6.4.8 Environmental Organizations
Completion requirements
6.4.8 Environmental Policies
How does globalization affect the environment?
Source: Wikimedia Commons
Environmental organizations are made up of people who band together to advocate for the sustainable management of the natural environment. These organizations have various goals and use various means to accomplish them. However, at the root
of all of these groups is the desire to preserve the planet through changes in public policy and individual action.
Environmentalists have many perspectives Sometimes environmentalists are thought of as "tree huggers" (the name comes from a group of women in India who wanted their forests protected from destruction and formed a human link around the forest so it could not be logged off) or people who want to preserve the natural world at the expense of any economic development, but in point of fact, environmentalists come from many backgrounds and have numerous reasons to try to preserve and protect the earth.
The environmental movement ranges from large international organizations, to grassroots movements of people who act at the community level. Environmentalists may be scientists, First Nations, social activists, religious practitioners, trappers, wilderness adventurers, or sport fishermen. The main issues they address include
Environmentalists have many perspectives Sometimes environmentalists are thought of as "tree huggers" (the name comes from a group of women in India who wanted their forests protected from destruction and formed a human link around the forest so it could not be logged off) or people who want to preserve the natural world at the expense of any economic development, but in point of fact, environmentalists come from many backgrounds and have numerous reasons to try to preserve and protect the earth.
The environmental movement ranges from large international organizations, to grassroots movements of people who act at the community level. Environmentalists may be scientists, First Nations, social activists, religious practitioners, trappers, wilderness adventurers, or sport fishermen. The main issues they address include
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making corporations accountable for their activities
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preserving animal species
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reducing human population growth
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eliminating poverty
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preserving nature.
Source: Wikimedia Commons
Environmental organizations perform many functions, including
Sometimes radical action gets attention. For example, Greenpeace, an international organization, took a small boat called the Rainbow Warrior to sea to protest the testing of nuclear weapons in Alaska and later in the South Pacific. In 1972, Canadian protester Dave McTaggart actually sailed his boat right into the area where the French were about to test a nuclear bomb, risking his life and at the same time focusing the attention of the world community on the hazards of nuclear testing. In 1974, the French government announced the end of their atmospheric nuclear testing program.
Clayquot Sound Clayquot Sound contains the largest intact forest on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. It has been devastated by logging for more than 150 years. Logging of ancient forests in Clayquot Sound has been controversial since the 1980s, when local citizens blockaded logging. In 1993, the premier of BC announced that only about 20% of the old growth forest would be protected. His announcement sparked the largest peaceful civil disobedience, promoted by the Friends of Clayquot Sound, in Canadian history, with 12,000 citizens blockading a logging road.
Nearly a thousand people were arrested. The protest brought global attention to the issue. The government responded by forming a scientific panel that made several recommendations, including limiting the amount of logging and using ecosystem-based approach to logging which would limit damage to the eco-system. All of the recommendations were implemented. First nations took ownership of 50% of the land and the area has now been named a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO.
Watch a short video about the protest.
Some environmental groups operating in Canada:
Alberta Wilderness Association
Ducks Unlimited
Greenpeace
Aboriginal Environmental Services
The Sierra Club
The World Wildlife Federation
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scientific research
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monitoring pollution
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monitoring endangered species
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lobbying governments and industry
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direct action to prevent environmental destruction
Sometimes radical action gets attention. For example, Greenpeace, an international organization, took a small boat called the Rainbow Warrior to sea to protest the testing of nuclear weapons in Alaska and later in the South Pacific. In 1972, Canadian protester Dave McTaggart actually sailed his boat right into the area where the French were about to test a nuclear bomb, risking his life and at the same time focusing the attention of the world community on the hazards of nuclear testing. In 1974, the French government announced the end of their atmospheric nuclear testing program.
Clayquot Sound Clayquot Sound contains the largest intact forest on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. It has been devastated by logging for more than 150 years. Logging of ancient forests in Clayquot Sound has been controversial since the 1980s, when local citizens blockaded logging. In 1993, the premier of BC announced that only about 20% of the old growth forest would be protected. His announcement sparked the largest peaceful civil disobedience, promoted by the Friends of Clayquot Sound, in Canadian history, with 12,000 citizens blockading a logging road.
Nearly a thousand people were arrested. The protest brought global attention to the issue. The government responded by forming a scientific panel that made several recommendations, including limiting the amount of logging and using ecosystem-based approach to logging which would limit damage to the eco-system. All of the recommendations were implemented. First nations took ownership of 50% of the land and the area has now been named a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO.
Watch
Watch a short video about the protest.
Some environmental groups operating in Canada:
Alberta Wilderness Association
Ducks Unlimited
Greenpeace
Aboriginal Environmental Services
The Sierra Club
The World Wildlife Federation