Director, Environmental Studies
Professor of English

ES 375: Ecosocial Advocacy

TYPES OF ECOSOCIAL ACTIVISM

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There are a wide variety of types of ecosocial activism, and to be effective we need to keep all of them in mind. The following section lists some of the options we have in responding to ecosocial concerns.

1. MAKING THINGS BETTER: AMELIORATING THE SYMPTOMS

Cleaning up the environment.

• Picking up litter, cleaning streams, helping out with oil spills: there are various ways to reduce the damage that is being done.

Ecological restoration.

• Ecological restoration is the attempt to convert damaged or altered landscapes to a native and healthy state. This calls for a great deal of scientific knowledge, as well as a commitment to the health of the planet and a lot of hours of hard work.

Aiding people in need (food banks, women’s shelters, etc.)

• People are suffering and in need. We can help by attending directly to those needs by giving financial donations, volunteering, or pursuing a career in social service.

Personal petitioning

• Politicians and corporate executives (sometimes) listen to the voice of the people. Sending out letters and emails, signing petitions, and personally visiting someone in power does have its impact.

Supporting large-scale lobbying

• There are a number of large, mainstream lobbying groups (such as the Sierra Club), without which the environment would be in far worse shape. We can help them work for us, or we can enter a career as a lobbyist.

Getting the word out

• In some cases the most important action may be one of getting information out and publicly arguing for your values. This can involve the use of the media (e.g., press releases), pamphlets, books, email, and speakers.

Supporting candidates

• Mainstream politicians . There are a number of mainstream politicians that have deep ecosocial concerns. And they need all the support they can get. Staying aware of and supporting ecosocial legislation is also important.
• Third party politicians. Some have argued that we need politicians and political groups that are more deeply committed to ecosocial issues than mainstream ones; that we need representatives and leaders who are willing to pursue more radical politics; and that we need different political structures. We can support groups such as the Green Party or their politicians, or become directly involved in such radical political work.

Running for public office.

• Mainstream political parties. Maybe you can become an effective part of the system.
• Third parties . Maybe you can get elected as an alternative to mainstream parties.

3. DIRECT ACTION

Silent witness: confronting evil with centered and peaceful awareness (a practice particularly emphasized by Quakers).

March: Demonstrating en mass what you oppose or promote

Boycott: Consumers: refusing to buy into social and economic justice

Strike: Producers: stopping the machinery of economic injustice

Blocking the system, e.g., sit-in, tree sit, blocking the bulldozers

Hunger strike: putting your body on the line

Sabotage ( without violence toward people). Distinguish between

>> Destroying the machinery of injustice – that which is directly involved damage (e.g. bulldozers)
>> Property destruction – e.g., breaking windows of the Gap

Violence. Distinguish between
>> Violence against opponents with specific goals in mind
>> Broad-range violence and terrorism

Ultimate goal. Distinguish between:
>> Targeted reform: changing a particular law, policy, etc.
>> Systematic reform: reforming the system in broad terms (e.g., fundamentally change electoral financing and lobbying)
>> Overthrowing the system and starting another

4. POSITIVE ALTERNATIVES

Living clean

• In our daily lives it is virtually impossible to avoid participation in environmentally destructive practices and in a society marked by social injustice. But we can reduce our impact by avoiding the use of destructive products (e.g., cleansers, pesticides), recycling, and practicing conservation (e.g., low energy use, use of recycled products), boycotting products from companies with environmentally destructive and unjust social practices, etc.

Living simply

• Much of environmental destruction – and social injustice – derives from our society’s addiction to material consumption. We can reduce our impact on the planet by minimizing the use of automobiles and electricity, eating lower on the food chain (e.g., veganism), etc. Some are pursuing a radical form of this by living “off the grid” (not using any electricity), eating only organic, home-grown food, using holistic medicines, etc.

Building community

• Whether and how we live together has enormous ecosocial impact. There are specific positive alternatives (e.g., urban community housing, bioregional neighborhoods, community gardens, and rural communes) and general ideals (M.L. King’s “beloved community” or an ecological community).

Supporting ecosocially responsible groups

• People and groups who are pursuing an ecosocially responsible life often need support. One example buying food locally and participating in Community Supported Agriculture (CSA).

Rituals and celebrations

• Some people have developed new/old rituals that celebrate our intimate relationship with the earth. Festivals can serve to highlight that relationship, raise awareness, recruit people, raise money, and build community through sophisticated fun.

