the new Gen X: rich, but frugal

The London Telegraph reports that a new generation of the rich has emerged, but with a difference: the new breed is self-made, socially aware, concerned about the planet and gives a lot of money to charity. They are the "YAWNs" - young and wealthy but normal.

Yawns sound dull, but they are the new movers and shakers. They are men and women in their 20s, 30s and 40s who want nothing less than to change the world and save the planet. Unlike the yuppies before them, yawns live below their means in a conscious effort to tread lightly on the earth.

Yawns are a subset of a growing global movement of the eco-socially aware as the state of the economy and the state of the planet have inspired people to consider what they buy and how they spend in ways not seen since the 1970s.

According to David Grusky, a sociologist at Stanford University, the movement makes perfect sense, since society tends to follow cycles. Not to mention, he adds, that the evidence of major climate change and a concern with terrorism gives rise to more interest in spiritual objectives.

That helps explain why Earth Day has become so big again, why products are all going "green" and why freecycle.org, an Internet community bulletin board where members offer items for free, has grown in five years from a dozen members to a network of more than 3,000 cities in 80 countries.

Or maybe, we're just getting sick of consuming?