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Which Green Are You?
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Hey all,
For some reason, when I was thinking about a topic for our upcoming official meetup, I couldn't get the concept of environmentalism out of my head. It is just such an interesting thing to think about. Environmentalism has been around in some form or other since the dawn of industrialization. However, in the last 30 years especially, environmentalism has taken off. Its everywhere nowadays, from non-government organizations, to government organizations, to hippy communes, to advertisements for oil companies and automobile manufacturers. Since hurricane Katrina pummeled New Orleans and the effects of global warming received major media attention, environmentalism has even become a pressing political issue in our current presidential race.
I decided to see what wikipedia had to say about it. I came across an interesting section discussing three different branches of the environmental movement, each delineated by a different shade of green: dark green, light green, and bright green. I included the text below. I thought it was fascinating that such distinct perspective on the shared goal of preserving our environment have emerged. Environmentalism as a philosophy and practice definitely offers a wealth of depth and meaning. I propose that we explore this concept together and see if we can look at the complex relationship between humanity and our environment in ways that we never have before.
Which green are you?
Josh
Dark Greens, Light Greens and Bright Greens
Environmentalists are sometimes - perhaps derisively - split into two groups, 'Dark' and 'Light Greens'. Light Greens fall in on the reformist end of the spectrum introduced above, and are the more popular and more visible part of the environmental movement. They include the more famous and public environmental groups such as Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and the Sierra Club (in the US and Canada). Light Greens do not emphasize environmentalism as a distinct political ideology, but rather seek greater environmental emphasis within existing ideologies such as Conservatism, Socialism or Liberalism. They may focus on environmentalism as a lifestyle choice.[6]
Dark Greens are much more radical than light greens. As discussed earlier, 'dark greens' tend to believe that dominant political ideologies (sometimes referred to as industrialism) are corrupt and inevitably lead to environmental degradation. Dark Greens claim that this is caused by the emphasis on growth that exists within all existing ideologies, a tendency referred to as ?growth mania?. The dark green brand of environmentalism is associated with ideas of Deep Ecology, Post-materialism, Holism, the Gaia Theory of James Lovelock and the work of Fritjof Capra. The division between light and dark greens was visible in the fighting between Fundi and Realo factions of the German Green Party.[citation needed]
More recently, a third group may be said to have emerged in the form of Bright Greens. This group believes that radical changes are needed in the economic and political operation of society in order to make it sustainable, but that better design, new technologies and more widely distributed social innovations (more so than either lifestyle changes or anti-growth reactions) are what's called for to make the transition to sustainability.[citation needed]
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