The Wired article identifies environmentalism as a cause the Millennial generation takes up. This prediction is not exactly correct. Millennials are less likely than any other generation to describe themselves as environmentalists16. The environmental movement that grew out of the anti-nuclear movement in the '60s and '70s peaked in the early '90s. It was Boomers and Gen X who wrote op-eds and protested against corporations like Burger King and McDonalds over clearing forests in South America. The beautiful and mystifying “rainforest” replaced the dangerous “jungle” in the popular lexicon. By the late 1990s the political movement largely died down, but environmentalism left its legacy in children’s education and entertainment. Captain Planet, The Magic School Bus, The Crocodile Hunter, even Sesame Street all openly advocated environmentalism. Whereas the later half of the Baby Boomer generation might have looked up to astronauts, the later half of the millennial generation may have held conservationists and marine biologists in high regard. But along the way, the environmental movement and forest conservation in particular picked up a bad reputation17, 18. “Environmentalist” is today something of a derogatory term, like tree-hugger or hippie.
Millennials are by and large concerned about the planet. Rather than environmentalism per se, many identify with the movement to address climate change. Pew surveys from 2011 to 2018 shows us Millennials more than any other generation believe there is solid evidence that human activity causes global warming, and moreso than any other cohort they favor alternative energy sources, public transportation, and hybrid/electric vehicles19, 20.