Greg Scoblete noted an interesting Brookings study of Millennials' views on foreign policy and the world. Not surprisingly, they are a bit toward the isolationist side of things. Somewhat surprisingly, they correctly identify China as a significant threat for America in the long run - I'd have thought Iran, North Korea and other nations punching outside their weight class would've been the prevalent choice.
But Greg noted one stat which surprised me even more:
'Among the top challenges for the future, Millenials identified terrorism at the top (31.6 percent) followed by climate change (12.8 percent), nuclear proliferation (11.5 percent) and global poverty (10.7 percent).'
I actually said "Wow" when I read this. That's incredibly low for climate change and global poverty, particularly when you consider how much talk of global warming dominated the political discussion just a few years ago. What happened? Well, the economic downturn made carbon taxes less appealing, the loss of several key political leaders blunted enthusiasm, movement leaders lost steam post-Kyoto and, of course, the number-fudging scandal in the UK (which did more damage than some in the green movement are even today ready to recognize).
I think, however, that there might be something more fundamental going on here. Katherine Miller, one of the most perceptive Millennial social critics - and happens to be an actual member of the generation (an essential qualifier) - noted in response that one shift we're seeing is that the climate issue was absorbed into a larger holistic approach which localized the issue. She maintains that the "issue went mainstream, in bite-size everyday chunks where your favorite restaurant boasts green practices," creating a positive payoff at the local and personal level.