Being and environmentalist is both good and bad

by Robert McLean

Demonstrate an interest in mitigating what it is that changes our climate and almost immediately you are lumped-in with environmentalists.

That is not necessarily a bad thing, but it can be both a handicap and a distraction.

Concern for what humans are doing in disrupting the earth’s climate system is bigger than simply worrying about our environment.

Naturally, environmental matters are high on the agenda, but the fundamental concern for most climate change advocates is rarely among those matters foisted upon them by the popular media and so top of mind for many people.

Being labelled as an “environmentalist” brings with it certain baggage, certain stereotyping in that many immediately see you as a long-haired, sandal and hair-shirt wearing anti-establishment person with your roots in the 60s and so disengaged from what is real.

Concern about climate change equates directly about human welfare, how people are going to live and prosper (not economically) and how we are going to keep the infrastructure upon which we all depend intact.

Yes, I care about the environment, deeply, but I also care about how we live, how we behave, how we treat our fellows and understand that all of those things are inherently implicated in and depend upon how we treat our home, hence the environment.

Interestingly, Oxfam has just released a story headed: “Climate change is not just about the climate, it is about our lives” as the world gathers in Lima to work on drafting a global treaty on climate change. The story makes a similar point.