Well said!!!!!Mike M. My grandfather and uncle were also involved in forming early TU chapters in Michigan. It seems the term "environmentalist" is widely perceived as bad. I was enlightened by the discusssion on this list. It is very unfortunate so maybe we should call ourselves conservationists instead (see below). Remember there were some good changes started by these "whackos" like the ban on DDT and some aerosol sprays that were depleting our ozone layer.
The recent article in Fly fishing magazine about mercanery environmentalists left me a bit confused. I think people should be specific about the groups they are referencing and not lump all environmentalists as activist extremists. I found the following paragraph that discusses this further. "In this case, the problematic word, "environmentalist," . The analysis is based on interviews with 156 members of 20 diverse environmental groups (and two comparison groups) in the Eastern United States, including their views on environmentalists, their history with the movement, their self-identification as an environmentalist, and their environmental actions. From these data, principles of classification and naming are used to distinguish the multiple meanings of the identity "environmentalist." We found that informants use the term to describe four distinct types of people: 1) those who say they care about the environment but take no public actions; 2) those who act to preserve local habitat often through private actions (also called "conservationists"); 3) those who act in the civic or political realm, by writing to representatives or attending hearings (also called "activists"); and 4) those who act via demonstrations, civil disobedience, or "direct action" such as blocking logging operations (also called "radicals"). These differing meanings are sometimes used strategically by participants to position themselves, or opponents, within the environmental movement. The word environmentalist renders it a poor choice for questions in surveys and interviews unless disambiguating paraphrases are added. Additionally, crosstabulation shows that named environmental identities are indicators of behavior-self-defined environmentalists also reported significantly more environmental actions. Words or paraphrases that distinguish among the multiple meanings of "environmentalist" further improve these identity terms as predictors of behavior. In the beginning of what is now considered the American environmental movement, the term "environmentalist" was not used. Early thinkers,such as Thoreau, Emerson, Muir and Leopold wrote of nature or wilderness rather than the environment. By the late 1800s, the movement split into "conservationists" versus "preservationists." The conservationists, led by Gifford Pinchot (cf. Miller 2004) sought to manage forests and other natural resources so as to efficiently extract them for human use. In opposition, the preservationists, led by John Muir, worked to set natural resources aside, guarding them from human use and interference. Whole article at: http://www.fiu.edu/~jea/tesch.pdf Ginger M. Allen Senior Biological Scientist Florida Master Naturalist Program Coordinator www.MasterNaturalist.org University of Florida/IFAS Southwest Florida Research & Education Center 2686 State Road 29 North Immokalee, FL 34142 FAX 239-658-3469 PH 239-658-3400; SunCom 974-3400 -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of DonO Sent: Monday, June 27, 2005 9:02 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [VFB] Greenie Salution and a Tribute to Jimmy D. Touché DonO ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mike Morris" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, June 27, 2005 7:48 AM Subject: RE: [VFB] Greenie Salution and a Tribute to Jimmy D. > Wow, this thread is heating up a little too much for my taste, > especially since we are arguing a semantics point. Whether you call > your self an environmentalist, conservationist or naturalist probably > has more to do with your upbringing than any true difference in > definition. This thread started out noting the antics of "Radical > Environmentalists" a group who's interest in self aggrandizement and > search for the celebrity spotlight is undeniable. These folks are > trying to hijack a movement started by sportsman and largely paid for by > sportsman. TU is rarely in the news, ditto most of the local groups > dedicated to "saving" the environment. We have accomplished great > things in the last 50 years, for the most part there are more fish and > game now than any time in recent history. True there are still many > areas which need work and some imbalances exist (deer herds are > exploding much to the detriment of almost all other wildlife). I > recently read an article noting that the blackfly population in new > England is exploding-mainly due to vastly improved water quality > throughout the region. So please stop arguing semantics pat yourselves > on the back and continue to act as responsible stewards of what we have > and continue to push to fix whats broe. > > And I agree the radical fringe groups should be put in the desert and > taught all over how the whole web of life thing works. > > Mike M > > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > On Behalf Of edward s engelman > Sent: Saturday, June 25, 2005 11:56 AM > To: [email protected] > Subject: RE: [VFB] Greenie Salution and a Tribute to Jimmy D. > > Everyone. > > Hold on a minute. > > If you examine the history of the environmental movement it was started > by > concerned sportsmen and sportswomen. It was perhaps enlightened self > interest but they were able to stop the timber barrons of the 19th > century > from slashing and burning whole watersheds that were home to trout and > deer > and prevent irreversable degredation of vast areas of land. Here in New > > York State, the Adirondak Park became the prototype of our National Park > > System. Should those environmentalists be villified? > > What about the conservation platforms of Trout Unlimited, Ducks > Unlimited > etc? Members of those conservation organizations are also > environmentalists. Most trout water today would not be as good as it is > > without environmentalists. > > Remember conservation means wise use of our national resources. An > evironmentalists is one who values conservation. > > I am an environmentalist and I'm proud of it. > > If not, we loose our trout, our health, our green space. A grey world > indeed. > > Perhaps the trophy fish of tomorrow will be a 10" round goby or > mosquitofish. I for one, hope not. > > Ed Engelman >
