The elderly are a part of our society, but hardly anyone ever asks for their opinion on different matters. There is an international project whose aim is to change this fact.
This project is called “The EnviroSurvey55”, and the surveys will be distributed in the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. An online access is also available from anywhere in the world. The purpose is to determine how people older than 55 years react to environmental pollution and how they take care of and preserve the nature. They also wish to know the opinion of elderly people on climate change and rising environmental scepticism.
Gary Haq, a senior researcher at the Stockholm Environment Institute’s York Centre, at the University of York, and also the research team leader, says that the survey will provide knowledge about how well this demographic group is informed about the environment. The results will help in addressing their concern about the environment and its problems.
There are other partners – Age UK, Council On The Ageing, Community Service Volunteers’ Retired and Senior Volunteer Programme and Help Age International.
Professor Gloria Gutmans, a research associate at the Gerentology Research Centre in Vancouver, says that it is evidential how elderly people can affect the environment and vice versa, and that their voice should be heard throughout the world so that their needs could be met, as they cannot do that by themselves.
The EnviroSurvey55 is based on different, older research of elderly people and their attitude towards environment, especially those on how climate change affects people their age. There have been published several reports on the topic.
The Stockholm Environmental Institute has published some reports on the topic of elderly people, environment and climate change.
A conference was hosted recently, at the Gerontology Research Centre. Its topics were the interface of population aging and the dangers of climate change.
The survey happens to coincide with the United Nations Conference for Environment and Development – the so called “Earth Summit” in Rio de Janeiro – and this summer, in June, environment will be in the spotlight.