Help
greening mainstream politics — English
The true or feigned concern of politicians and political parties for the environment and environmental issues. Since the birth of the world-wide Environmental Movement in the 1960s, environmentalism (see “ecocentrism”, “ecological citizenship” and “environmental movements”) has grabbed the imagination and attention of ordinary people, scientists from many disciplines, and a multitude of interested and activist groups. As environmental concern gathered momentum, politicians soon realised that support for environmental issues could win votes. Certain politicians, such as Al Gore, former candidate for the Presidency of the USA, and former USA Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, have become true champions for the environment. In all developed, democratic countries there are relatively powerful environmental lobby groups. The environment simply cannot any longer be shunned by those who strive for political power. These days, environmental concerns are central to the policies of most political parties in developed, democratic countries. In some countries (mostly in Western Europe) there are political parties that have the environment as the main tenet of all their policies. These are the so-called “green parties”, and many of them now have substantial representation in their respective parliaments or local governmental bodies. “Green” issues (environmental issues) have thus become part and parcel of mainstream politics, and are not anymore the sole domain of non-governmental organisations and activist organisations, such as Greenpeace and Earth Life Africa. A closely related term is “greenwashing” (a pejorative term) which refers to an insincere incorporation of environmental-friendly practices in the political rhetoric of a political party, industry or company, without them having any true commitment to the protection of the environment. So these parties or companies say all the right-sounding things about the protection of the environment, but do nothing significant to reduce their ecological footprint (see “ecological footprint”). A number of very large, powerful and influential South African companies could be mentioned as examples here, but for fear of unpleasant repercussions, it is left to your own – now informed – judgement to identified these “greenwashers”.
