Activism and Entrepreneurship
This theme explores the actions of people who, knowing full well the enormity of the challenges, still choose to act--often with audacity, creativity, and success. It is instructive to know what has worked (and not) in the past, so some history of previous waves of environmental action is included. Currently, a very promising approach, social entrepreneur, is having a great deal of success by using the very market forces that have historically been so destructive to improve the environment for people and other species. This also involves using the power of six degree social networks and digital technology.
See also eco-heroes
Histories of Environmental Movement
Robert Gottlieb, Forcing the Spring: The Transformation of the American Environmental Movement (1993) Review of Gottlieb book that tells alternative history of the environmental movement.
American Environmentalism: The U.S. Environmental Movement, 1970-1990 / edited by Riley E. Dunlap and Angela G. Mertig. Published Philadelphia : Taylor & Francis, c1992 (provides a succinct conventional overview of U.S. environmental movement in introductory chapter)
Philip Shabecoff, A Fierce Green Fire: The American Environmental Movement, Island Press; Revised Edition, 2003
California Environmental History bibliography
US Environmental History bibliography
One of the early debates about the environment was between Preservationists such as John Muir and Conservationists such as Gifford Pinchot is explored in the video The Wilderness Idea, which can be found at McHenry Library (ask for VT2197) Discussion of the evolution of the term "conservation"
Social Entrepreneurs
Social entrepreneurship is a new concept, but it weaves together strands that have been around for a long time. It's about forging social relationships and organizing people, but also attempts to work with the market and leverages the power of the Internet. See brilliant video explaining one aspect of this, Web 2.0 issues such as tagging.
The Skoll Foundation is dedicated to fostering social entrepreneurs. Good resources
Skoll Foundation definition and discussion
Additional Organizations
Wiser Earth map of socially conscious organizations, many with an social entrepreneur approach.
Video:
The New Heroes (ucsc owns: DVD2816)
sample: Nick Moon & Martin Fisher
Project: ApproTEC (Appropriate Technology for Enterprise Creation)
Location: Nairobi, Kenya, offices in Tanzania, Mali and San Francisco, Calif.
Nick Moon and Martin Fisher founded ApproTEC out of their belief that poor people don't need handouts, they need concrete opportunities to use their skills and initiative. ApproTEC provides these opportunities by specially designing and manufacturing tools that help people work more productively, allowing them to break the cycle of poverty.
| Course Themes |
| Ecological and Social Utopias |
| Literature, Art, and the Environment |
| Environmental Science and Skeptical Challenges |
| Activism and Entrepreneurship |
