Occasionally you hear people say they care about the protection of the environment whilst also making of point of not being labeled a “Greenie.” Or those who point their finger blaming the “Greenies” for locking up natural areas, and impeding economic expansion and development.
Labels bring stereotypes, but they serve a function to help us make sense of something or to understand someone. Though, if someone teaches environmental education to primary school children are they an Environmentalist, a Conservationist, or a Tree Hugger?
Do we really need a label to show that we care about the environment? No. But how often do we see comments from 4WD off-road users, loggers, land clearers and climate deniers blaming the ‘all powerful Greenies’ for impeding their needs.
What we are seeing now is the “battle between two world views”. In that “humanity is no longer split between conservatives and liberals, reactionaries and progressives… today the battle lines are drawn between expanders and restrainers; those who believe that there should be no impediments and those who believe that we must live within limits”.1
You don’t have to be a greenie to know that without fresh air or clean water, humans have absolutely nothing.
- Whitehouse, Hilary, and Neus Evans. “‘I Am Not a Greenie, But’: Negotiating a Cultural Discourse.” Australian Journal of Environmental Education, vol. 26, 2010, pp. 19–31. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/44656530. Accessed 1 Dec. 2025 ↩︎
The Green Outlaw 