shAARP Talk: Observations from AARP

n honor of Earth Day, social networking site Boomj has put together a list of Top 10 Green Baby Boomers. The list includes lots of familiar names (Blythe Danner, George Clooney, Bono), but my personal favorite is the owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Bob Nutting, who has team scouts using “fuel flex” cars. Happy Earth Day!

Check it out from the Today Show:

New report out today that takes on some of the myths about the baby boomers, the 77 million people between the ages of 50 and 65. Full report available from Focalyst, but a quick rundown of my favorite myths:

- Boomers are retiring early. No hanging in the hat for boomers, just 11 percent say they will stop working when they reach retirement.

- Technology is not something boomers fear; 82 percent are using the Internet.

- Boomers are done with the kids. In fact, 37 percent have kids under 18 at home and a third are single.

Interesting and a reminder that the boomers are big, diverse and may not exactly what you thought.

New report out today from the Institute of Medicine that says that today’s workforce will not be prepared to handle the aging population. As an explosion of baby boomers start to age, as well people living longer, there’s going to be a larger and larger need for cargivers. The report recommends increasing pay, but also reaching out and helping to educate those who may not formally work in the caregiving field. For many families, the responsibility may fall on them.

There are some good resources out there right now if you are struggling to care for a family member or loved one, start with AARP's caregiving site.

Update: 5:12 PM: Link to the IOM report.