American Studies. Environmentalism is a capacious term. It refers at once to a political movement, to the philosophies and ideologies underpinning that political movement, and to a set of subcultures, sensibilities, and identities. Let me give some examples.
The creation of the national parks, the banning of DDT, and the passage of the Endangered Species Act are examples of environmentalism as a political movement.
Arne Naess's famous Deep ecology is an example of a well-thought-out environmental philosophy. The deep-seated (and mostly unconscious) sense that “nature knows best” is an example of an environmentalist ideology.
Someone who only wears clothing made from organic hemp, spends their vacation backpacking, and is a vegan has an environmental sensibility and is a member of an environmental subculture. This person might identify very strongly with John Muir or Edward Abbey or some other famous environmentalist, in which case it is fair to say he or she has a green identity.*
In this course we’re mainly concerned with the latter. It will help us to know something about environmentalism’s other aspects, but our main focus will be on how environmentalism manifests itself culturally rather than politically or philosophically.
In class we’ve already brainstormed a few examples of green culture; what are some others? It might help at this point to think of green movies (e.g., Bambi) and songs (e.g., Marvin Gaye’s Mercy, Mercy Me.)
* Because I have a lot of trouble typing environmental, I’ll use green to mean the same thing.
Wednesday, January 14
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The green culture that is probably most commonly cited is a group such as the Sierra Club based out of California. The clubs’ entire purpose is to protect the “wild places of the earth,” according to their mission statement. This club has grown from a very small grassroots movement to a very larger grassroots movement. The club has gained many members from all a crossed the U.S. The Sierra Club could arguably be the most prominent environment club at pushing the issues of environmental protection and appreciation. The club also has some power in the political agenda at state and federal levels do to its high member rate.
Freechilly
Just this weekend I ran across several aspects of the green culture! We went to the opening of a snowboard park in Los Alamos, NM and a group appropriately titled, "SKIgreen" was handing out flyers. Later that day I sat down with a with a very old friend, who is much older than me, and he started talking about investment options. He starts in, "What you need to invest in is an IRA or bonds from the Alternative Energy Fund." So I indulge and check out the website, as he proceeds to tell me that wind, solar. etc.. energy is the way of the future. So I start looking into other websites and there small "Green" based investment companies that assure you, "Your money will help produce a better environment and make your portfolio that much better." I never in a million years thought of green culture as a economic movement.
Well since you had to go and bring up Bambi, I thought it apropo to mention the convention of regulating outdoor sports, such as hunting, fishing, and (if you live in Colorado)even hiking and camping.
A permit is required to participate in any of these activities, and can be rather expensive; an elk license is $46 for a resident, and doesn't include the $3 application fee and the $10.25 Habitat Stamp. You have to apply for it and you may or may not have your name drawn to recieve your license. And of course there is no refund if you ARE drawn, but never see an animal and don't happen to fill the tag.
Also, it is noteworthy that even non-hunters are legally required to purchase one of the Colorado Habitat Stamps each year if they intend to venture into any state lands.
While the money generated from regulated hunting is used to fund wildlife preservation and research, it just seems like this is yet another example of the commodification of nature... Just another "Outdoors Product" up for bidding by the Colorado DOW (http://wildlife.state.co.us/wildlifestore/)
In the Monte Vista Journal there is an insert that they provide each week called SLV Lifestyles and this week it had an article on green culture.This article was about the Green energy that is from here in the valley which is produced by solar supply. Sold and supplied to Excel and the San Luis Rural Cooperative.
D---
Green culture is everywhere. I have resently been to the IBM site and have seen where they are trying to go green and thats the best thing about IBM I believe. if tech. can become green we are going to be doing great things in the future.
EMT
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