Environmentalist Explained

An environmentalist is a person who is concerned with and/or advocates for the protection of the environment. An environmentalist can be considered a supporter of the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that seeks to improve and protect the quality of the natural environment through changes to environmentally harmful human activities".[1] An environmentalist is engaged in or believes in the philosophy of environmentalism or one of the related philosophies.

The environmental movement has a number of subcommunities, with different approaches and focuses – each developing distinct movements and identities. Environmentalists are sometimes referred to by critics with informal or derogatory terms such as "greenie" and "tree-hugger",[2] with some members of the public associating the most radical environmentalists with these derogatory terms.[3]

Types

The environmental movement contains a number of subcommunities, that have developed with different approaches and philosophies in different parts of the world. Notably, the early environmental movement experienced a deep tension between the philosophies of conservation and broader environmental protection. In recent decades the rise to prominence of environmental justice, indigenous rights and key environmental crises like the climate crises, has led to the development of other environmentalist identities. Environmentalists can be describe as one of the following:

Climate activists

See main article: Climate movement. The public recognition of the climate crisis and emergence of the climate movement in the beginning of the 21st century led to a distinct group of activists. Activations like the School Strike for Climate and Fridays for Future, have led to a new generation of youth activists like Greta Thunberg, Jamie Margolin and Vanessa Nakate who have created a global youth climate movement.[4] [5]

Conservationists

One notable strain of environmentalism, comes from the philosophy of the conservation movement. Conservationists are concerned with leaving the environment in a better state than the condition they found it distinct from human interaction.[6] [7] The conservation movement is associated with the early parts of the environmental movement of the 19th and 20th century.[8]

Greens

See main article: Green politics. The adoption of environmentalist into a distinct political ideology led to the development of political parties called "green parties", typically with a leftist political approach to overlapping issues of environmental and social wellbeing.

Water protectors

Notable environmentalists

Some of the notable environmentalists who have been active in lobbying for environmental protection and conservation include:

Extension

In recent years, there are not only environmentalists for natural environment but also environmentalists for human environment. For instance, the activists who call for "mental green space" by getting rid of disadvantages of internet, cable TV, and smartphones have been called "info-environmentalists".[11]

See also

References

  1. Web site: environmentalism - Ideology, History, & Types. Encyclopedia Britannica. 23 July 2023 .
  2. Book: Oxford Dictionary of English. Catherine Soanes and Angus Stevenson . Oxford University klkPress. 2005. 2nd revised. 978-0-19-861057-1.
  3. Tesch. Danielle. Kempton. Willett. 2004-01-01. Who is an Environmentalist? The Polysemy of Environmentalist Terms and Correlated Environmental Actions. Journal of Ecological Anthropology. 8. 1. 67–83. 10.5038/2162-4593.8.1.4. 1528-6509. free.
  4. Web site: Yeo. Sophie. How the largest environmental movement in history was born. 2022-02-18. www.bbc.com. en.
  5. Marris. Emma. 2019-09-18. Why young climate activists have captured the world's attention. Nature. en. 573. 7775. 471–472. 10.1038/d41586-019-02696-0. 31551545 . 2019Natur.573..471M . 202749176 .
  6. Web site: Harding. Russ. Conservationist or Environmentalist?. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20081203181206/http://www.mackinac.org/9852. 2008-12-03. 2021-05-02. Mackinac Center for Public Policy. en.
  7. Dunlap. Thomas R.. 1980. Conservationists and Environmentalists: An Attempt at Definition. Environmental Review. 4. 1. 29–31. 10.2307/3984106. 3984106 . 156539998 . 0147-2496.
  8. Web site: Harding. Russ. Conservationist or Environmentalist?. 2022-02-18. Mackinac Center. en.
  9. Book: The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America . registration . Harper Collins . Brinkley, Douglas . 9780060565282. 2009.
  10. Jung. Jieun. Petkanic. Peter. Nan. Dongyan. Kim. Jang Hyun. 2020-03-30. When a Girl Awakened the World: A User and Social Message Analysis of Greta Thunberg. Sustainability. en. 12. 7. 2707. 10.3390/su12072707. 2071-1050. free.
  11. News: E-serenity, now!. 2004-05-10. The Christian Science Monitor. 2018-09-27. 0882-7729.
  12. Web site: Environmentalism Learning to Give. 2020-10-16. www.learningtogive.org.

External links

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