We are all environmentalists

It seems that to be considered an environmentalist, you need to have a deep understanding of many different issues, live a perfectly eco-friendly lifestyle, and write letters to your elected officials advocating for policies that protect our planet. And if you’re not doing all of that, you have no business having an opinion. To make matters worse, environmentalism is presented as a zero-sum game, with no room for exceptions and just one model to follow. Within this belief system, there’s a feeling of “us vs. them”, with most of the population falling into the “them” category and feeling like outsiders. As outsiders, wanting to make an impact is both intimidating and demoralizing. Protecting the planet should be for everybody, not just a privileged few. The goal of environmentalism should be to increase accessibility to eco-friendly options and include everybody in the effort to keep our planet livable. After all, what if being an outsider is a key advantage to confronting one of the defining challenges of our generation? 

Here’s the thing about being an outsider: you bring a fresh perspective without the weight of knowing what has or hasn’t been tried before. Without knowing what’s “possible,” you’re unlikely to be deterred from giving everything a try.

Consider this: Jane Goodall was an outsider when she redefined what it meant to be human. Goodall had no formal scientific training or even a college degree when she first embarked to study chimpanzees in Gombe, Tanzania. Her methods were unorthodox; she even named the animals she was observing rather than assigning numbers–an unthinkable thing for any serious scientist to do at the time. And yet, this freed her to study the chimpanzees closely without preconceived notions about the “right” way to do so or assumptions about what their observed behaviors might really mean. She could have easily dismissed the use of sticks to “fish” for insects as something other than what it was: an advanced behavior we had previously thought only humans were capable of. Her fresh, outsider perspective allowed for some of the most remarkable scientific discoveries of the 20th century. 

For those of us who may feel like outsiders, now is the perfect time to bring new ideas to the forefront that could end up being game-changers. Our planet is in crisis, so what better time to come up with a novel solution? 

What unexpected methods can we present? From advocating for clean, renewable energy in your community to coming up with solutions to safely dispose of electric car batteries, to providing alternatives to single-use plastics, there is an option for everybody to become involved. When totaled, individual actions can create a groundswell that changes behavior and regulations on a much larger scale. 

For this reason, we must make environmentalism and conservation inclusive and welcoming to everybody.  Being an environmentalist is for everybody. It has to be. Bring on the unorthodox methods. Share your fresh views and new ways of looking at things. Drop the assumptions about the right way to be an environmentalist, and let’s get to work. 

After all, as the world discovered about Jane Goodall, maybe being an outsider is a key advantage; let’s use it to confront one of the defining challenges of our generation.