As senescence encroaches upon us, and the irrevocable beat of time marches on, many of us often look at the world we will soon depart from with trepidation. There is so much we could have done to leave behind a better world, we think, not because we didn’t know what needed doing, but because others threw obstacles to our intentions, or threw water onto the embers of our endeavors. Despite that, many of us don’t quite give up; a flicker of hope persists in our hearts that our children, or the children of our nation will have a better sense than we had.

I’m writing a paean to youth, the group of humanity I still hope will save the forests, oceans and skies we leave behind polluted, waiting for science’s magic to heal them, to reverse what we have done to sicken them.

More and more of the older shuffling generation of national legislators — men like Senators Mitch McConnell and Chuck Grassley; Presidents Joe Biden and Donald Trump, and folks of their generation — are being replaced by younger men and women. Colorado’s Joe Neguse, who is 40; Gabe Evans, 39; Jennifer Peterson, 42; Jason Crow, 44; Lauren Boebert, 38; and Jeff Hurd 46 — form our current crop of young members of Congress. Generally speaking, I think their prospects are better than their predecessors’.

Because of her colorful persona, U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert has a way of making herself the center of much speculation. I’m not privy to her attributes, but believe she has the potential of youth, if she’s willing to learn to be of service to her constituency. Youth has the advantage of time to learn, to amend and to change direction, for the good of the nation. A slight caveat worth observing is that young GOP politicians of the current moment are held in a MAGA vise grip that doesn’t allow for much original thought. To me it’s a sad time when perfectly intelligent men and women seem to blindly “follow the leader.”

To some, age brings with it a state of lethargy; while to others it brings a need to create something to be remembered by. The wise ones manage to impart wisdom that time under the bright lights taught them. Knowing they will not live forever, they refrain from trying to bend others to their will. They too believe reconciliation isnot for sissies and retribution not the duty of the lion in his winter. As men well aware of the shortness of time they know there is little better than being at peace with oneself and those around one.

Perhaps the one group I can talk about with more confidence is our scientists. They, perhaps better than most other groups, are more intimately aware of time and time’s passage; their intellect pierces time’s gossamer membrane to interpret and compare the past to the future. To me scientists are historians of the physical who have a vision most of us lack.

From a historical point, the majority of scientists’ great inventions and new discoveries take place as young men. I say young men here with the understanding that science has been a domain of men. Most science Nobel prizes are won by old men for work they did in their youth.

The average age for Nobel laureates in science is 55 to 60 years. Their average age for the work for which they receive their awards is 37 to 40 years. Albert Einstein’s key work for his Nobel prize was when he was 26 years old. It is these young people I primarily have in mind who will fight the pollution and potholes that we leave behind on humanity’s road to the future. I hope too that they will come up with ways for us to learn what we detest knowing.

I wish many more of our elders were like Jimmy Carter who put on a carpenter’s tool belt and went to construct shelters for humanity. Or Lillian Carter, the president’s mother, who at age 68 served with the Peace Corps in India — a service to humanity.

In the end I believe the nation’s future belongs to men and women willing to challenge the insanity of the moment. The past accusation of being a tree hugger should actually be an accolade; trees and forests are the one entity that asks nothing of, and always gives all to humanity. It’s possible to imagine a scientifically informed assembly that passes scientifically rational laws to protect humanity and the earth.

Pius Kamau, M.D., a retired general surgeon, is president of the Aurora-based Africa America Higher Education Partnerships; co-founder of the Africa Enterprise Group and an activist for minority students ‘STEM education. He is a National Public Radio commentator, a Huffington Post blogger, a past columnist for Denver dailies and is featured on the podcast, “Never Again.”