Environmentalism: Preservation and Conservation

Abstract

The contemporary environmental movement in the USA is one of the most influential and enduring social movements of our time. It builds heavily upon the historical legacy of the progressive conservation movement at the beginning of the twentieth century, which included conservationists interested in natural resource management and preservationists interested in the protection of natural areas. Modern environmentalism began in the 1960s and 1970s and has grown to become a popular movement that encompasses a diverse range of organizations, tactics, and ideologies. The current stage of environmentalism includes radical environmentalists, environmental justice activists, and grassroots groups, as well as large national organizations such as the Sierra Club; it incorporates issues of social as well as interspecies equity. Environmentalism has also spread around the world but, because of its relative success, is engendering increasing opposition. This essay traces the growth and diversification of modern environmentalism in the USA, briefly reviews the growth of environmentalism worldwide, and then examines the major stages of contemporary environmental activism: conservationism, environmentalism, and ecologism.