Ecotism spotted in Arcata, CA

I first came across the term ecotism in a blog by a tea connossieur talking about an eco-friendly ice cream shop in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn. “Blue Marble is a ‘green’ ice-cream company, and not shy about touting that,” she writes. “While I agree with those principles, the overall feel of the shop and its customers are almost unbearably ecotistical.”

Now, I haven’t been to the ice cream shop in question, but I did check out their website, and while it seems to me that the shop is proud of the sustainability of its products, it doesn’t strike me as overly smug. I wondered, what exactly about this ice cream shop got under the blogger’s skin?

Is it the price of the organic, locally produced ice cream ($3.50 for one scoop)? Is she such a cynical New Yorker that she figures any ‘green’ marketing must be BS? Or does she just not like people tooting their own horns in any fashion?

More broadly, should companies be shy about touting their ecofriendliness? Should we hide our environmental efforts under a bushel? In the name of what, good taste? I don’t really get it. I can’t be sure, but personally, Blue Marble doesn’t set off my ecotism sensors. In fact, as soon as I’m mobile again, I plan on heading over there and seeing what all the fuss is about. (In the name of research, of course!!)

On the other hand, I would use the word “ecotistical” to describe the bag shown above, seen in a shop window in Arcata, California, the hippie capital of the world. It actually makes me angry, and I can pinpoint exactly why—it’s because a person who would carry this bag obviously has a falsely inflated opinion of herself and a low opinion of everyone else.

First off, is there anyone left who really thinks that carrying a reusable shopping bag in and of itself justifies the statement “I’m saving the planet”? If so, that person is sadly deluded.

Secondly, why the adversarial tone? Is it necessary to not only (erroneously) toot one’s horn, but also wag a finger in the face of every other person on the street?

With this level of misplaced self-righteousness, it’s no wonder that so many people are sick of the whole eco thing. I can’t say that I see a lot of this attitude out there, but one encounter with it could be enough to turn someone against environmentalism for good.

Don Beck, the Spiral Dynamics guru (pdf), calls this the “mean green” meme. In Spiral Dynamics, green is the color assigned to postmodernism, your basic progressive/hippie value system, including environmentalism, feminism, anti-oppression, anti-corporatism, etc.

Since postmodernism depends on deconstructing everything that came before it, people who identify with green values often hold a deep contempt for other ideas and the people who espouse them. The “mean green” meme is embodied in strident, rigid progressives who believe they know better than everyone else in society and look down on anyone who disagrees with their views.

There’s no question that many of these angry activists have accomplished a lot of wonderful things—from protecting natural lands to expanding the circle of who human rights apply to.

But environmentalism’s next stage cannot arise out of rage, condescension, or progressive dogma. We’ve tried indignation for decades and it simply doesn’t work. Pragmatically, we need to look in a different direction—towards each other—with open minds and hearts.

As we’ve said many times on The Sunny Way, each of us has a contribution to make to creating the clean, just, awesome future we want—from the most dedicated Greenpeace-r to the most dedicated evangelical Christian. We don’t have time to fan the flames of conflict. We have to leave all that behind and get to work.

So I say toot your green horn as much as you see fit. As long as you can back it up, I won’t complain, especially if in touting your own efforts you make no attempt to put others down.

But the worldview embodied by this silly little bag is true ecotistical nonsense, and something we absolutely must let go of if we intend to come together and create a future that works.