Discussion opens with a depiction of the 23 Oct 1995 railroad tank car explosion in Bogalusa, LA, as a way to outline the conflict between radical environmentalists (counterculturalists) & progressives (liberal capitalists & socialists). The modernist critique that radical environmentalism (ie, deep ecology) has affinities with early-20th-century nature-worshipping, reactionary movements is then examined. A progressive thread is discerned in deep ecology & ecofeminism despite their unyielding critique of modernity's drive to dominate nature. Attention turns to Ken Wilber's cosmological narrative, which seeks to reconcile radical environmentalism & modern progressivism. Some consideration is given to the idea of spirituality as a key facet to deep ecology. It is concluded that reconciling progressivism & environmentalism is critical to a positive & transcendent postmodern consciousness. J. Zendejas
Varieties of environmentalist thought & their affinities with the core moral & epistemological tradition of modernity are examined. Thinking about environmental crises is dependent on the perceived relationship between language & the world. Prior to the seventeenth century, language, culture, & the natural order were embedded in the word & natural meaning stemmed from interpreting signs in nature & the environment. Modernity brought differentiation of cultural spheres & the separation of language from the world. Language became a vehicle for self-certain apodictic knowledge that legitimated human domination of nature. Two reactions of the ecology movement to this modernity discourse are neomodernism, which rejects assumptions about the correspondence between language & nature, & deep green romanticism. Problems with both of these are highlighted, & a third alternative is proposed in which social practices & nature are viewed as intersecting & ongoing forms of life. 107 References. D. Generoli
In discussions of environmental protection, environmentalists often focus on wild areas & ignore cities. While complaining about global environmental issues like global warming, antiglobalization activists do not offer concrete alternative recommendations for respecting local sovereignty. It is argued that attending to the environmental problems of cities should be the first step in combating global environmental problems. This is because local alliances have to be formed to tackle the common problems. Through those, environmental awareness can be raised & transcend localities. In addition, the ecological footprint of a locality may extend much further than its boundaries, especially in the North. The environmental problems of cities with the largest ecological footprints should be the first addressed. Ways in which to promote urban ecological citizenship & participation with an environmental agenda focused on urban areas are discussed. Urban restoration should be viewed as re-engagement rather than resistance. M. Pflum
In discussions of environmental protection, environmentalists often focus on wild areas & ignore cities. While complaining about global environmental issues like global warming, antiglobalization activists do not offer concrete alternative recommendations for respecting local sovereignty. It is argued that attending to the environmental problems of cities should be the first step in combating global environmental problems. This is because local alliances have to be formed to tackle the common problems. Through those, environmental awareness can be raised & transcend localities. In addition, the ecological footprint of a locality may extend much further than its boundaries, especially in the North. The environmental problems of cities with the largest ecological footprints should be the first addressed. Ways in which to promote urban ecological citizenship & participation with an environmental agenda focused on urban areas are discussed. Urban restoration should be viewed as re-engagement rather than resistance. M. Pflum
The move from colonization to neocolonization for the Western powers in the last century is traced, leading to the current point where the US stands alone as the major military power in the world. Per Michael Hardt & Antonio Negri in Empire, a new paradigm has emerged & gained strength as the result of the power of postwar labor to put upward pressure on wages, growing national liberation movements, & the gradual delegitimization of authority in nation-states. This hypothesis is critiqued on the grounds that the authors underestimate resistance to Empire & the role of leading nation-states in constituting the institutional infrastructure of the new world order. The role of imperialist institutions -- the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, & the World Trade Organization -- in this new world order is examined. Trade unionists, environmentalists, & young proponents of labor rights are expected to lead the anti-globalization movement, but they need to develop a coherent program. M. Pflum
The move from colonization to neocolonization for the Western powers in the last century is traced, leading to the current point where the US stands alone as the major military power in the world. Per Michael Hardt & Antonio Negri in Empire, a new paradigm has emerged & gained strength as the result of the power of postwar labor to put upward pressure on wages, growing national liberation movements, & the gradual delegitimization of authority in nation-states. This hypothesis is critiqued on the grounds that the authors underestimate resistance to Empire & the role of leading nation-states in constituting the institutional infrastructure of the new world order. The role of imperialist institutions -- the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, & the World Trade Organization -- in this new world order is examined. Trade unionists, environmentalists, & young proponents of labor rights are expected to lead the anti-globalization movement, but they need to develop a coherent program. M. Pflum
Critiques the Clinton administration's environmental goals & policies, with a specific focus on the role played by Vice President Al Gore. It is suggested that Gore's environmentally focused Earth in the Balance (1987) gave many environmentalists hope that the Clinton/Gore team would reverse the destructive policies of previous administrations. However, due in part to opposition by an increasingly conservative Congress, the majority of Gore's environmental goals were given up or put aside. It is argued that the theory put forward in Gore's book was not as radical as many judged it to be, & that the environment was fundamentally an issue used by Democrats to fill the void left by the erosion of the Cold War. Gore's book constructed this parallel in three ways: the equation of environmental policies with healthy government, the replacement of the Cold War with the battle against ecological threats (& the US potential to become an environmental superpower), & the suggestion that global capitalism would stabilize under the guidelines of environmentalism. T. Sevier
