Environmentalism

Environmentalism on United States stamps

Environmentalismorenvironmental rightsis a broadphilosophy,ideology,andsocial movementabout supportinglife,habitats,and surroundings. While environmentalism focuses more on the environmental and nature-related aspects ofgreen ideology and politics,ecologism combines the ideology ofsocial ecologyand environmentalism.Ecologismis more commonly used in continental European languages, whileenvironmentalismis more commonly used in English but the words have slightly different connotations.

Environmentalism advocates the preservation, restoration and improvement of thenatural environmentand criticalearth systemelements or processes such as theclimate,and may be referred to as a movement to controlpollutionor protect plant and animaldiversity.For this reason, concepts such as aland ethics,environmental ethics,biodiversity,ecology,and thebiophilia hypothesisfigure predominantly. The environmentalist movement encompasses various approaches to addressing environmental issues, includingfree market environmentalism,evangelical environmentalism,and theenvironmental conservation movement.

At its crux, environmentalism is an attempt to balance relations between humans and the various natural systems on which they depend in such a way that all the components are accorded a proper degree ofsustainability.The exact measures and outcomes of this balance is controversial and there are many different ways for environmental concerns to be expressed in practice. Environmentalism and environmental concerns are often represented by the colourgreen,but this association has been appropriated by the marketing industries for the tactic known asgreenwashing.

Environmentalism is opposed byanti-environmentalism,which says that the Earth is less fragile than some environmentalists maintain, and portrays environmentalism as overreacting to the human contribution toclimate changeor opposing human advancement.

Definitions

Environmentalismdenotes asocial movementthat seeks to influence the political process by lobbying, activism, and education in order to protect natural resources andecosystems.

Anenvironmentalistis a person who may speak out about our natural environment and the sustainable management of its resources through changes in public policy or individual behaviour. This may include supporting practices such as informed consumption, conservation initiatives, investment inrenewable resources,improved efficiencies in the materials economy, transitioning to new accounting paradigms such asecological economics,renewing and revitalizing our connections with non-human life or even opting to have one less child to reduce consumption and pressure on resources.

In various ways (for example, grassroots activism and protests), environmentalists andenvironmental organisationsseek to give the natural world a stronger voice in human affairs.

In general terms, environmentalists advocate thesustainablemanagement of resources, and the protection (and restoration, when necessary) of thenatural environmentthrough changes in public policy and individual behaviour. In its recognition of humanity as a participant in ecosystems, the movement is centered aroundecology,health,andhuman rights.

History

See also:Conservation movementandTimeline of history of environmentalism

A concern for environmental protection has recurred in diverse forms, in different parts of the world, throughout history. The earliest ideas of environmental protectionism can be found inJainism,a religion from ancient India revived byMahavirain the 6th century BC. Jainism offers a view that is in many ways compatible with core values associated with environmental activism, such as the protection of life bynonviolence,which could form a strong ecological ethos for global protection of the environment. Mahavira's teachings on the symbiosis between all living beings—as well as the five elements of earth, water, air, fire, and space—are core to environmental thought today.

In West Asia, theCaliphAbu Bakrin the 630s AD commanded his army to "Bring no harm to the trees, nor burn them with fire," and to "Slay not any of the enemy's flock, save for your food."VariousIslamic medicaltreatises during the 9th to 13th centuries dealt with environmentalism andenvironmental science,including the issue of pollution. The authors of such treatises includedAl-Kindi,Qusta ibn Luqa,Al-Razi,Ibn Al-Jazzar,al-Tamimi,al-Masihi,Avicenna,Ali ibn Ridwan,Ibn Jumay,Isaac Israeli ben Solomon,Abd-el-latif,Ibn al-Quff, andIbn al-Nafis.Their works covered a number of subjects related to pollution, such as air pollution,water pollution,soil contamination,and the mishandling ofmunicipal solid waste.They also includedassessmentsof certain localities' environmental impact.

In Europe, KingEdward I of Englandbanned the burning and sale of "sea-coal"in 1272 by proclamation in London, after its smoke had become a prevalent annoyance throughout the city.This fuel, common in London due to the local scarcity of wood, was given this early name because it could be found washed up on some shores, from where it was carted away on a wheelbarrow.

Early environmental legislation

Levels of air pollution rose during theIndustrial Revolution,sparking the first modernenvironmental lawsto be passed in the mid-19th century.

At the advent of steam and electricity the muse of history holds her nose and shuts her eyes (H. G. Wells1918).

The origins of the environmental movement lay in the response to increasing levels ofsmokepollutionin theatmosphereduring theIndustrial Revolution.The emergence of great factories and the concomitant immense growth incoal consumptiongave rise to an unprecedented level ofair pollutionin industrial centers; after 1900 the large volume of industrialchemicaldischarges added to the growing load of untreated human waste.The first large-scale, modern environmental laws came in the form of Britain'sAlkali Acts,passed in 1863, to regulate the deleterious air pollution (gaseoushydrochloric acid) given off by theLeblanc process,used to producesoda ash.An Alkali inspector and four sub-inspectors were appointed to curb this pollution. The inspectorate's responsibilities were gradually expanded, culminating in the Alkali Order 1958 which placed all major heavy industries that emittedsmoke,grit, dust and fumes under supervision.

