verification, and problem solving. And we need to find creative ways to bring this urgent warning to parents who are only getting their messages from the televisions.
2. Immediate Help for Parents and Caregivers
We are supporting a nationwide “Green Hour” program aimed at encouraging parents to commit to outdoor play for their children an average of one hour per day. We started by creating a website to help parents: www.GreenHour.org. Churches can help single moms and grandparents take their kids camping and teach them how to fish.
This is part 2 of 3 and originally appeared in Creation Care Magazine. Part 1 and Part 3 appear here.
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[...] is part 1 of 3 and originally appeared in Creation Care Magazine. Part 2 and Part 3 appear [...]
[...] is part 3 of 3 and originally appeared in Creation Care Magazine. Part 1 and Part 2 appear [...]