Going by the widely believed conventional wisdom, today’s climate change generation is assumed to be the support to fight global warming issues, but a new study shows that Americans between 18 and 35 are split on this issue. Although, this generation grew up in an already weakened environment, some are still disengaged with the issue of climate change.

One of the causes of the split in this generation includes political beliefs between conservatives and liberals, based on belief in the science around climate change. While most college students between the ages of 18-22 have grown up in scientific uncertainty on global warming, they are still more concerned and engaged in environmental action than those between the ages of 23-34. Most adults tend to agree more on the effectiveness of taking action to reduce global warming and have more trust in scientific consensus than their elders.

It’s this last statement that is important to remember. There is still an untapped potential within this generation about climate change. A split green generation won’t be as effective as a whole green generation.

Contributed by Earth Day Network intern, Ira Lyon.