In industrial cities, local experts and reformers, especially after 1890, took the lead in identifyingenvironmental degradationand pollution, and initiating grass-roots movements to demand and achieve reforms.Typically the highest priority went to water and air pollution. TheCoal Smoke Abatement Societywas formed in 1898 making it one of the oldest environmental NGOs. It was founded by artist SirWilliam Blake Richmond,frustrated with the pall cast by coal smoke. Although there were earlier pieces of legislation, thePublic Health Act 1875required all furnaces and fireplaces to consume their own smoke. It also provided for sanctions against factories that emitted large amounts of black smoke. This law's provisions were extended in 1926 with the Smoke Abatement Act to include other emissions, such as soot, ash, and gritty particles, and to empower local authorities to impose their own regulations.

It was only under the impetus of theGreat Smogof 1952 in London, which almost brought the city to a standstill and may have caused upward of 6,000 deaths, that theClean Air Act 1956was passed and airborne pollution in the city was first tackled. Financial incentives were offered to householders to replace open coal fires with alternatives (such as installing gas fires) or those who preferred, to burn coke instead (a byproduct of town gas production) which produces minimal smoke. 'Smoke control areas' were introduced in some towns and cities where only smokeless fuels could be burnt and power stations were relocated away from cities. The act formed an important impetus to modern environmentalism and caused a rethinking of the dangers of environmental degradation to people's quality of life.

The late 19th century also saw the passage of the first wildlife conservation laws. The zoologistAlfred Newtonpublished a series of investigations into theDesirability of establishing a 'Close-time' for the preservation of indigenous animalsbetween 1872 and 1903. His advocacy for legislation to protect animals from hunting during the mating season led to the formation of theRoyal Society for the Protection of Birdsand influenced the passage of theSea Birds Preservation Actin 1869 as the first nature protection law in the world.

During theSpanish Revolution,anarchist-controlled territories undertook several environmental reforms, which were possibly the largest in the world at the time.Daniel Guerinnotes thatanarchist territorieswould diversify crops, extendirrigation,initiatereforestation,start tree nurseries and help to establishnaturist communities.Once there was a link discovered between air pollution and tuberculosis, theCNTshut down several metal factories.

First environmental movements

Early interest in the environment was a feature of theRomantic movementin the early 19th century. One of the earliest modern pronouncements on thinking about human industrial advancement and its influence on the environment was written by Japanese geographer, educator, philosopher and authorTsunesaburo Makiguchiin his 1903 publicationJinsei Chirigaku(A Geography of Human Life).In Britain the poetWilliam Wordsworthtravelled extensively in theLake Districtand wrote that it is a "sort of national property in which every man has a right and interest who has an eye to perceive and a heart to enjoy".

John Ruskin,an influential thinker who articulated the Romantic ideal of environmental protection and conservation

Systematic efforts on behalf of the environment only began in the late 19th century; it grew out of the amenity movement in Britain in the 1870s, which was a reaction toindustrialisation,the growth of cities, and worsening air andwater pollution.Starting with the formation of theCommons Preservation Societyin 1865, the movement championed rural preservation against the encroachments of industrialisation.Robert Hunter,solicitor for the society, worked withHardwicke Rawnsley,Octavia Hill,andJohn Ruskinto lead a successful campaign to prevent the construction of railways to carry slate from the quarries, which would have ruined the unspoiled valleys ofNewlandsandEnnerdale.This success led to the formation of the Lake District Defence Society (later to become The Friends of the Lake District).

Peter Kropotkinwrote about ecology ineconomics,agricultural science,conservation,ethology,criminology, urban planning, geography, geology and biology. He observed in Swiss and Siberian glaciers that they had been slowly melting since the dawn of the industrial revolution, possibly making him one of the first predictors for climate change. He also observed the damage done from deforestation and hunting.Kropotkin's writings would become influential in the 1970s and became a major inspiration for theintentional communitymovement as well as his ideas becoming the basis for the theory ofsocial ecology.

In 1893 Hill, Hunter and Rawnsley agreed to set up a national body to coordinate environmental conservation efforts across the country; the "National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty" was formally inaugurated in 1894.The organisation obtained secure footing through the 1907 National Trust Bill, which gave the trust the status of a statutory corporation.and the bill was passed in August 1907.

An early "Back-to-Nature" movement, which anticipated the romantic ideal of modern environmentalism, was advocated by intellectuals such asJohn Ruskin,William Morris,George Bernard ShawandEdward Carpenter,who were all againstconsumerism,pollutionand other activities that were harmful to the natural world.The movement was a reaction to the urban conditions of the industrial towns, where sanitation was awful, pollution levels intolerable and housing terribly cramped. Idealists championed the rural life as a mythicalutopiaand advocated a return to it. John Ruskin argued that people should return to a "small piece of English ground, beautiful, peaceful, and fruitful. We will have no steam engines upon it... we will have plenty of flowers and vegetables... we will have some music and poetry; the children will learn to dance to it and sing it."

Practical ventures in the establishment of small cooperative farms were even attempted and old rural traditions, without the "taint of manufacture or the canker of artificiality", were enthusiastically revived, including theMorris danceand themaypole.

