After seven years of talking to a wide variety of Americans about this problem, this is what I have discerned.
The overwhelming majority of capital and therefore perceived political power resides in my always dominant Boomer generation. We seem to control about 70% of the national wealth and American politicians have always orbited around our interests.
When a Boomer is approached about a responsibility to adhere to a responsible carbon footprint. their response is excommunication of the requestor. Trust me, I do not have a single Boomer friend or family member who embraces personal carbon responsibility.
This tyranny is further reinforced through their power to disinherit their children if their children challenge their position. So our millennial and Gen Z offspring are caught in a trap. The only way many millennials and Gen Z can see to a financially secure future is through inheritance. So younger people have to take a risk excommunication from their own parents in order to share their truth. My own mother excommunicated me for pursuing happiness in a manner which was not loyal to her preferences ..... this is not an idle threat.
We have reached the stage where young people need to forge connections with each other which replace the familial connections to a mom and dad who are not willing to support the requirements for a survivable future.
We need to excommunicate the Boomers who are clinging to their high carbon lifestyles. We need to be willing to tell mom and dad and grandparents and aunts and uncles that we are not going to be there to care for them in their old age if they are not willing to behave in a manner which allows young people to imagine an old age for themselves.
Young people need to understand that people my age truly do not give a shit about their experience down the road. This is an intergenerational war.
When I was born in 1962, the CO2 concentration had just reached 300 ppm. Now it's reached 425 ppm. My generation has been the beneficiary of that one-time destructive orgy. It's only fair that we pay a price for our horrible stewardship at the end.
The money your parents might give you down the road is worthless if there isn't enough food to go around. Young people need to make their own world and kick us Boomers out of it. Young people have the power to excommunicate old people and they need to seize that power if they want to survive.