Environmentalist Versus Conservationist, The Difference

By Author: Roy Fernandez
Total Articles: 9
Comment this article

I, until recently describe my political stance, under normal circumstances, to be fair and libertarian. My favorite YouTube side-bar advert would be "fight for fair use". I strongly advocate freedom of speech, freedom of thought and action. That makes me a fairly stable libertarian. I have similar, but nevertheless different views towards the protection and conservation of non-human animals, and the protection of the environment and ecosystem that those species are adapted to. Until recently, I would have called my stance on this issue: "Conservationism". I am a staunch Darwinian and Conservation advocate. Should we view nature from an anthropocentric perspective?

Are there better definitions for the subject, and are environmentalists really so socially anarchic? Do environmentalists really believe that humans and non-human animals have every "right" as he says to do whatever they want in order to open new territories, for food in order to live?

I think that protecting other species is a very important endeavor. Take the dodo, the most celebrated example of how human beings can wipe out other species. I ...
... even watched a BBC television program narrated by Dilly Barlow called "The Dodo's Guide to Surviving Extinction". The purpose of this program it would seem, was to show the historical impact of human beings on the natural world, and our ecosystem. It talks in massive detail about the conservation efforts involved to protect species and endangered species. But also; the possibility that humans could become victims of our own success. That nature will ultimately get the better of the species such as us (that has something wrong with it) - and see to it that it becomes extinct.

Are conservation efforts a useful thing? Will they help ensure our ultimate survival? For me, I would hope for (eventually), a global culture. A global government that is united and looking out all the time for the best interests of all of humanity.

I won't even get into the actions of radical environmentalist groups like green peace, I think that the trouble they go to protect these animals is wonderful, it's just the way in which they go about it that agitates ME. Are evolution and conservation opposed? I would say not. What about the renowned and famous conservationist and socio-biologist: E.O. Wilson? He's more of a Darwinian than many other scientists that I can think of. And he's also a staunch protector of the species in ecosystems, just as I am. Myself, E.O. Wilson, and the preponderance of evolutionary and conserving scientists like them refutes the facile conclusion that conservationist is synonymous with creationist.
To me, what counts is the conservation itself. Not religious attachments to that belief.

Are Conservationist and Environmentalist exclusive groups? Must a conservationist not believe in evolution? Are there more accurate definitions available? Is the subject at all relative? And most importantly of all: are all of our efforts to conserve endangered species a worthwhile or useful endeavor to us?

That’s when a friend, with whom I had a telephone conversation told me that the environmentalists are opposed to conservationists' views like my own, because they are only concerned with the conservation of non-human animals. He said that conservationists are concerned with both and that we have to keep nature in check, as well as using it to contribute to the survival of our species, in order to succeed as a planet, and as a species, on Earth.

He said that it would be a grave injustice to speak of the human race as being in some sense "evil" or parasitic, as the environmentalists do. Even with the damage that we have done to the ecosystem, and the global environment; on a GLOBAL scale, we are wrecking stuff.

You can have interesting conversations through voice services that are offered at low monthly costs.

Roy Fernandez is a freelancer and an active blogger. He enjoys writing about popular voice services.