‘A proper environmentalist wouldn’t do that’: discourses of alienation from the environmental periphery

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article discusses the mode of environmentalism practiced by those not commonly included in studies of environmentalism. Key weaknesses in environmental identity literatures are identified: the unacknowledged discrepancy between the conceptualisations of researchers and their research participants; the overwhelming abstractness of current conceptualisations; and the occlusion of those environmental actors not covered by movement organisations or designated as activists. A novel approach is outlined, whereby environmentalism is perceived as an example of implicit religion. A thorough discussion of the study sampling is included to demonstrate the applicability of this approach. Following a critical analysis of the discourses of environmental alienation accessed by interviewees, this article outlines the likely negative impact on global environmentalism which may result. The conceptualisation of ‘practical stewardship’ is offered to encompass a more inclusive notion of environmentalism.