The Evolution of Environmentalism

The American Prospect recently published a special report on "The Environment: Death and Rebirth." One of the articles on the "Afterlife of Environmentalism" reviews the Shellenberger and Nordhaus critique. I think it relates to the direction we are taking with our environmental program, as compared with the direction taken by environmental journalism programs that emphasize technical and scientific expertise:

Shellenberger and Nordhaus advance two primary criticisms of contemporary environmentalism. The first is that environmentalists are mired in technocratic wonkery. In some cases this approach has worked. For example, by focusing on the chemicals that are a primary cause of ozone depletion, the movement largely succeeded in getting safer substitutes adopted. Yet on many other issues, success can only come from connecting environmentalists’ concerns with a vision for the future that can inspire broad and deep commitment among citizens. But organizational leaders and staffers engage in a “policy literalism” that obliges them to focus narrowly on the policy at hand, ignoring or downplaying its integral connection to broader social and economic contexts. Thus, say the authors, environmentalists assume “that to win action on global warming, one must talk about global warming instead of, say, the economy, industrial policy, or health care.”

With this in mind, we can better understand Shellenberger and Nordhaus’ accusation that environmentalists act “as though politics didn’t matter.” When environmentalists place faith in both scientific and administrative expertise to solve problems, they consign to politics the pressuring of decision-makers to enable professionals to get on with the job. Shellenberger and Nordhaus are not wholly explicit about this in their report, but I think that they want to elevate politics to a far more vital and constructive role -- presenting a vision of the good life and discussing how societies ought to be organized..."

The author concludes:

In sum, two sorts of change are needed. One is to elevate “politics” as a discussion about values and a constructive vision for the future. Another is to reconnect “environment” to the realm of everyday concerns with quality of life and livelihood. By pursuing both these aims, we can build a more powerful movement to promote the well-being of communities and ecosystems together.

Here's the author's bio. We should invite him over for a conversation!

John M. Meyer is an associate professor of government and politics at Humboldt State University. He is the author of Political Nature: Environmentalism and the Interpretation of Western Thought and is currently working on a book about the role of environmentalism as social criticism.