{"id":7257,"date":"2018-06-14T06:46:44","date_gmt":"2018-06-14T06:46:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/edswahs\/?p=7257"},"modified":"2018-06-14T06:46:44","modified_gmt":"2018-06-14T06:46:44","slug":"where-now-for-the-environment-movement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/edswahs\/2018\/06\/14\/where-now-for-the-environment-movement\/","title":{"rendered":"Where now for the environment movement?"},"content":{"rendered":"
Tom Crompton asks this question in a new essay from the Common Cause Foundation. \u00a0<\/strong>You can read it here<\/a>. \u00a0It sets out five key opportunities for creating a step-change in the environmental movement:\u00a0ways in which it could work more effectively to inspire the broad-based and durable movements that will create pressure for proportionate action on environmental problems.<\/div>\n
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In this post, I set out the 5 opportunities followed by a quick comment from me. \u00a0Morgan Phillips then adds a more nuanced perspective (indented text).<\/div>\n
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1 \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>TRUST AND EMPOWER PEOPLE \u2013\u00a0this is hard to disagree with, especially the point about conversations.<\/div>\n
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An interesting thing to explore here is our hang ups about people not talking to each other face to face. A mountain of interaction is happening in the online \/ digital space, facilitated by technology, arguably we are spending too much time idly chatting to each other and not taking enough time to quietly contemplate the bigger picture. Tom advises '<\/i><\/span>invest effort in facilitating conversations between supporters, rather than conveying information to supporters.' <\/i>Do we\u00a0need to think about the content of the conversations we are facilitating?<\/span><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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2 \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>ROOT CAMPAIGNS AND COMMUNICATIONS IN \u2018COMPASSIONATE\u2019 VALUES \u2013\u00a0up to a point.\u00a0 The point being the need to engage those who don\u2019t get compassion.<\/div>\n
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This relates to the next point too, in labeling\u00a0all intrinsic values 'compassionate' values (and all extrinsic values 'self-interest' values) Tom is trying to simplify the language, but it is problematic in that it immediately narrows our thinking. Compassion is just one value among many other intrinsic values that cluster around it. The research shows that the large majority of people value intrinsic values more than extrinsic values, and that even those who are extrinsically orientated do in fact also hold intrinsic values that can be activated, nurtured and reinforced. And vice versa of course. I think the key thing with this is that the research is showing that\u00a0'<\/i><\/span>appealing to both \u2018compassionate\u2019 and \u2018self-interest\u2019 [simultaneously] is as ineffective as appealing to \u2018self-interest\u2019 alone' <\/i>(see p. 10). One tiny appeal to extrinsic values can undo all the hard work that has been put in to appeals to intrinsic values.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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3 \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>AVOID APPEALING TO\u00a0\u2018SELF-INTEREST\u2019 VALUES \u2013\u00a0<\/span>The trouble surely is that not all self-interest is bad.\u00a0 Isn\u2019t taking an interest in your children\u2019s welfare (eg the food they eat, the books they read, and the air they breathe) a self-interested value?<\/div>\n
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It is, in an 'enlightened self-interest' sort of way, but what is happening\u00a0is an activation of our benevolence values, which are a subset of our intrinsic values. If we activate benevolence values, this has a bleed over effect, activating other intrinsic values. Again this is problem with simplifying the language.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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4 \u2013<\/strong>\u00a0DEVELOP COLLABORATIONS BEYOND THE ENVIRONMENTAL SECTOR\u00a0<\/span>\u2013 this has to make sense,\u00a0and the SDGs provide the\u00a0need<\/i>\u00a0to do this.<\/div>\n
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Agreed, this is absolutely key. But do the SDGs provide the way <\/i>too? I have been wondering whether it would be worth doing an analysis of the impact that the SDGs is having on building relationships between, for example, the environment and development sectors?\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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5 \u2013<\/strong>\u00a0CALL-OUT PUBLIC POLICIES AND INSTITUTIONS THAT EMBED \u2018SELF- INTEREST\u2019 VALUES \u2013\u00a0seems like a call for simpler times: the 1950s spring to mind.<\/p>\n

My interpretation of this is that bodies and institutions whose purpose it is to work in the public interest are not fulfilling that purpose if they are complicit in reinforcing extrinsic values. It applies to Government bodies as well as many NGOs.<\/span>\u00a0 \u00a0And does 'simplicity' have to be understood as a regressive thing, something we return to? I think we can progress towards simplicity, or to be more philosophical about this, we can progress towards a situtation where things are not too simple, but not too complex - both have their virtues. This aligns a lot with concepts of sustainability and steady states I think. <\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Of course, we all have self-interested values to some degree: family \/ children \/ locality.\u00a0 Sometimes self-interest is community interest which is a good thing sometimes.<\/p>\n

Agreed, this is 'enlightened\u00a0self-interest' and benevolence again.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

I did wonder where \u2018engage with the political process is in all this. \u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
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I think it is there, see section 3. 'We are too ready to settle for what is politically feasible today' <\/i>he says this:\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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Although we may not choose to frame it in these terms, many of us have given up on helping to deepen public appetite for ambitious political change. Our focus has turned to working with what\u2019s possible within the constraints of today\u2019s political opportunities. As a result, our perception of the role of members and supporters has subtly changed: we have increasingly come to view supporters as a source of financial revenue, rather than a means of applying collective political pressure.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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Please join in ...<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tom Crompton asks this question in a new essay from the Common Cause Foundation. \u00a0You can read it here. \u00a0It sets out five key opportunities for creating a step-change in the environmental movement:\u00a0ways in which it could work more effectively...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":237,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[2,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7257","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-comment","category-news-and-updates"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/edswahs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7257","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/edswahs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/edswahs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/edswahs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/237"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/edswahs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7257"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/edswahs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7257\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/edswahs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/edswahs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7257"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/edswahs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}