These ideas also inspired various environmental groups in the UK, such as theRoyal Society for the Protection of Birds,established in 1889 byEmily Williamsonas aprotest groupto campaign for greater protection for the indigenous birds of theisland.The Society attracted growing support from the suburban middle-classes as well as support from many other influential figures, such as theornithologistProfessorAlfred Newton.By 1900, public support for the organisation had grown, and it had over 25,000 members. Thegarden city movementincorporated many environmental concerns into itsurban planningmanifesto; theSocialist LeagueandThe Clarionmovement also began to advocate measures ofnature conservation.

Original title page ofWaldenbyHenry David Thoreau

The movement in the United Statesbegan in the late 19th century, out of concerns for protecting the natural resources of the West, with individuals such asJohn MuirandHenry David Thoreaumaking key philosophical contributions. Thoreau was interested in peoples' relationship with nature and studied this by living close to nature in a simple life. He published his experiences in the bookWalden,which argues that people should become intimately close with nature. Muir came to believe in nature's inherent right, especially after spending time hiking inYosemite Valleyand studying both the ecology and geology. He successfully lobbied congress to formYosemite National Parkand went on to set up theSierra Clubin 1892. The conservationist principles as well as the belief in an inherent right of nature were to become the bedrock of modern environmentalism.

In the 20th century, environmental ideas continued to grow in popularity and recognition. Efforts were starting to be made to save some wildlife, particularly theAmerican bison.The death of the lastpassenger pigeonas well as the endangerment of the American bison helped to focus the minds of conservationists and to popularise their concerns. In 1916, theNational Park Servicewas founded by US PresidentWoodrow Wilson.

TheForestry Commissionwas set up in 1919 in Britain to increase the amount of woodland in Britain by buying land forafforestationandreforestation.The commission was also tasked with promoting forestry and the production of timber for trade.During the 1920s the Commission focused on acquiring land to begin planting out new forests; much of the land was previously used for agricultural purposes. By 1939 the Forestry Commission was the largest landowner in Britain.

During the 1930s the Nazis had elements that were supportive of animal rights, zoos and wildlife,and took several measures to ensure their protection.In 1933 the government created a stringent animal-protection law and in 1934,Das Reichsjagdgesetz(The Reich Hunting Law) was enacted which limited hunting.Several Nazis were environmentalists(notablyRudolf Hess), and species protection andanimal welfarewere significant issues in the regime.In 1935, the regime enacted the "Reich Nature Protection Act" (Reichsnaturschutzgesetz). The concept of theDauerwald(best translated as the "perpetual forest" ) which included concepts such asforest managementand protection was promoted and efforts were also made to curbair pollution.

In 1949,A Sand County AlmanacbyAldo Leopoldwas published. It explained Leopold's belief that humankind should have moral respect for the environment and that it is unethical to harm it. The book is sometimes called the most influential book on conservation.

Throughout the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and beyond, photography was used to enhance public awareness of the need for protecting land and recruiting members to environmental organisations.David Brower,Ansel AdamsandNancy Newhallcreated the Sierra Club Exhibit Format Series, which helped raise public environmental awareness and brought a rapidly increasing flood of new members to the Sierra Club and to the environmental movement in general.This Is Dinosaur,edited byWallace Stegnerwith photographs byMartin LittonandPhilip Hyde,prevented the building of dams withinDinosaur National Monumentby becoming part of a new kind of activism called environmentalism that combined the conservationist ideals of Thoreau, Leopold and Muir with hard-hitting advertising, lobbying, book distribution, letter writing campaigns, and more. The powerful use of photography in addition to the written word for conservation dated back to the creation ofYosemite National Park,when photographs persuaded Abraham Lincoln to preserve the beautiful glacier carved landscape for all time. The Sierra Club Exhibit Format Series galvanised public opposition to building dams in theGrand Canyonand protected many other national treasures. The Sierra Club often led a coalition of many environmental groups including theWilderness Societyand many others.

After a focus on preserving wilderness in the 1950s and 1960s, the Sierra Club and other groups broadened their focus to include such issues as air and water pollution, population concern, and curbing theexploitation of natural resources.

The prevailing belief regarding the origins of early environmentalism suggests that it emerged as a local response to the adverse impacts of industrialization in Western nations and communities. In terms of conservation efforts, there is a widespread view that the conservation movement began as a predominantlyeliteconcern in North America, focusing on the preservation of local natural areas. A less prevailing view, however, attributes the roots of early environmentalism to a growing public concern about the influence of Western economic forces, particularly in connection withcolonization,on tropical environments.Richard Grove,in a 1990 report, points out that little attention has been given to the significance of the colonial experience, particularly the European colonial experience, in shaping early European environmentalism.

Grove argues that as European colonization expanded, so did the European interaction with land and indigenous people, providing Europeans with an awareness of the destructive consequences of their economic and colonial activities on the newly "discovered" lands. As global trade expanded through colonization, the European concept of nature underwent a transformation, with the foreign tropical environments of their conquests evolving into romantic symbols of idyllic landscapes that required care and protection by Europeans. Examples of this impact of colonization on the Western mindset can be found in prominent cultural references, such asWilliam Shakespeare'splay "The Tempest"andAndrew Marvell's poem "Bermoothes."

Although this newfound self-awareness among Europeans about the destructive impacts of colonization on the environment did not halt the expansion of colonization itself, it did pave the way for a different approach to colonization – one focused on the preservation and protection of foreign natural resources. This phenomenon can be linked to the emergence of Edenic thinking, or the quest forEdenon Earth. This quest to locate Eden gained prominence in the 15th century, coinciding with colonization, and fostered the belief that newly "discovered" lands, especially tropical ones, had the potential to be heavenly paradises.

