Yes. With the robots-type things, remind him his classmates are getting this mostly from books - fiction books. Evaluate different end-of-the-world situations so he can see they don't hold water - so talk about how, for example the sun won't turn into a supernova, because it has billions of years to go and it's been scientifically proven, etc. I would remind him much of what he sees on the news is targeted towards the negative, not the positive.
Even if he can't see an immediate effect of his recycling or biking vs. driving, show him examples where small changes have built up to cause change, like with pollution and animal or forest conservation. Maybe you could suggest he shows some of this to his class and helps them make a difference?
