... “Climate anxiety and other mental health struggles are rampant among Maddie’s generation, according to experts who warn that young Californians are growing up in the shadow of looming catastrophe — and dealing with the emotional and psychological fallout that comes with it.”
This is fear mongering of the worst sort. For instance wildfires in the United States are not getting worse at all so, they can’t be getting worse because of climate change. As for air quality in California, it is enormously better than it was in the 1950s.
... The result of this fear mongering is both very real and very harmful. As the Times itself admits, right after making them, “Such dire predictions can affect mental health, particularly among young people. Polls have found that climate change-related stress affects daily life for 47% of America’s young adults; over half of teenagers feel afraid and angry about climate change; and 72% of young adults are concerned that it will harm their community."
Many young Californians said volunteering with climate advocacy groups like the Sunrise Movement or for politicians who have made climate change a central plank in their platforms has given them a sense of purpose. ‘A lot of the people who are in Sunrise,’ Austin said, ‘are literally organizing out of climate anxiety.’”
... So first you scare them half to death, then exploit their distress to recruit them to your movement. It’s not something to boast about."