Matching Items (2)
Filtering by
- Creators: School of Sustainability
Description
Modern American environmental social movements have strived for a better world for nearly fifty years, pushing a philosophy of careful resource use and limited consumption as an alternative to the pollution and degradation that has so far accompanied global industrialization. The reach of these movements is broad and the topic they cover is one that aligns with the values and beliefs of many; it is thus quite confusing that they've been so unsuccessful. This thesis was a response to that apparent contradiction, exploring why movements have not been as successful as both they and the public initially desired. It began by defining what social movements are and how they emerge or find success, then provided a brief history of environmentalism in America, and the different successes and failures that occurred before and after the first Earth day in 1970. Finally, it explored some of the reasons environmentalism was unsuccessful, and found that while structural barriers like politics and business interests played a role in movement outcomes, the tactics of different groups were at least partially to blame. Once this was concluded, the author used the perspectives of different activists to propose ways to enhance the quality of current movements and allow them to continue to make progress well into the future. In order to expand the audience of this thesis, the author is also working on a children;s book that illustrates many of the important themes that he hopes to convey to the public. Though drafted, the book is incomplete as of the date that documents are due for Barrett review.
ContributorsGuy, Joel D (Author) / Cloutier, Scott (Thesis director) / Josh, MacFayden (Committee member) / Department of English (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning (Contributor) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
Environmental activism has played a major role in American politics since the late 1800s, with major victories including the National Park Service Organic Act of 1916 that established the National Park Service to help protect parks and monuments, the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts of the 1960s and 1970s, and the phase-out of ozone depleting chemicals in the 1990s. Yet mainstream activism has stagnated in recent years, facing a variety of problems such as continuing to perpetuate a corporate system in which frontline and minority communities are left behind and only focusing on traditional methods like lobbying and indirect activism that fail to generate mass public support. In contrast, the Sunrise Movement is a new youth-oriented environmental and social organization that has become prevalent in the last five years for their aim to combat both climate change and socioeconomic inequalities through the Green New Deal. With the growing need for climate action that is fair and equitable, this project intended to contextualize the Sunrise Movement within past and current environmental movements as well as the current environmental and political climate in order to then investigate how Sunrise operates and their level of effectiveness in promoting the Green New Deal. I performed a literature review of both past and present news articles as well as journal articles in addition to interviewing experts in the theory and practice of activism to characterize the three waves of environmentalism and lessons learned, the current political sphere and what mainstream activism is working toward, and Sunrise itself. While mainstream and localized radical activism had victories and a certain degree of effectiveness, their lack of inclusivity has failed to encourage the mass mobilization needed for long-term climate legislation. The Sunrise Movement distinguishes itself through disruptive activism and direct engagement: disruptive by challenging the status quo of profit over people, the two party system where both groups are moving toward the right, and the whiteness and liberal locations of the mainstream environmental movement; direct by working with partners across the environmental, social, and labor sphere and working with actionable, hands-on items that encourage participation. Though they have major limitations like ensuring that they are as inclusive as they recognize an environmental movement must be and the risk of being seen as a partisan organization, Sunrise shows that the attitude of the public is moving in favor of the climate and social equity.
ContributorsAlzamora, Madeline Kate (Author) / Fong, Benjamin (Thesis director) / Brian, Jennifer (Committee member) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-12