Life expectancy is increasing, as is quality of life for many people. So, how old are we, really?

The youthful glimmer in Betty White’s eyes speaks volumes. Although the 90-year-old’s body may be winding itself down, she’s still highly active and engaged in living. There’s no question that age is better measured as a state of mind than what shape the body’s in. Still, we are bound to these bodies, which are highly influenced by our diet and lifestyle choices. When taken care of, they can be more resilient to illness and disease, maintaining a youthful appearance and vigor up until the very end. Modern science, for all its chemical “cures,” has significantly helped to thwart diseases and preventable deaths with valuable advancements in internal medicine, surgery and early disease detection.

We can—and are—living longer. Still, stigmas exist about benchmark ages. Many people still aim to retire at 65 when they may have 30 or 40 good years left. Will this change? Are Ms. White and other youthful seniors examples of aging redefined?

Jodi Sawyer, RN says, at least for women, 40 really is the new 30 (phew!). “Women in their 40s are looking and feeling better than ever! Life no longer starts going downhill the second we hit that magic number.” While women may be more susceptible to aging stereotypes, we do also seem to be aging slower. Many women in their 40s, 50s and 60s are still the epitome of glamor, sexiness and health, even if they still dye their hair and wear push-up bras…after all, there are lots of ladies in their 20s who do this anyway.

Boomer and aging expert Dr. Ken Dychtwald calls this the “Longevity Revolution,” which, he says, may have a greater influence on humanity than both the industrial and technological revolutions combined. That’s a pretty big statement, but it also feels really right. Never before in recorded history have we lived this long. While 100 years ago, women weren’t expected to live much past age 40, now many are just beginning to start families at that age. We’ve got marathon runners gleefully sprinting across the finish line in their 80s and 90s. Dustin Hoffman just made his directorial debut at age 75. Mick Jagger and Bruce Springsteen perform stage antics in their 60s that many limber 20-year-olds aren’t likely to try anytime soon. While industry and technology have given us great tools for life–longer, more fulfilling lives are dictating what we do with them.

Take a stroll into decades past (I do this regularly by watching Turner Classic Movies until my boyfriend finally hides the remote) and you’ll notice that many of the actresses and actors look decades older than their actual age—at least, by our standards. A 40-year-old Humphrey Bogart could pass for 60, or even 70 today. Granted, there was a lot more cigarette smoking (particularly for Bogey) and quite a few other less-than-healthy habits back then; but it’s not just today’s health food freaks who look and feel younger.

If 40 really is the new 30, what does 70 or 100 look like? With longer lifetimes becoming the new normal, have you asked yourself what you might do with all that “extra” time? How old do you really feel? These are important questions to ask ourselves so that we’re not only prepared for the likelihood of longer lives, but so that we may live them to the fullest.

According to Dychtwald, our longer life spans will provide “time to chart a new course.” These are comforting and inspiring words as we can begin to reshape how we look at our “golden years”—no longer is it the beginning of the end, but, perhaps it’s just another beginning altogether. He adds, “We’ll have the time and resources to reverse past failures or build on past victories, perhaps changing careers, taking a sabbatical, or returning to school. With longer life spans, there will also be sufficient time to take a more active and contributing role in the lives of our children, grandchildren and community life.”

If we are indeed at the beginning of a longevity revolution, we’re all at a unique advantage. Unlike revolutions past, where the majority of the work was left to the few experts in the field, we all play a role in how we embrace aging and reshaping a world where “old” is no longer a measure of age.

Keep in touch with Jill on Twitter @jillettinger

Image: Off Their Rockers via Facebook

The post The Longevity Revolution: How Old Are We, Really? appeared first on EcoSalon.

The Boomer generation isn’t used to being inconvenienced after all these years.

There’s a curious thing that you sometimes see in certain parts of America – signs at gas stations advertising their fuel as “100% GASOLINE! NO ETHANOL!” If you’re wondering exactly what kind of seal-clubbing, earth-befouling hillbillies these signs are meant to attract, I’d like to introduce you to my parents.

They drive giant SUVs any time they have to travel farther than two driveways away. Everything they buy is either single-serving or disposable, to assure maximum trash. They print their emails, double–bag their groceries in plastic, and run the A/C with the windows open. And, they believe that ethanol is bad for their cars because someone once forwarded them an email saying so.

I, their tomato-canning, bus-riding, cloth-napkin-using pinko commie daughter, am a constant source of mild puzzlement to them, and whenever I visit, I always try to drop a few hints.  Judgmental, yes, but I can’t help it. “You know,” I say, “you guys go through so many soda cans, it’s a shame you don’t recycle.” I even point out that their town offers free unlimited curbside pickup as well as free bins. But to them, it’s just not worth the hassle. I once asked my dad if he’d ever consider switching to grass-fed beef, explaining all the problems with factory farming. “But Allison,” he said between bites of steak, “That’s what makes it so tasty.”

We recently had a conversation in which he claimed new research is proving that oil doesn’t really come from dinosaurs, and is actually a renewable resource. I am not making this up. He was totally convinced that once the data came in, the world could forget about all this wind and solar stuff and just drill baby, drill. (I actually looked into this theory, and it’s a fairly popular topic on World Net Daily, on the home page between birther conspiracies and ads for Goldline.)