Post-war expansion

See also:Steady-state economy § Post-war economic expansion and emerging ecological concerns

In the United States and several other countries, the boom was manifested in suburban development andurban sprawl,aided by automobile ownership.

In 1962,Silent Springby American biologistRachel Carsonwas published. The book cataloged the environmental impacts of the indiscriminate spraying ofDDTin the US and questioned the logic of releasing large amounts of chemicals into the environment without fully understanding their effects on human health and ecology. The book suggested that DDT and other pesticides may causecancerand that their agricultural use was a threat to wildlife, particularly birds.The resulting public concern led to the creation of theUnited States Environmental Protection Agencyin 1970 which subsequently banned the agricultural use of DDT in the US in 1972. The limited use of DDT indisease vectorcontrol continues to this day in certain parts of the world and remains controversial. The book's legacy was to produce a far greater awareness of environmental issues and interest into how people affect the environment. With this new interest in environment came interest in problems such as air pollution and petroleum spills, and environmental interest grew. New pressure groups formed, notablyGreenpeaceandFriends of the Earth (US),as well as notable local organisations such as theWyoming Outdoor Council,which was founded in 1967. From 1962 to 1998, the environmental movement founded 772 national organizations in the United States.

In the 1970s, the environmental movement gained rapid speed around the world as a productive outgrowth of thecounterculturemovement.

The world's first political parties to campaign on a predominantly environmental platform were theUnited Tasmania GroupofTasmania, Australia,and theValues Partyof New Zealand.The firstgreen partyin Europe was the Popular Movement for the Environment, founded in 1972 in the Swiss canton ofNeuchâtel.The first national green party in Europe was PEOPLE, founded in Britain in February 1973, which eventually turned into theEcology Party,and then theGreen Party.

Protection of the environment also became important in thedeveloping world;theChipko movementwas formed in India under the influence ofMhatmas Gandhiand they set up peaceful resistance todeforestationby literally hugging trees (leading to the term "tree huggers" ). Their peaceful methods of protest and slogan "ecology is permanent economy" were very influential.

Another milestone in the movement was the creation ofEarth Day.Earth Day was first observed in San Francisco and other cities on 21 March 1970, the first day of spring. It was created to give awareness to environmental issues. On 21 March 1971, United Nations Secretary-GeneralU Thantspoke of aspaceship Earthon Earth Day, hereby referring to theecosystem servicesthe earth supplies to us, and hence our obligation to protect it (and with it, ourselves). Earth Day is now coordinated globally by theEarth Day Network,and is celebrated in more than 192 countries every year.

The UN's first major conference on international environmental issues, theUnited Nations Conference on the Human Environment(also known as the Stockholm Conference), was held on 5–16 June 1972. It marked a turning point in the development of international environmental politics.

By the mid-1970s, many felt that people were on the edge of environmental catastrophe. Theback-to-the-land movementstarted to form and ideas of environmental ethics joined withanti-Vietnam Warsentiments and other political issues. These individuals lived outside normal society and started to take on some of the more radical environmental theories such asdeep ecology.Around this time more mainstream environmentalism was starting to show force with the signing of theEndangered Species Actin 1973 and the formation ofCITESin 1975. Significant amendments were also enacted to the United StatesClean Air ActandClean Water Act.

In 1979,James Lovelock,a British scientist, publishedGaia: A new look at life on Earth,which put forth theGaia hypothesis;it proposes that life on earth can be understood as a single organism. This became an important part of theDeep Greenideology. Throughout the rest of the history of environmentalism there has been debate and argument between more radical followers of this Deep Green ideology and more mainstream environmentalists.

21st century and beyond

Environmentalism continues to evolve to face up to new issues such asglobal warming,overpopulation,genetic engineering,andplastic pollution.

Research demonstrates a precipitous decline in the US public's interest in 19 different areas of environmental concern.Americans are less likely to be actively participating in an environmental movement or organisation and more likely to identify as "unsympathetic" to an environmental movement than in 2000.This is likely a lingering factor of theGreat Recessionin 2008. Since 2005, the percentage of Americans agreeing that the environment should be given priority over economic growth has dropped 10 points; in contrast, those feeling that growth should be given priority "even if the environment suffers to some extent" has risen 12 percent.Nevertheless, a recentNational Geographicsurvey indicated strong desire for commitment across a dozen countries, indicating a majority were in favour of more than half of the Earth's land surface being protected.

New forms of ecoactivism

Demonstrators in a tree at theBerkeley oak grove protestin 2008

Tree sittingis a form of activism in which the protester sits in a tree in an attempt to stop the removal of a tree or to impede the demolition of an area with the longest and most famous tree-sitter beingJulia Butterfly Hill,who spent 738 days in a California Redwood, saving a three-acre tract of forest.Also notable is theYellow Finch tree sit,which was a 932-day blockade of theMountain Valley Pipelinefrom 2018 to 2021.

Sit-inscan be used to encourage social change, such as the Greensboro sit-ins, a series of protests in 1960 to stop racial segregation, but can also be used in ecoactivism, as in theDakota Access PipelineProtest.

