What is Environmentalism?

• Environmentalism is a social movement aimed at preserving the natural environment, preventing atmospheric pollution, and replenishing depleting natural resources to protect future generations.

• The philosophy behind this movement is also called environmentalism.

• Environmentalism’s goals largely overlap with those of Ecologism.

• Environmentalism is promoted by social activists, while ecologism arises from scientific awareness.

• Ecologism views ecology—the balance of relationships between plants, animals, people, and environment—as a self-sustaining system that must not be damaged to satisfy human greed.

• It calls for a shift in the relationship between man and nature from ‘master and servant’ to one of partnership.

• Quote by Francis Bacon (1620): “We cannot command Nature except by obeying her.”

• Environmentalism originated in the late twentieth century, responding to problems caused by technological growth.

• E.F. Schumacher (1973) noted that while nature is self-balancing and self-cleansing, technology is not.

• Modern technological progress has created a global society where people everywhere are interconnected by air, climate, food, and water.

• This global interdependence exerts extraordinary strain on natural resources.

• Mindless industrialization and lavish lifestyles among prosperous populations worsen environmental stress.

• Advocates warn this trend risks global disaster, emphasizing the need for global justice.

• In early civilization, population was small, life was simple and close to nature with limited needs.

• Natural resources were replenished through natural cycles and consumption did not damage the environment.

• Over time, population growth, increased consumption, and superior technology led to large-scale exploitation of resources.

• Increased use of artificial goods distanced people from nature, contributing to environmental contamination.

• Environmental deterioration manifests as global warming, acidification of soil and water, and decline in air, soil, and water quality.

• Reckless mining, land use changes, and over-exploitation have caused desertification and rapid biodiversity depletion.

• Biodiversity is crucial for maintaining the ecosystem.

• The worsening condition required new efforts to restore balance between humans and nature.

• Politically, this response took the form of environmentalism.

• Early hints of environmentalism are found in E.F. Schumacher’s essay Small is Beautiful (1973), which critiques modern industrial society.

• Schumacher observed that the modern industrial system consumes the very basis on which it is built.

• He warned that the earth’s non-renewable resources are not like capital that can be created or increased; consumption of these depletes the capital and leads to destruction.

• Advanced industrial societies with higher production and consumption cause more environmental degradation than developing societies.

• Ted Trainer (1985) noted the huge disparity in energy consumption: Americans use 617 times more energy per year than Ethiopians.

• Americans, constituting only 6% of world population, consume about 50% of manufactured goods and 33% of global energy, leaving little for poor countries.

• This high consumption harms both Americans’ health and impoverishes others.

• Quote by Laurence J. Peter (1983): “Man is complex; he makes deserts bloom and lakes die.”

• Environmentalists advocate for reducing private vehicle use, promoting public transport and bicycles.

• They encourage switching to consumption of green vegetables and pulses over fish and mutton.

• Promotion of wind energy and solar energy over coal, electricity, and nuclear energy is encouraged.

• Environmentalists emphasize tree plantation worldwide.

• The movement has inspired Americans and others to adopt running, cycling, natural food, and rural living.

• Environmentalism insists on maintaining friendly relations with nature and preserving greenery, hence called the ‘Green movement’ or ‘Green politics’.

• Quote by Robert Green Ingersoll (1988): “In nature there are neither rewards nor punishments; there are consequences.”

• Quote by S. William Becker (1989): “Pollution doesn’t respect state boundaries; problems cannot be solved state-by-state.”

• Environmentalists argue that blind exploitation of natural resources alienates humans from nature both physically and spiritually.

• To restore harmony, humans must learn humility towards the environment and other species.

• Relentless resource extraction for manufacturing causes environmental degradation, pollution, greenhouse effect, global warming, and ozone depletion threatening mankind’s existence.

• Environmentalists advocate dismantling large-scale industrial systems and replacing them with small-scale, self-governing local communities.

• The existing monstrous production scale should be reduced to a human scale.

• Small, moderately consuming communities represent the environmentalist ideal — “Small is beautiful” (Schumacher).

• To curb consumption, environmentalists also demand population reduction worldwide.

• Although developing countries have large populations causing social and economic issues, their consumption levels are low, and proper planning can utilize their labor potential.

• Western countries, with high consumption and comfortable living, need population and consumption controls.

• Environmentalists insist on the moral regeneration of humanity for just and equitable resource distribution.

• Individuals globally must realize their responsibility to maintain a clean and congenial atmosphere for present and future generations.

• U.N. slogan: “We have not inherited this earth from our forefathers; we have borrowed it from our children.“

• Indian (Kannada) saying: “The real owners of the land are not yet born.“

• Environmentalist slogan emphasizing responsibility: “Think globally, act locally.“

• This means people in small communities act locally but with awareness of their global environmental impact.

• British and German environmentalists slogan: “Neither left nor right, but forwards.” urges forgetting ideological differences and working together for humanity’s future.