Environmentalists, what are we fighting for?
Graham Saul
2018

By asking an obvious yet provocative question, Graham Saul’s Metcalf Fellowship paper challenges us in many ways. It challenges us to identify what connects the disparate struggles that constitute today’s environmental movement. And it challenges us to articulate how to move forward in a hopeful and inspiring way.

Based on Graham’s 25+ years of working on the front lines of social justice and environmental issues, coupled with individual interviews he conducted with 116 of Canada’s leading environmentalists, his paper explores the power of words in mobilizing and inspiring social movements of the past, and puts forward ideas for how the environmental community might organize around a common goal.

Designed to spark debate, this paper blends the personal and professional, weaving Graham’s and other sector leaders’ reflections on what they are fighting for, with a critical analysis of how social movements are built, flourish, and upend the status quo in pursuit of a better world. Over the coming months, Graham will host a series of gatherings in cities across the country to dig deeper into the issues and ideas outlined in his Metcalf paper.

Related Media

What are environmentalists fighting for?
National Observer, Graham Saul
October 18, 2018

The environmental crisis is a moral challenge, not just a practical one
Ottawa Citizen, Graham Saul
November 20, 2018

Environmentalists: what are we fighting for? An environmentalist argues it’s not clear
CBC Radio Ideas
November 23, 2018

Stuck Between Hope and Fear

The Agenda with Steve Paikin, November 7, 2018. 25 min.