Before theSyrian civil war,Rojavahad been ecologically damaged bymonoculture,oil extraction, damming of rivers,deforestation,drought,topsoil lossand general pollution. TheDFNSlaunched a campaign titled 'Make Rojava Green Again' (a parody ofMake America Great Again) which is attempting to providerenewable energyto communities (especiallysolar energy),reforestation,protecting water sources, planting gardens, promotingurban agriculture,creatingwildlife reserves,water recycling,beekeeping,expandingpublic transportationand promoting environmental awareness within their communities.

TheRebel Zapatista Autonomous Municipalitiesare firmly environmentalist and have stopped the extraction of oil, uranium, timber and metal from theLacandon Jungleand stopped the use ofpesticidesandchemical fertilisersin farming.

TheCIPO-RFMhas engaged insabotageanddirect actionagainstwind farms,shrimp farms,eucalyptus plantationsand thetimber industry.They have also set up corn and coffeeworker cooperativesand built schools and hospitals to help the local populations. They have also created a network of autonomous community radio stations to educate people about dangers to the environment and inform the surrounding communities about new industrial projects that would destroy more land. In 2001, the CIPO-RFM defeated the construction of a highway that was part ofPlan Puebla Panama.

Environmental movement

Main article:Environmental movement

Beforeflue-gas desulfurizationwas installed, theair-pollutingemissions from this power plant inNew Mexicocontained excessive amounts ofsulfur dioxide.

Theenvironmental movement(a term that sometimes includes theconservationandgreenmovements) is a diverse scientific,social,andpolitical movement.Though the movement is represented by a range of organisations, because of the inclusion of environmentalism in the classroom curriculum,the environmental movement has a younger demographic than is common in other social movements (seegreen seniors).

Environmentalism as a movement covers broad areas of institutional oppression, including for example: consumption of ecosystems and natural resources into waste, dumping waste into disadvantaged communities, air pollution, water pollution, weak infrastructure, exposure of organic life to toxins, mono-culture, anti-polythene drive (jhola movement) and various other focuses. Because of these divisions, the environmental movement can be categorized into these primary focuses:environmental science,environmental activism, environmental advocacy, andenvironmental justice.

Free market environmentalism

Main article:Free-market environmentalism

Free market environmentalism is a theory that argues that thefree market,property rights,andtortlaw provide the best tools to preserve the health andsustainabilityof the environment. It considers environmental stewardship to be natural, as well as the expulsion of polluters and other aggressors through individual andclass action.

Evangelical environmentalism

Main article:Evangelical environmentalism

Evangelical environmentalism is an environmental movement in the United States in which someEvangelicalshave emphasizedbiblicalmandates concerning humanity's role as steward and subsequent responsibility for the care taking of Creation. While the movement has focused on different environmental issues, it is best known for its focus of addressing climate action from a biblically groundedtheologicalperspective. This movement is controversial among some non-Christian environmentalists due to its rooting in a specific religion.

Preservation and conservation

Federal Registerdocuments and literature related to US environmental regulations, including theResource Conservation and Recovery Act(RCRA), 1987

Main articles:Nature conservationandConservation movement

Environmental preservation in the United States and other parts of the world, including Australia, is viewed as the setting aside of natural resources to prevent damage caused by contact with humans or by certain human activities, such as logging, mining, hunting, and fishing, often to replace them with new human activities such as tourism and recreation.Regulations and laws may be enacted for the preservation of natural resources.

Exergy and availability of resources

Thermodynamic derived environmentalism is based on thesecond law of thermodynamics,minimization ofexergydisruption (orentropygeneration)and the concept of availability. It moves from he milestone work ofJan Szargutwho emphasized the relation between exergy and availability, it is necessary to remember "Exergy Ecology and Democracy". byGoran Wall,a short essay, which evidences the strict relation that relates exergy disruption with environmental and social disruption. More recently it has verified that governmental emissions and impacts balances underestimate the effectiveGHGproduction by means of human processes. In fact, they often neglects the impacts of import/export related emissions. In addition they have analyzed the UNSDGsand the methods which are suggested for verifying the advances of the countries. This activity has evidenced that objective and coherent parameters are missing. Therefore, they suggest the introduction ofexergyanalysis as the most effective method for estimating the environmental degradation. Therefore, a novel fiscal model based on Exergy and availability disruption has been defined as the only possible way for overcoming the problems induced by the globalized markets.

Organisations and conferences

Main article:List of environmental organizations

Reef doctor work station inIfaty,Madagascar

Environmental organisations can be global, regional, national or local; they can be government-run or private (NGO). Environmentalist activity exists in almost every country. Moreover, groups dedicated to community development and social justice also focus on environmental concerns.

Some US environmental organisations, among them theNatural Resources Defense Counciland theEnvironmental Defense Fund,specialise in bringing lawsuits (a tactic seen as particularly useful in that country). Other groups, such as the US-basedNational Wildlife Federation,Earth Day,National Cleanup Day,the Nature Conservancy,andThe Wilderness Society,and global groups like theWorld Wide Fund for NatureandFriends of the Earth,disseminate information, participate inpublic hearings,lobby,stage demonstrations,and may purchase land forpreservation.Statewide nonprofit organisations such as theWyoming Outdoor Counciloften collaborate with these national organisations and employ similar strategies. Smaller groups, includingWildlife Conservation International,conduct research onendangered speciesandecosystems.More radical organisations, such asGreenpeace,Earth First!,and theEarth Liberation Front,have more directly opposed actions they regard as environmentally harmful. While Greenpeace is devoted to nonviolent confrontation as a means of bearing witness to environmental wrongs and bringing issues into the public realm for debate, the undergroundEarth Liberation Frontengages in the clandestine destruction of property, the release of caged or penned animals, and other criminal acts. Such tactics are regarded as unusual within the movement, however.

