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The green movement is real but that doesn't mean it's perfect or even fully formed. Like any mass social movement, it requires regular re-evaluation and critical assessment. With so many diverse facets interconnecting-air, water, soil, animals, transportation, consumerism, economics, health, etc.—the wide world of environmentalism is fertile ground for the concept of single issue activism.
Single issue activists narrow their focus to, obviously, a single issue. Of course, that issue can be immense but this approach is not without its pitfalls. The danger of dealing with a particular problem in isolation is that we lose perspective and context. We deal with symptoms instead of the "disease" itself. The big picture becomes fragmented. While certain aspects of the green movement might call out to us more than others, we must always remain open to potential interconnections and historic roots.
Perhaps the greatest danger of single issue activism is that this approach can create the illusion that a particular single issue is merely an deviation from an otherwise functional system. Until we accept the reality that our entire culture has been anti-green, our activism will be putting out small fires while a massive inferno rages.
Related Posts:
Guardian: Can our way of living really save the planet?
Green Glossary: Tree Sitting
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