Radical environmentalism
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Radical environmentalism is a term that calls up images of subversive maneuvers performed by those with extremist views who give no quarter to the governments and corporations that persist in polluting the earth and squandering its resources. But much of the force of the word "radical" (or even "environmentalism") is a function of the individual's perspective. Radical environmentalism has two strands that occasionally interact and are, in general terms, "those who favor the preservation of nature for nature's sake and those who wish only to maintain the environment as the necessary habitat of humankind" (Lewis 17). The first are the so-called "deep ecology" movement, or movements, whose adherents stress the principles of "biospherical egalitarianism" in a platform described by Devall and Sessions as based on the proposition that "the well-being and flourishing of human and nonhuman Life on Earth have value in themselves [and] these values are independent of the usefulness of the nonhuman world for human purposes" (quoted in Cheney 295). The second strand of radical environmentalism is the reformist movement, or movements, whose followers, as Petra Kelly (a founder of the West German Green Party) put it, recognize the "structural violence" that is perpetrated against humanity on a daily basis, but believe that this only means that "we have no option but to plunge into greater democracy" (12, 11). The assumption made by deep ecology groups is that the so-called "shallow e
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ote for the Greens is often 'soft'--"more an expression of concern than a real political commitment"--and longer-term loyalty relied heavily on interest in local concerns where the Party played a consistent activist role (O'Riordan 6). The Green party, unlike the others, is always involved in the actions--civil disobedience, demonstrations, and other forms of grass-roots action--that attract local support. This type of action has also been an important factor in the continuing attraction of the party for "the under 25 age group that forms the core of social movement activists" (Papadakis 447). Activists in this group are far more anti-institutional and have a tendency to "become detached from the political style of party managers and officials"--even though the party strives to remain decentralized and non-hierarchical in its organization (Papadakis 447).
The various Green parties of Europe met with different levels of success. The West German party was remarkable as the first to achieve a strong legislative presence when, in 1983, the Greens "gained 28 seats out of 497 in the federal parliament" (European Federation). By the end of the decade environmental concerns caught on with greater force in Europe and in the 1989 e
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Green Party, West German, Cockburn Greenpeace, Shepherds Sea--which, Rainbow Warrior, Orton Earth, European Federation's, Germany O'Riordan, Robert Hunter, Friends Sea, radical environmentalism, green parties, radical action, green party, european federation, deep ecology, german green, german green party, west german, social justice, federation green parties, west german green, federation green, european federation green, apr 1999 available,
Approximate Word count = 3890
Approximate Pages = 16 (250 words per page)
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