On an international level, concern for the environment was the subject of aUnited Nations Conference on the Human Environmentin Stockholm in 1972, attended by 114 nations. Out of this meeting developed theUnited Nations Environment Programme(UNEP) and the follow-upUnited Nations Conference on Environment and Developmentin 1992. Other international organisations in support of environmental policies development include theCommission for Environmental Cooperation(as part ofNAFTA), theEuropean Environment Agency(EEA), and theIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change(IPCC).

Environmental protests

Climate activists blockadeBritish Airports Authority's headquarters for day of action.

"March Against Monsanto",Vancouver, Canada, 25 May 2013

Main article:List of environmental protests

Notable environmental protests and campaigns include:

• 2010 Xinfa aluminum plant protest
• Anti-WAAhnsinns Festival
• Car-Free Days
• Camp for Climate Action
• Campaign against Climate Change
• Climate Rush
• Cofán people oil drilling protest (Ecuador)
• Earth Day
• Earth First!
• Earthlife Africa
• Extinction Rebellion
• Global Climate Strikes
• Global Day of Action
• Gurindji Strike
• Hands off our Forest
• Homes before Roads
• Water Protectors
• Just Stop Oil
• Kupa Piti Kungka Tjuta
• Love Canal protests
• March Against Monsanto
• Nevada Desert Experience
• Plane Mad
• Plane Stupid
• Qidong protest
• Save Manapouri Campaign
• Say Yes demonstrations
• Shifang protest
• Stop Climate Chaos

Environmentalists

Main article:Environmentalist

Notable advocates forenvironmental protectionandsustainabilityinclude:

• Edward Abbey(author)
• David Attenborough(broadcaster, naturalist)
• John James Audubon(naturalist)
• Judi Bari(environmentalist)
• Frances Beinecke(environmentalist and former president of theNatural Resources Defense Council)
• David Bellamy(botanist)
• Wendell Berry(farmer, philosopher)
• Murray Bookchin(anarchist, philosopher, social ecologist)
• Erin Brockovich(environmental lawyer and activist)
• David Brower(writer, activist)
• Bob Brown(activist and politician)
• Lester Brown(environmental analyst, author)
• Carol Browner(lawyer and activist)
• Kevin Buzzacott(Aboriginal activist)
• Berta Caceres(environmental and indigenous rights activist)
• Helen Caldicott(medical doctor)
• Rachel Carson(biologist, writer)
• Majora Carter(urban revitalization strategist)
• Charles III(British Royal Family member)
• Barry Commoner(biologist, politician)
• Jacques-Yves Cousteau(explorer, ecologist)
• Herman Daly(ecological economistandsteady-state theorist)
• Peter Dauvergne(political scientist)
• Laurie David(activist and producer)
• Marina DeBris(environmental artist)
• Leonardo DiCaprio(actor and environmentalist)
• Sylvia Earle(marine biologist)
• Paul R. Ehrlich(population biologist)
• Hans-Josef Fell(GermanGreen Partymember)
• Jane Fonda(actor)
• Josh Fox(filmmaker, environmental activist)
• Mizuho Fukushima(politician, activist)
• Peter Garrett(musician, politician)
• Jane Goodall(primatologist, anthropologist, andUN Messenger of Peace)
• Lois Gibbs(Founder of the Center for Health, Environment and Justice)
• Al Gore(formerVice President of the United States)
• Daryl Hannah(activist)
• James Hansen(scientist)
• Garrett Hardin(ecologist, ecophilosopher)
• Denis Hayes(environmentalist andsolar poweradvocate)
• Julia Butterfly Hill(activist)
• Robert Hunter(journalist, co-founder and first president ofGreenpeace)
• Tetsunari Iida(sustainable energy advocate)
• Lisa P. Jackson(chemical engineer and former administrator of theUnited States Environmental Protection Agency)
• Naomi Klein(writer, activist)
• Winona LaDuke(environmentalist)
• Aldo Leopold(ecologist)
• A. Carl Leopold(plant physiologist)
• James Lovelock(scientist)
• Amory Lovins(energy policy analyst)
• Hunter Lovins(environmentalist)
• Caroline Lucas(politician)
• Wangari Maathai(activist andNobel laureate)
• Jarid Manos(CEO of the Great Plains Restoration Council)
• Xiuhtezcatl Martinez(environmental activist, hip-hop artist)
• Bill McKibben(writer, activist)
• David McTaggart(activist)
• Chico Mendes(activist)
• Joni Mitchell(musician, environmental activist)
• George Monbiot(journalist)
• John Muir(naturalist, activist)
• Ralph Nader(activist)
• Gaylord Nelson(politician)
• Alan Pears(environmental consultantandenergy efficiency pioneer)
• Gifford Pinchot(first chief of theUSFS)
• Jonathon Porritt(politician)
• John Wesley Powell(second director of theUSGS)
• Barbara Pyle(documentarian and executive producer ofCaptain Planet and the Planeteers)
• Phil Radford(environmental, clean energy and democracy advocate,GreenpeaceExecutive Director)
• Bonnie Raitt(musician)
• Theodore Roosevelt(formerPresident of the United States)
• Habiba Sarobi(politician and activist)
• E. F. Schumacher(author ofSmall Is Beautiful)
• Vandana Shiva(ecofeminist and activist)
• Marina Silva(politician and activist)
• Alicia Silverstone(activist and author ofThe Kind Diet)
• Lauren Singer(activist and entrepreneur)
• Swami Sundaranand(Yogi, photographer, and mountaineer)
• Cass Sunstein(environmental lawyer)
• David Suzuki(scientist, broadcaster)
• Henry David Thoreau(writer, philosopher)
• Greta Thunberg(environmentalist)
• Stewart Udall(formerUnited States Secretary of the Interior)
• Jo Valentine(politician and activist)
• Dominique Voynet(politician and environmentalist)
• Christopher O. Ward(water infrastructure expert)
• Alice Waters(activist and restaurateur)
• Gabriel Willow(environmental educator, naturalist)
• Howard Zahniser(author of the 1964Wilderness Act)