Living close to nature

• Our society is characterized by life styles largely removed from nature. Many are seeking new/old lifestyles characterized by intimacy and harmony with nature, for instance living on an organic farm.

Being peace

• Positive alternatives are not limited to our actions or lifestyles. Perhaps more important are our fundamental attitudes and state of mind. If we want to bring peace to the world, the Buddhist Thich Nhat Hanh has said, we need to BE peace. We need to embody in our minds and hearts the values we seek to promote in the world.

5. THE POWER OF CONSCIOUSNESS

Scientific knowledge : using scientific ecology to make a difference.

• It is difficult to underestimate the importance of accurate scientific knowledge in deciding the best ecosocial action and in arguing for your viewpoint. The more scientific knowledge, the better, and there is always far more we should know than anyone will ever be able to know. Know as much as you can.

Bioregional awareness : getting to know the econeighborhood.

• Bioregionalism is a complex movement in we see ourselves as members of a local ecological community rather than citizens of a political state. This calls for intimate knowledge of the local ecosystem, native plants and animals, current and historical geology, local climate, Native American culture, etc.

Political knowledge : knowing the system.

• In order to determine the best ecosocial action, we need to learn how the political, social, and economic systems work. This helps us learn how they can most effectively be changed. Similarly, we need to learn the details of specific problem areas in order to have positive impact.

Social theory : analyzing the system.

• Various types of social theory have developed to help us analyze social systems. We need to go beyond mere knowledge about these systems to an ability to critically analyze them, and different social theories give us different perspectives.

Rational analysis: knowing the arguments.

• Opinions and intuitions are necessary, but rational analysis of the logic of various ecosocial positions and of the reasons, assumptions, and implications of different types of ecosocial actions enable us to better determine the most appropriate action and debate effectively with others.

Aesthetic sensitivity : the usefulness of beauty.

• Our culture tends to devalue aesthetic sensitivity. It is often considered subjective (“beauty is in the eye of the beholder”) and superficial (“beauty is skin deep”). But a keen sense of the beauty of nature helps sustain a commitment to ecosocial action. And as some have argued, sensitivity to beauty may open us to the fundamental nature of the cosmos. If environmental and political decisions were informed by such an aesthetic awareness, we would have a different relationship to nature and society.

Integrative learning: holistic understanding.

• Education in the modern West has tended to be disconnected, involving various types of separation: of disciplines from each other (such as biology, political science, and religion); of knowledge from practical and political action; of the mind from the body, emotions, and senses; of the intellect and experience. Many feel that cultivating an integrative learning is critical to making fundamental changes in our interactions with nature and each other.

Paradigm shifts : critically examining fundamental worldviews.

• Any view of nature, political ideal, or social policy is embedded in a particular worldview: a “paradigm.” A paradigm is a fundamental perspective that informs all ideas and attitudes within it. A change in such a worldview results not simply in a different idea but in an entire new way of looking at the world. An anthropocentric (human-centered) view, for instance, usually assumes that humans have “intrinsic” value while the rest of the world has “instrumental” value – only to the degree it benefits humans. Thus a tree has value as timber or perhaps as pretty scenery, but in and of itself it has no value. Such a view also tends to emphasize the difference between humans and nature and the independence and individuality of things, rather than relatedness and interdependence. An ecocentric view, on the other hand, emphasizes relatedness and interdependence of all things, the continuity of humans and nature, and the value of all things in nature. Some have argued that we will not stop harming the environment (or certain social groups) until we have changed our fundamental paradigm. The search for a paradigm shift often involves studying the worldviews of other cultures, such as Buddhism or Native American tribes.

A positive psychology ( e.g., feminist psychology and ecopsychology).

• Our consciousness is usually characterized by an alienation from the natural world we live within and depend on. The new field of ecological psychology helps us to understand how we can develop a truly ecological consciousness that changes our awareness of and interaction with nature – which affects our relations to other people and social groups as well.

Spiritual insight : Intuition and intimacy.

• Beyond scientific knowledge, social theory, and philosophical understanding is intuition into nature and our social relationships. There are various kinds of intuition, but they all tend to be characterized by an intimate communion and spiritual awareness that is different from reason and science. Cultivating such intuitive insight gives us a deep sense of connectedness with nature and people and fuels our commitment to action.

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