What is environmentalism and its difference with ecology

The RAE gives us a Definition of ecology like this: “Science that studies living beings as inhabitants of a medium, and the relationships that maintain each other and with the environment themselves.” Ecology It is, therefore, a scientific disciplineobjective and away from the fields of ethics or morals. Ecology is learned at the university, and its professionals are Ecologiststhat study the processes and changes that life suffers on the planet, as well as the developments and fluctuations in biodiversity and ecosystems.

Ecology is closely related to genetics, ethology and evolutionary biology, fields that cross their subjects of study, and has a lot of practical application areas, such as the management of natural resources, urban planning or economy, among others.

Ecology is also divided into a large number of disciplines, some of which are:

• Aerobiology.
• Microbial ecology.
• Biogeography
• Urban ecology.
• Mathematical ecology.

Ecologism or Green Movementunlike ecology, it is not a science, but a global, social and political movement whose objective is the protection and conservation of the environment.

Ecologists or environmentalists (it must be taken into account that, although sometimes they are used as synonyms, environmentalism and environmentalism are considered to have some differences) are the followers or supporters of this movement, which seek a point of balance between human needs and the health of natural ecosystems. For this, environmentalists carry out social criticism with the aim of raising awareness among the population and achieving changes that make the most sustainable human civilization from the natural point of view. There are a lot of slopes in the environmental movement, some of them ecocentrist, that is, that prioritize the value of nature over that of the human being, or anthropocentrists, which is the opposite. However, although the amount of types and slopes of environmentalism It is huge, some large groups can be differentiated:

• Technical Ecologism: It seeks to reduce contamination worldwide, proposing alternative energies and technical advances.
• Naturalist Ecologism: It is an ecocentrist philosophical current that focuses on the importance of avoiding extinctions of animal species.
• Liberal Ecologism: Its main theme of study is the limited resources that the human being provides. Look for alternatives, among which is the possibility of traveling to other planets.
• Sociological-political ecologism: It focuses on the study of the human being as a species, and addresses the problems of superpoblation, world famine and the exhaustion of resources.
• Humanist Ecologism: It is a movement with little popularity, which starts from the basis of considering the human being as a solidarity creature.
• Spiritual Ecologism: Its objectives are the protection of mood and spiritual wealth, promoting a philosophy of love and respect for nature.
• Integral Ecologism: It faces the problems of the destruction of the environment and its natural resources from all possible perspectives.

Taking all this into account, we can define that the majority of environmentalists are people who, regardless of their profession or training, fight with different degrees of involvement and voluntarily by favor the preservation of the environment.

The least good face of ecology, however, is found in the abuse of the term that is carried out in recent decades in the first world, often using it to gain support in political or marketing tactics that do not actually have true ecological objectives, and simply seek to offer an attractive image to the public or the consumer, also making it participate in an alleged environmental movement that is not.

To expand your knowledge on this topic, do not hesitate to consult this other ecology article about what environmentalists are and what they do.

This is clear about the Difference between ecology and ecologismreferring to one science and the other to a social movement. Of course, nothing prevents an ecologist from being an environmentalist too, and in fact this is a circumstance that occurs very often, although it should not necessarily be so.

An ecologist could be an expert in his field, and yet not share the social or ethical implications of the environmental movement, in the same way that an environmentalist does not have to be qualified or trained for environmental work for the simple fact of being.

Also, both for environmentalism and for ecology environmental education is very important. Here we tell you more about what is environmental education, the concept and the objectives it has.

If you want to read more articles similar to What is environmentalism and its difference with ecologywe recommend that you enter our category of other ecology.