Assassinations

Early American game wardenGuy Bradley,who was killed in 1905 while attempting to stop a bird poacher nearFlamingo, Florida

See also:List of environmental activists assassinated

Every year, more than 100 environmental activists are murdered throughout the world.Most recent deaths are in Brazil, where activists combat logging in the Amazon rainforest.

116 environmental activists wereassassinatedin 2014,and 185 in 2015.This represents more than two environmentalists assassinated every week in 2014 and three every week in 2015.More than 200 environmental activists were assassinated worldwide between 2016 and early 2018.A 2020 incident saw several rangers murdered in the Congo Rainforest by poaching squads. Occurrences like this are relatively common, and account for a large number of deaths.

In popular culture

Further information:Climate change in popular cultureandEnvironmentalism in music

• TheU.S. Forest ServicecreatedSmokey the Bearin 1944; he appeared in countless posters, radio and television programs, movies, press releases, and other guises to warn about forest fires.
• The comic stripMark Trail,by environmentalistEd Dodd,began in 1946; it still appears weekly in 175 newspapers.
• The children's animated showCaptain Planet and the Planeteers,created byTed TurnerandBarbara Pylein 1989 to inform children about environmental issues. The show aired for six seasons and 113 episodes, in 100 countries worldwide from 1990 to 1996.
• In 1974,Spokane,Washington,became one of the smallest cities ever to host aWorld's Fair.From Saturday, 4 May, to Sunday, 3 November 1974, Spokane hostedExpo 74,the first world's fair to focus on the environment. The theme of Expo 74 was "Celebrating Tomorrow's Fresh New Environment." (In 1982,Knoxville,Tennessee,was another small city to host a world's fair:Expo '82,with the theme, "Energy Turns the World." )
• FernGully: The Last Rainforestis an animated motion picture released in 1992, which focuses exclusively on the environment. The movie is based on a book under the same title by Diana Young. In 1998, a sequel,FernGully 2: The Magical Rescue,was introduced.
• Miss Earthis one of theBig Four international beauty pageants.(The other three areMiss Universe,Miss International,andMiss World.) Out of these four beauty pageants, Miss Earth is the only international beauty pageant that promotes "environmental awareness." The reigning titleholders dedicate their year to promote specific projects and often address issues concerning the environment and otherglobal issuesthrough school tours, tree planting activities, street campaigns, coastal clean ups, speaking engagements, shopping mall tours, media guesting, environmental fair, storytelling programs, eco-fashion shows, and other environmental activities. The Miss Earth winner is the spokesperson for theMiss Earth Foundation,theUnited Nations Environment Programme(UNEP) and other environmental organizations. The Miss Earth Foundation also works with the environmental departments and ministries of participating countries, various private sectors and corporations, as well asGreenpeaceand theWorld Wildlife Foundation(WWF).
• Another area of environmentalism is to use art to raise awareness about misuse of the environment.One example istrashion,using trash to create clothes, jewelry, and other objects for the home.Marina DeBrisis one trashion artist, who focuses on ocean and beach trash to design clothes and for fund raising, education.

Criticism and alternative views

When environmentalism first became popular during the early 20th century, the focus was wilderness protection and wildlife preservation. These goals reflected the interests of the movement's initial, primarily white middle and upper class supporters, including through viewing preservation and protection via a lens that failed to appreciate the centuries-long work of indigenous communities who had lived without ushering in the types of environmental devastation these settler colonial "environmentalists" now sought to mitigate. The actions of many mainstream environmental organizations still reflect these early principles.Numerous low-income minorities felt isolated or negatively impacted by the movement, exemplified by the Southwest Organizing Project's (SWOP) Letter to the Group of 10, a letter sent to major environmental organizations by several local environmental justice activists.The letter argued that the environmental movement was so concerned about cleaning up and preserving nature that it ignored the negative side-effects that doing so caused communities nearby, namely less job growth.In addition, theNIMBYmovement has transferredlocally unwanted land uses(LULUs) from middle-class neighborhoods to poor communities with large minority populations. Therefore, vulnerable communities with fewer political opportunities are more often exposed to hazardous waste and toxins.This has resulted in thePIBBYprinciple, or at least the PIMBY (Place-in-minorities'-backyard), as supported by the United Church of Christ's study in 1987.

