Linda and Richard Eyre write "We can save them directly when they are our children and grandchildren, and we can save them indirectly when we use the last third of our lives to positively impact some aspect of their world." Spending time with grandchildren has been shown to fight against Alzheimers (read here), but can it save the world? Linda and Richard Eyre say that it sure can and it might be the best way to use the years after retirement.

Will baby boomers save the world? 

By Linda and Richard Eyre- For the Deseret News

As we mentioned a couple of weeks ago in this column, the baby-boom generation numbers over 80 million Americans who are all now in their 50s and 60s. What responsibility does this generation have to the rest of the world? It’s a question all of us in that generation should ask ourselves.

Our parents and grandparents were called “the greatest generation” because they fought and won World War II and then built the industrialized world. They were the builders and the givers while we, their children, are often thought of as the inheritors and the takers.

And there is no question about it — we baby boomers were the recipients of the post-war prosperity and were raised with more privilege, possibility and potential than any previous generation.

The question is, after being the 50- and 60-year beneficiaries of the opportunities and options we inherited, what will we give back to the world? And what will we do with the 20 or 30 extra years that no previous generation has had?

Read more here about the potential baby boomers have to save the world.