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Dividing Environmental Colors: Light vs. Dark Green

Environmentalists all the world over have argued about campaign strategies which involve the degree as to which they should take side with the government or private firms. Often, there is an inability of environmentalists to agree on issues. Strategies are available to environmentalist and ideology plays a large part in choice of strategy. A general way of explaining the differences within the environmental movement is as an uninterrupted spectrum from light to dark green. This spectrum, at times, is broken, due to incompatible goals within the environment movement. The spectrum from light green to dark green is explained as follows:

Light green environmentalists have environmental strategies available which range from activism to negotiation. Groups who want a good ongoing working relationship with policy makers to smooth the progress of negotiation; activism becomes less of an option because it can cause confrontation, which can hamper the mutual trust needed for the relationship to work. Likewise, the power of groups who negotiate with governments count on their capability to sway voters and this requires respectability and restraint which many types of activism ruin. Light green environmental groups prefer non-violent actions, however, even activists in lightest green spectrum are considered as being provoking and show a lack of trust towards society’s decision-makers.

Dark green environmentalists are more willing to be confrontational towards corporate and political power, unwilling to avoid activism in order to advance the relations necessary for negotiation. They are usually ideologically against negotiation and the compromises that it involves. Successful negotiations are difficult due to the lack of shared goals and theories between them and the policy-makers.

Environmental organizations use protest actions such as demonstrations, blockades, pickets, protest marches and meetings are the traditional method for groups of people to get their message across to the wider public. It is used as technique for getting people involved in a meaningful way to challenge unfair policy, a heartfelt commitment felt by a group about an important issue, and a way to get publicity to put pressure on government officials. The environmental group, Greenpeace, uses symbolic actions such as pipe blocking to garner publicity. They raise public awareness about issues by concentrating on the worst, and have been successful at raising funds rather than changing behaviors. Greenpeace is considered as becoming increasingly a lighter shade of green but with dark green roots.

The dark greens make deals that raise fundamental ethical questions. They feel that the environment is a resource and those who subscribe to it believe it is acceptable to compromise it in order to save the most valuable areas, thus the dark greens often agree to trade-offs that can lead to some environmental sacrifices. The capability to make deals and accept trade-offs, and to tone down on the confrontation, allows entry into the decision-making process. For others the road to power is through an involvement with the government.

Positive activism is intended to create a sense of necessity and crisis so that people will scream out for immediate change. However, negotiation can work against this by diffusing that sense of crisis and giving the feeling that there is no need to worry since environmentalists are leading government in the right direction. This can create an inaccurate sense of confidence given the lack of power of negotiating environmentalists. Of course any one environmental group will have different types of people as members and it is not so easy to characterize large groups as light or dark green. It is argued that there is room in any social movement for both reformers and the more radical, thus the environmental movement is able to have room for both the light and the dark green. But, conflicts arise from the differing perspectives and ideologies, and also from effects of differing strategies.