Although my parents’ tendency to throw garbage from moving cars probably puts them slightly further on the spectrum of environmental disdain than the average American, there are sadly, millions of people like them. People who will only accept green living when it becomes cheaper, easier, and more convenient than the way they live now.

It’s not that they haven’t noticed what’s happened over the past 30 years – it’s that their generation, aside from that tiny vanguard who gave us the first Earth Day, doesn’t want to be put out. They care, just not enough to do anything about it.

This difference in philosophy isn’t about Democrat versus Republican, science versus religion, or coastal versus heartland. It’s a generational thing. My parents and everyone before them grew up believing that the environment and all its bounty were simply theirs for the taking. They came of age in a time when land was plentiful, oil was cheap, America was the greatest country on earth, and God put the fish and the trees there for us to consume.

To them, slow food, reusable bags, and riding bicycles is undoing decades of technology and innovation that made life easier and more convenient. When they play golf in Las Vegas, they don’t look at lush, green desert fairways and see an abomination, they see a triumphant example of man’s ability to harness nature.

The problem isn’t just convincing people like my parents to acknowledge scientific facts or making green technology affordable and available. The problem is convincing them to endure a little inconvenience. It’s convincing them to eat a little less beef, hitch a ride to work, and leave some cake for the rest of us. It’s also convincing them of the scariest thing of all – that much of that magical progress they and their generation made wasn’t really progress at all.

I don’t know what the solution is, besides waiting for them all to die out (doesn’t that seem like the answer to all Boomer-related problems?). For now, I try to nudge my parents in the right direction when I can. They’ll never install solar panels or think about food miles, but I’ve already convinced my mom to start buying vegetables at the wonderful farm stands that populate the Midwest during the summer and fall. That’s a start. The next step, when she gets home with a dozen ears of sweet country corn, will be getting her to recycle the damn bag.

Image: Dominic’s Pics

The post A Generation Used To Convenience appeared first on EcoSalon.

ColumnIf you can read this sentence without corrective lenses, you are pre-disposed to eco-activism.

Let me make one thing clear: I am not old. Although, to be perfectly honest, I am not exactly young, either. On the continuum of age, I happen to fall at the precise numeric midpoint between Miley Cyrus and Betty White – a piece of pop culture trivia which somehow strikes me as deeply significant. If I had to guess, I would say that I am also somewhere between those two women when it comes to my wardrobe, my taste in music, and my bong habits. But when it comes to recycling, I feel like I belong firmly in the ranks of the elderly.

Recycling, much like computer skills, comes organically to those in their 20s and younger. Being planet-friendly is natural to them, since they have never known a world where newspapers could be carelessly thrown out, along with banana peels and tuna fish cans. For young people, recycling is easy and automatic – it is embedded in their DNA, along with Facebook and an endless fascination with Joseph Gordon-Levitt. But the biggest eco advantage for young people is that they can easily read the teeny tiny numbers inside the teeny tiny triangles on the bottom of plastic recyclable goods. Whereas I – squinting, in full daylight, and holding the item as far away from me as my arms will allow – cannot.

Those numbers tell you what a particular item is made of: a number 1 means the container is polyethylene terephthalate, and a 3 signifies the presence of polyvinyl chloride. Items with a number 1 or 2 are the most likely to be recycled, but for anyone over the age of 40 these numerals – especially when imprinted on clear plastic – are almost impossible to read. My friend, Pat, solves this problem by waiting until her kids come home from school before disposing of anything plastic. My own solution is to be constantly surrounded by a ginormous collection of reading glasses.

I used to think of glasses as fashion accessories –  like an extremely functional pair of earrings. When I was young, and didn’t really need glasses to see, I enjoyed the “smart girl/sexy librarian” vibe I thought they lent me. If I liked a pair of frames, I would buy the glasses and wait for my eyes to deteriorate into them. Then came a near catastrophe, when misreading the directions on a medicine bottle almost caused me to give my daughter an overdose of Robitussin. At that point, glasses were no longer an accessory, but a necessity. Today they have become something of a fetish. I have glasses that I keep upstairs and some that stay downstairs; there is always one pair in my car, one in my office, and another in my purse. This past week alone I discovered forgotten glasses in my junk drawer, the pocket of an old winter coat, and under the dog’s bed. And there is one massively strong pair I keep around just for texting.

But the numbers on the bottom of jars and bottles are so ridiculously small that even plentiful access to reading glasses doesn’t necessarily help.  This strikes me a galling example of ageism. The Boomers invented ecology – we are, after all, the generation that dreamed up Earth Day. We should not be carelessly shoved aside by a youth oriented eco culture.  Recycling information should be printed in a font size that even mature adults are able to see. It’s bad enough that people my age can’t wear skinny jeans or two-piece bathing suits anymore – at least let us recycle our Activia containers.

Editor’s Note: Susan Goldberg is a slightly lapsed treehugger. Although known to overuse paper products, she has the best of intentions – and a really small SUV. Catch her column, The Goldberg Variations, each week here at EcoSalon.

Image: e-magic

The post The Goldberg Variations: Recycling for Baby Boomers appeared first on EcoSalon.