What are the first steps to becoming a environmentalist?

Question

I want to become an environmentalist and need to know what steps to take.

Answer 1

I began my long path to being a Greenie almost 20 years ago. The path that I followed was pretty odd, but here's a very brief summary:

I spent 5 years living in an Old Growth Forest in southern New South Wales, Australia. I was helping to stop this magnificent place from being decimated by woodchipping. Managed to get arrested quite a few times in the process, too! While I was there, I was surrounded by many like - minded individuals who were able to teach me a great deal about forested ecosystems and everything that goes on in them.

From there, I spent a couple of years as a volunteer for a Green group called The Wilderness Society. This gave me a valuable insight into the political process and what lobbying is all about.

Then I moved to Tasmania and got involved in another campaign to stop a road being bulldozed through a huge Wilderness area. We lost this battle. The road is there now. That didn't stop me though - it simply forced a radical re-think as to how to be more effective, as the powers that be were ignoring us as we chained ourselves to trees.

The re-think saw me becoming a part of a group who began a small eco-tourism company based on the Wilderness of the Tarkine. The first attempt was less than the success we hoped for, but ever the optimist, I decided to go to Uni and do a degree in Outdoor Education because I could see that the concept of Green Tourism was very worthwhile.

Once I finished Uni, I got amongst the eco-tourism thing again and spent the next three years getting the company off the ground. It's now a fairly big success, commercially. What was an incredible successful part of the operation was that as we were setting up, the Government finally heard the collective call that something needed to be done about the area. There were huge threats from mining and logging and these threats were about to manifest as reality. We spent a lot of energy on taking politicians on our tours, writing letters to the processes which had been established etc. etc. We even got involved in the publication of a coffee-table sized book of the Place!

And Lo! They heard us....Our argument that the Tarkine was much more valuable as a tourism resource rather than a logging and mining wasteland was heard and a huge area was declared off-limits to resource development forever!!! There are quite a few people who are now making a living from tourism in and around the Tarkine....

This is ONE path...probably not for everyone, but the main thing is that I got an education. Both University-trained as well as a very practical, grass-roots kind of education which has stood me in good stead to live a life as a Greenie. It also requires a lot of sacrifices personally because once you become committed to the cause, there are things that your heart will not allow. Like; driving cars is out, as is eating meat. Becoming a Buddhist was certainly part and parcel of the education process too!!

And to finish...sorry this is taking a bit of space! There are a lot of completely practical things which you can do to begin the process RIGHT now!

1. Eat organic / locally grown foods...stops the production of more harmful chemicals, cuts down on transport costs and it's better for you as well! Also, make sure that the eggs you buy aren't from a battery farm!
2.Go vegetarian ...cows and cow farming is a big environmental / ethical nasty.
3. Buy ethical and fair trade goods
4. Try to break your addiction to your motor car. These beasts are one of the worst thing for the environment that we've ever had the misfortune to deal with!!! Try using public transport or ride places you'd normally drive to.
5. Use low energy light bulbs in your home. Consider buying high efficiency appliances (fridges etc.). Use gas to cook toast and heat water - toasters and kettles are huge consumers of power!
6. When it gets cold, put another jumper / sweater and thermal leggings on instead of switching on your heater.
7. Turn your television off at the wall at night, rather than leaving it on standby. This simple procedure can stop about 40kg. of CO2 getting into the atmosphere every year.
8. Consider buying "green" power from your energy supplier. It's not really "green" per se, but the premium you pay is used to subsidise people who are building sustainable homes and installing solar or wind generation equipment. The power so created is fed back into the main grid.
9. Go see your local politicians and question them about what they're doing in parliament to affect change. Tell them that you're worried and that their answers will shape how you vote in the next election. It's a long shot, but if you live in a country with a parliamentary system, it can be a grand way to get change happening. Look at the Green Party and the amount of effect they've had across the globe since their inception in the mid-eighties. It might not appear much, but at least we do have a choice these days! "Never underestimate the power of the individual".

Hope this helps, and feel free to contact me....

Love and Light,

Jarrah

Answer 2

Very simple. Consume less, and recycle when feasible. Voila, you are an environmentalist.

If you want to be an environmentalist activist, read Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring", go to activist web sites like Greenpeace, PETA, and the Nat'l Resources Defense Council and absorb their claptrap and start raising hell.

If you want to work for EPA, you can attend law school to litigate environmental issues, be a scientist to do experiments and support environmental regulations, or go to business school and administer contracts at the EPA (the EPA is an agency of contractors).

Answer 3

Take Calculus and Physics classes with your basic courses at a university that has an Environmental Science program.

Answer 4

Britain, France and 'the other main countries could have not given him the Czech and some other land. They were edging him on. We could have also stopped him from illegally regrouping Germany's military.

Answer 5

It would help to be good at science. There's too much science incompetence among them. For example how many know that carbon dioxide is only about 5 parts per 10,000 of air? What kind of judgment does it take to decide that that causes global warming?

Answer 6

First, start smoking large amounts of marijuana. Use the excuse that it's strictly medicinal.
Then, ignore any evidence that's contrary to Greenpeace or David Suzuki.
By this point your IQ will have dropped at least 50 points and you'll be ready to become a true environmentalist.

Answer 7

You need to become well versed in biology, chemistry and geology.