Environmental Movements Overview

OVERVIEW OF SOCIAL MOVEMENTS

  • Definitions:
    • Definition #1: Social movements are organized activities that encourage or discourage social change.
    • Definition #2: Social movements are sustained, intentional collective efforts that usually operate outside established institutional channels.
    • Importance:
    • History includes various social movements addressing inequalities (e.g., civil rights, women's movement, peace movement).
    • Local and national environmental movements exist to combat pollution and climate change.

CONCEPTUALIZING SOCIAL MOVEMENTS

  • Collective Action:
    • Involves groups, not individuals.
  • Change-oriented Goals:
    • Movements work to promote or resist social change, varying in aims.
  • Organization:
    • Organized activities, often lasting over time; examples in environmental movements range from local to global.
  • Extrainstitutional Action:
    • Activities outside traditional institutions, e.g., protests, occupations.

DRAMATIZING SOCIAL ISSUES AND CREATING CHANGE

  • Issues such as climate change, water contamination, and toxic pollution may be dramatized through various forms of activism and media.
  • Examples of change include:
    • Normative changes: Recycling, electric cars.
    • Structural changes: Reduction in greenhouse gases, renewable energy transition.

CATEGORIES OF SOCIAL MOVEMENT ACTORS

  1. Protagonists: Supporters of the movement.
  2. Antagonists: Opponents, including the state, counter-movement groups, and corporations.
  3. Bystanders: Community members without a direct stake—can potentially shift sides.

LOCAL ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENTS

  • Often initiated by victims of environmental harm.
  • Characteristics:
    • Voluntary, community-focused, often informal organizations emerged in the 1970s.
    • Over 20,000 local organizations in the U.S. address various issues (e.g., toxic contamination).
  • Significance:
    • Serve as primary vehicles for public advocacy, local pressure on enforcement, and social support.

NATIONAL VS. LOCAL MOVEMENTS

  • Level of Organization:
    • National: Professionalized, bureaucratic structures.
    • Local: Informal, relying on volunteers.
  • Substantive Interests:
    • National: Focus on wildlife preservation, sustainability.
    • Local: Emphasize social and environmental justice, health impacts.
  • Activities/Tactics:
    • National: Lobbying, legal advocacy.
    • Local: Mix of institutional and non-institutional tactics, including protests.
  • Demographics:
    • National: Higher socioeconomic status, often male leadership.
    • Local: Lower socioeconomic status, often female leadership.

EXAMPLES OF LOCAL ACTIVISM

CASE STUDY 1: PONCA CITY, OKLAHOMA
  • Conoco Oil Refinery: Over 90 years of operation with significant local impact.
    • Issues: toxic contamination affecting the community.
    • Local grassroots movements formed, like Ponca City Toxic Concerned Citizens.
    • Outcomes: Successfully forced a buyout of 400 homes for $30 million but faced community dissent and acknowledgment of wrongdoing.
CASE STUDY 2: CONTINENTAL CARBON COMPANY
  • Impact: Carbon black dust affecting the Ponca Tribe's health and environment.
  • Coalition: Diverse groups affected by the contamination formed a coalition.
    • Utilized various strategies from protests to public awareness campaigns.
  • Outcomes: Settlement reached for $10.5 million; ongoing environmental justice issues persist.
CASE STUDY 3: BLACKWELL ZINC SMELTER
  • Operated from 1917-1974; resulted in extensive contamination and health issues.
  • Local Movement: Concerned Citizens of Blackwell formed and engaged in activism through meetings, data collection, and lawsuits.
  • Outcomes: Successful class-action lawsuit led to settlements for community cleanup efforts totaling around $119 million.

TAKE-AWAYS FROM LOCAL ACTIVISM

  • Local environmental movements often comprise residents without previous activism experience.
  • Persistence in advocacy led to significant local actions and empowerment through successful campaigns.
  • Lawsuits and public awareness can facilitate change against established corporate power and local government failures.