Presents eight arguments to explain the glaring absence of environmental protests against the European Union (EU) compared to protests by other groups, especially farmers/agricultural organizations, even though environmental groups are active in protest politics at national/regional levels. Since environmentalists are actively involved in lobbying & the EU level, their avoidance of physical protests requires examining strategic options available in both their home countries & Brussels. The possible reasons include the following: (1) The role of EU environmental polices is minor in relation to national policies; (2) Use of domestic channels of influence is more favorable. (3) Lobbying is more effective than protest actions at the EU level. (4) Characteristics of interest representation at the EU level are likely to make protests more difficult. (5) There is a lack of resources. (6) It is difficult to motivate activists to protest in Brussels. (7) EU-based protests get less media attention. (8) Environmental issues are not as immediately consequential to people's livelihoods as farmer/worker issues. It is concluded that the situation is unlikely to change in the near future. 1 Table. J. Lindroth
Presents eight arguments to explain the glaring absence of environmental protests against the European Union (EU) compared to protests by other groups, especially farmers/agricultural organizations, even though environmental groups are active in protest politics at national/regional levels. Since environmentalists are actively involved in lobbying & the EU level, their avoidance of physical protests requires examining strategic options available in both their home countries & Brussels. The possible reasons include the following: (1) The role of EU environmental polices is minor in relation to national policies; (2) Use of domestic channels of influence is more favorable. (3) Lobbying is more effective than protest actions at the EU level. (4) Characteristics of interest representation at the EU level are likely to make protests more difficult. (5) There is a lack of resources. (6) It is difficult to motivate activists to protest in Brussels. (7) EU-based protests get less media attention. (8) Environmental issues are not as immediately consequential to people's livelihoods as farmer/worker issues. It is concluded that the situation is unlikely to change in the near future. 1 Table. J. Lindroth
Focusing on utopian social theory, it is argued that ecological politics' ambiguous relationship to utopianism is Janus-faced. Such eclecticism is viewed as positive in that widespread support can be garnered for this kind of politics; however, the problem lies in the possible confusion engendered for radical environmentalists trying to identify their position on the utopian frontier. The core theme of green utopianism is elaborated before offering green antiutopian critiques of this view, which center on the issue of limits. A key political ecological distinction is noted between the malleability of the human condition (fixed) vs that of human nature (not fixed). The vast array of political ideologies available to political ecologists is seen, suggesting that the contested relationship between ecologism & utopianism is partly attributed to antiutopian conservatism in green thinking; John Gray's work is scrutinized as an example. The common green utopian idea of self-reliant communities is discussed, contending that there is no consensus on where such a community resides in chronological time, further problematizing the ecologism-utopianism relationship. Three possibilities are elucidated: recovery of a past perfect moment (eg, per Edward Goldsmith), grafting of parts of the past onto parts of the present, & (eg, per William Ophuls), & imagining a wholly new future (eg, per Andre Gorz). It is maintained that all three have some legitimacy, & the potential positive political impact of this is articulated. The role of ecological modernization, seen as the latest challenge to green utopianism, is considered in conclusion. J. Zendejas
"While nonviolent techniques have been widely used by single-interest groups such as trade unions and anti-nuclear, indigenous or environmentalist movements, this chapter refers primarily to nation-wide campaigns by identity or national groups who are challenging internal oppression or external aggression and occupation, and are seeking either self-determination or civil rights in a truly democratic and multicultural state. The chapter is structured as follows: section 2 defines the concept of nonviolent resistance, its aims and methods, and compares its main characteristics with those of other approaches to conflict transformation. It also provides a brief overview of a range of terms usually associated with nonviolence, and their implications for theory and practice. In this chapter, the term 'nonviolent resistance' (henceforth also NVR) refers both to the process of social change through active nonviolence and to a specific set of methods of action for effecting change. Section 3 addresses the conceptual and empirical developments in the field of nonviolent resistance. It draws a distinction between two types of arguments, the so-called 'principled' and 'pragmatic' trends, which are often handled as polar opposites in the literature, but are treated here as complementary. When combined, they present nonviolent action as both an ethical and efficient strategy to effect socio-political change. The most significant nonviolent campaigns since WWII are also briefly listed, as well as recent developments in NVR training and uses of nonviolent techniques for third-party conflict intervention. The remaining two sections of the chapter offer a closer analysis of two processes of constructive conflict transformation through NVR, arguing that nonviolent struggles might support the goals of peacemaking and peacebuilding by transforming unbalanced power relations in preparation for conflict negotiations (section 4), and by using self-limiting conflict strategies that reduce inter-party polarization and encourage democratic practices (section 5). Empirical illustrations of these dynamics are provided through a case study of the first Palestinian intifada against the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip (1987-1993)" (excerpt)