As a result, some minorities have viewed the environmental movement as elitist. Environmental elitism manifested itself in three different forms:

1. Compositional– Environmentalists are from the middle and upper class.
2. Ideological– The reforms benefit the movement's supporters but impose costs on nonparticipants.
3. Impact– The reforms have "regressive social impacts". They disproportionately benefit environmentalists and harm underrepresented populations.

Many environmentalists believe that human interference with 'nature' should be restricted or minimised as a matter of urgency (for the sake of life, or the planet, or just for the benefit of the human species),whereasenvironmental skepticsand anti-environmentalists do not believe that there is such a need.One can also regard oneself as an environmentalist and believe that human 'interference' with 'nature' should beincreased.Nevertheless, there is a risk that the shift from emotional environmentalism into the technical management of natural resources and hazards could decrease the touch of humans with nature, leading to less concern with environment preservation.Increasingly, typical conservation rhetoric is being replaced with restoration approaches and larger landscape initiatives that seek to create more holistic impacts.

In the 2000s, American author, film director, medical graduate and intellectMichael Crichtoncriticized environmentalism as being religiously motivated rather than grounded inempirical evidence,arguing thatclimate changewas a natural part of Earth's history and had been occurring long before humans dominated the planet. Also claiming to argue from his minor education in anthropology, he stated that religion was a part of human social make-up and that if it was suppressed, it would simply re-emerge in another form. With the decline of Christianity and Church attendance in the Western world, environmentalism has become more popular according to him, which he termed as "the religion of urban atheists".

Others seek a balance that involves both caring deeply for the environment while letting science guide human actions affecting it. Such an approach would avoid the emotionalism which, for example, anti-GMOactivism has been criticized for, and protect the integrity of science. Planting trees, for another example, can be emotionally satisfying but should also involve being conscious ofecologicalconcerns such as the effect onwater cyclesand the use of nonnative, potentially invasive species.

See also

• Anti-environmentalism
• Bright green environmentalism
• Climate movement
• Conservation movement
• Ecomodernism
• Ecosia
• Ecotage
• Ecotechnology
• Environmental history of the United States
• Environmental planning
• Environmental, social, and governance
• Environmental studies
• Environmental technology
• Greening
• Green building
• Human ecology
• Human impact on the environment
• List of climate scientists
• List of women climate scientists and activists
• Nature conservation
• Outline of environmentalism
• Radical environmentalism
• Religion and environmentalism
• Sustainability
• Tree planting

Further reading

• Borowy, Iris. "Before UNEP: who was in charge of the global environment? The struggle for institutional responsibility 1968–72."Journal of Global History14.1 (2019): 87–106.
• Daynes, Byron W., and Glen Sussman, eds.White House Politics and the Environment: Franklin D. Roosevelt to George W. Bush(Texas A&M University Press; 2010) 300 pages; evaluates how 12 presidents helped or hindered the cause of environmental protection.
• Johnson, Erik W., and Scott Frickel, (2011). "Ecological Threat and the Founding of U.S. National Environmental Movement Organizations, 1962–1998,"Social Problems58 (Aug. 2011), 305–29.
• Lear, Linda (1997).Rachel Carson: Witness for Nature.New York: Henry Holt and Company.ISBN978-0-8050-3428-8.
• Martell, Luke."Ecology and Society: An Introduction".Polity Press, 1994.
• McCormick, John.1995. The Global Environmental Movement. John Wiley. London. 312 pp.ISBN9780471949404OCLC33832322
• Palmer, Joy.Fifty Key Thinkers on the Environment(Routledge, 2001)
• de Steiguer, J. Edward. 2006.The Origins of Modern Environmental Thought.University of Arizona Press. Tucson. 246 pp.ISBN9780816524617
• Tooze, Adam,"Democracy and Its Discontents",The New York Review of Books,vol. LXVI, no. 10 (6 June 2019), pp. 52–53, 56–57. "Democracy has no clear answer for the mindless operation of bureaucratic and [technological power. We may indeed be witnessing its extension in the form of artificial intelligence and robotics. Likewise, after decades of dire warning, the environmental problem remains fundamentally unaddressed.... Bureaucratic overreach and environmental catastrophe are precisely the kinds of slow-moving existential challenges that democracies deal with very badly.... Finally, there is the threat du jour: corporations and the technologies they promote." (pp. 56–57.)
• Verweij, Marco; Thompson, Michael (eds), 2006,Clumsy Solutions for a Complex World: Governance, Politics and Plural Perceptions,Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan,ISBN978-0-230-00230-2
• Vogel, David.California Greenin': How the Golden State Became an Environmental Leader(2018) 280 pponline review
• Woodhouse, Keith M. "The Politics of Ecology: Environmentalism and Liberalism in the 1960s,"Journal for the Study of Radicalism,Volume 2, Number 2, 2009, pp. 53–84
• World Bank,2003,"Sustainable Development in a Dynamic World: Transforming Institutions, Growth, and Quality of Life"Archived17 May 2008 at theWayback Machine,World Development Report 2003,International Bank for Reconstruction and Developmentand Oxford University Press.

External links

• EnvironmentatCurlie
• Westland– A Canadian television series (1984–2007) on a broad range of environmental issues, from the UBC Library Digital Collections
• The Directory of Environmental Websites