What is Environmentalism?
- InspiringGreenLiving
- Jun 3, 2022
- 5 min read
First and foremost, welcome back. If you are new, then welcome for the first time! Inspiring Green is here to try to provide a knowledge-based free platform about all of the different aspects of environmentalism. In this blog, I'll be explaining a bit about environmentalism, sustainability, how food and farmers are impacted and can create a different impact, as well as how this impacts citizens. I will link to some sources below. Anything with a web link will have the URL available next to a source number so you can easily click it and follow the link, and formal citations will be at the very end. Thanks for joining me on this journey!
Okay, now really. What is environmentalism?
According to Merriam-Webster, environmentalism is the "advocacy of the preservation, restoration, or improvement of the natural environment." (Source: 1). They also define it as, "a theory that views environment rather than heredity as the important factor in the development and especially the cultural and intellectual development of an individual or group." Essentially, the planet is important and so is taking care of its creatures and resources, and this importance leads to the development of individuals or groups in different ways. But Inspiring Green, that's extremely broad! Yes, yes it is. This is part of why environmentalism is so complex and can seem so daunting to understand, let alone participate in. Environmentalism covers every animal, every ocean, every landmass, every good that is produced, food that is consumed, and more. It is extremely complex, and I'm not here to try to confuse you, so I'll just cover the basics in this blog post.
So, is sustainability the same thing as environmentalism?
Short answer: sort of. They go hand in hand, but they are not exactly the same. Long answer? Sustainability is a "societal goal with three dimensions (also called pillars): the environmental, economic and social dimension," (Source: 3). It is further explained by the following phrase: "UNESCO formulated a distinction as follows: 'Sustainability is often thought of as a long-term goal (i.e. a more sustainable world).'" So, sustainability is a goal, and environmentalism is the advocacy of that goal.
For a significantly more detailed background, view these sources here (also cited at the end of the text): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmentalism
Okay, big deal. Why does this matter, and why should it matter to me?
Well, environmentalism and sustainability are complex, as we covered and will continue to delve into further. It impacts numerous things, but we will focus on our food and agriculture in this blog post.
Food.
Everyone eats. Everything eats. Food is critical to survival. But our food is impacted constantly by the environment as we get our food from the environment. With food comes organic vs. inorganic foods. Chemicals, which are used on inorganic foods, impact the environment (again, please please watch Kiss the Ground on Netflix. This is a super helpful and informative resource that explained a lot of this to me in a way I could understand). Farming also uses something referred to as "synthetics," which will be referenced again below. The U.S. Department of Agriculture explains synthetics as follows: "The National List of synthetic substances includes materials that are specifically allowed in organic crop production. The list includes algaecides, disinfectants, sanitizers, irrigation system cleaners, herbicides, animal repellents, insecticides, miticides, pheromones, rodenticides, slug baits, plant disease controls, soil amendments, and plant growth regulators; in short, many of the materials needed for crop production. Any synthetic substance that is not on the National List is not allowed. For example, herbicides containing the synthetic material glyphosate are prohibited. Herbicides containing only natural substances, such as vinegar and clove oils, are allowed," (Source: 4). This explains what synthetics are or are not allowed in organic production, but it also provides a large example of the different kinds of synthetics used in agriculture. Again, synthetics will be briefly mentioned below, and are used in conventional agriculture practices.
The ways that farming happens impacts the environment. Gabe Brown in Kiss the Ground on Netflix is what is called a "regenerative rancher" (Source 5, Time Stamp: 00:39:00). Essentially, Brown purchased a farm in 1991 and farmed conventionally, using heavy tilling practices as well as high use of synthetics, but lost 100% of his crop in 1995 and 1996 to hail. He didn't have crop insurance. In 1997, there was a major drought that resulted in 100% of crop loss for him, as well as no one else in the area using a combine to harvest their crop (likely meaning they lost 100% of their crop as well). In 1998, again Brown lost crops to hail, but this time it was 80%. Still too much lost. He was struggling financially and decided to study soil ecosystems and look up how farming was done before the use of synthetics (explained above). Brown turned to no-tilling farming after studying the soil.
No-tilling means that crops are planted directly into the earth, and no tilling is done to the ground, hence the name. John Deere, an agricultural machinery supply company, currently makes a "no-till drill" for farming, but it isn't commonly used. Tilling destroys the topsoil, so instead of tilling the ground, Brown bought the no-till drill. The no-till drill will cut a small slice into the ground, put the seeds into the earth, and then re-fill the gap created from the small cut in the soil. Older crop remnants and grass is left in place to "protect the soil from wind erosion, water erosion, so we can grow crops on a much less moisture with this type of system," (Brown via Source 5, Time Stamp: 00:42:05). What that means is Brown is using less water on his crops and his crops and land are more protected from wind and water erosion.
This not only speaks to the resilience of nature, but to the resilience and adaptability of American farmers. We can change. We can have more durable, healthier crops. And we know that this process can be successful and beneficial because of the testament given by Gabe Brown. The most important and critical takeaway is this: it is fixable.
So how does this impact citizens?
By making crops more resilient, more crops are available for harvest at the end of the growing year, directly playing into the concept of supply and demand. When supply goes down, and demand is up, prices go up. When supply goes up, and demand goes down, prices go down. With more people having more access to more crops, demand should go down and therefore prices should also go down. Also, fewer resources like water need to be used for agriculture, resulting in more water availability for people, animals, and the natural environment.
Now, more things fall into environmentalism and sustainability than food and agriculture, such as our water, our air, and the overall health and resilience of nature. But I don't want to overwhelm anyone, so I will try to delve into these more at a later date.
So, for now, thank you for joining me on this journey! I hope you found this blog post to be helpful and informative.
- Inspiring Green
Sources (Official source format below, in corresponding order):
1. Merriam-Webster - Environmentalism
2. Wikipedia - Environmentalism
3. Wikipedia - Sustainability
4. U.S. Department of Agriculture
5. "Kiss the Ground" - Netflix
“Environmentalism Definition & Meaning.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/environmentalism. Accessed 2 June 2022.
“Environmentalism.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 27 Apr. 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmentalism. Accessed 2 June 2022.
“Sustainability.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 1 June 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainability. Accessed 2 June 2022.
“Synthetic Substances in Crop Production.” Synthetic Substances in Crop Production | Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, https://www.ams.usda.gov/grades-standards/synthetic-substances-crop-production.
Tickell, Joshua and Rebecca Harrell Tickell, directors. Kiss the Ground, Netflix, 2020, https://www.netflix.com/search?q=kiss%20the%20ground&jbv=81321999. Accessed 2 June 2022.
Photo retrieved from Pexels.
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