On the eve of the European elections, the ecologist party is barely visible, even though it should be front and center at a time when the challenges facing the ecology and the future of the planet have never been greater.
For over 50 years, we’ve all been aware that we’re mistreating our planet. Johnny Halliday was already singing about it in 1970! In his song La pollution, he is perfectly clear: Fish are dying in polluted seas, People are suffocating in polluted air (1).
While there are many political explanations for the difficulties of the ecologist party on the eve of the European elections, the specific DNA of environmental activists may also play a key role here in their difficulties in rallying beyond their militant base.
The specific DNA of environmental activists
We all possess numerous cognitive aptitudes, natural talents, but their combination varies from one individual to another. These combinations are so numerous that they make us unique on a global scale (2).
While environmental activists are also all unique and different from one another, the majority of them have two natural talents in common: the capacity for interconnection and the ability to be at ease with problems.
These two talents are at the root of both their mobilization and their difficulties in convincing people outside their militant base.
Interconnection
The first is interconnection, the ability to see oneself as a link in a chain, part of a greater whole. It’s a talent for building interpersonal relationships. If you have it, you’ll certainly have the very strong value of « not doing to others what you don’t want done to you » and of feeling a very beautiful energy in times of communion or gathering.
This talent, very early on, enabled environmentalists to feel concerned, as soon as the first signs of disruption appeared on the other side of the planet. Indeed, for them, it was always clear that we had only one planet and that climate change affected us all, even if the first signs were not yet perceptible in Europe in 1970.
Of course, this talent is not exclusive to environmental activists. It can also be found in the corporate world, where it creates a strong sense of belonging and fair play. It’s particularly present, for example, in cross-functional positions in major groups, and is extremely useful.
I often cite Airbus as an example, where the different parts of an aircraft are built around the world before converging and being assembled on the final assembly lines. Employees at the various production sites who possess this talent for interconnection have all the other production sites in mind in real time, and know that they are just one link in a much larger whole. On a daily basis, they make a major contribution to the quality of the integration of these different parts into the final product, and to a spirit of belonging throughout the Airbus group.
Creative problem-solving
The second talent very much in evidence among environmental activists is that of being at ease with problems. For them, a problem is not a source of stress. For them, a problem is simply something waiting to be solved, and a good day is one marked by problem-solving.
This talent for action gives them the energy to act, and from the very beginnings of their movement has enabled them to consider that it would be possible to solve the problems they encounter.
Of course, this talent is not exclusive to environmental activists. It can be found in many professional and sporting domains. For example, it is over-represented, compared to the general population, among the top rowers and coaches of the French Rowing Federation (3). It gives them the energy to correct a technical gesture over and over again to reach their full potential as rowers. You don’t have to have this talent to be a great champion, but it can be helpful to have great tenacity in sports like rowing, where for years you have to concentrate on the same gesture several times a week and repeat it endlessly.
Talents & flaws
These two natural talents are like all talents: they have two sides.
Properly understood and mastered, they are very useful and a source of pleasure and performance.
Misunderstood or used poorly, they’re nothing but ugly flaws, a source of misunderstanding and discomfort.
New Age & Co
For those who don’t possess the talent for interconnection, the feeling of belonging and the relationship with the group can be experienced differently. The way in which environmental movements operate is not natural to everyone.
A liking for New Age practices, shamanism, energy circulation and biodynamics, for example, can be an obstacle to those who, like me, are very attached to science (4)(5). And the latest campaign for the European elections is no exception, with the « sacred feminine » highlighted at the December 2 kick-off meeting, for example, an esoteric personal development trend aimed at women which, according to MIVILUDES (6), constitutes a threat of sectarian aberration.
Cassandra & the ostriches
For those who don’t have the talent of being comfortable with problems, this can lead to ostrich-like behavior. We all solve problems, big or small, every day, but the difference lies in the pleasure we take in it.
Perhaps, like me, at the end of a day when you’ve solved a lot of problems, you’ll simply feel relieved. Those with the same talent as environmentalists will feel energized. Problems don’t cause them stress or discomfort.
And that’s where misunderstanding comes from.
They often share every problem they see, big or small, without realizing that for those who don’t have the talent, this is at best annoying (« Argh, Gérard’s bitching again »), at worst crippling, and turns us into ostriches (despite my best efforts, I still can’t listen to a Sandrine Rousseau speech for more than 5 minutes).
The issue isn’t Ecology
For Marie Toussaint, head of the ecologist list for the European elections, « ecology is an inconvenient truth », as she reiterated on Sunday at her last meeting at the Docks d’Aubervilliers (Seine-Saint-Denis).
Is ecology the issue? Nothing lends credence to this theory. It remains at the heart of French people’s concerns year after year.
And if the EELV list is credited with 5 to 7% of voting intentions, while at the same time the fight against climate change is considered by the French to be the number 1 priority for the European Union (7), the problem may lie elsewhere.
This isn’t about a small number of activists locked away in an ivory tower « defending an inconvenient truth », it’s about a movement that needs to rethink its actions.
Finding a way to work together (again)
The predicted defeat of the ecologists in the European elections will not be a victory for anyone. We need to work together to build a desirable future that fully integrates environmental issues.
For environmental activists, it’s urgent to become aware of their specificities and biases, to interact and collaborate better with everyone, communicate better, integrate science better and bring people together, far beyond their own party.
For the rest of us, while we await this change, it’s time to remember that for 50 years, environmental activists have been sounding the alarm and urging us to act.
Isn’t it time we faced up to this issue and pooled all our talents to create a better tomorrow?
- For more songs from the last 50 years on the theme of ecology, listen to Bertrand Dicale’s April 22, 2023 column « Ces chansons qui font l’actualité » on France Info https://www.francetvinfo.fr/replay-radio/ces-chansons-qui-font-l-actu/53-ans-de-jours-de-la-terre-53-ans-de-chansons-ecolos_5758409.html. 1970 was also the first Earth Day. Originally, Earth Day was the brainchild of two Americans: Gaylord Nelson, a senator from Wisconsin, and Denis Hayes, a student at Harvard Law School. Together, they mobilized 20 million Americans on April 22, 1970, to celebrate nature and demonstrate against polluters. The date coincided with the first photograph of the earth from space, and a growing awareness of the common, resource-limited planet we inhabit. From 1990 onwards, the movement gained momentum and went international https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jour_de_la_Terre
- On this subject, you can read my earlier articles in Atlantico’s Human Factor section.
- It’s a sport I know well, as a federal rowing coach and former Vice-President of the French Rowing Federation. With the French Rowing Federation, we were able to carry out an experiment on talent and high performance over two seasons, in preparation for the World Rowing Championships for the under-23s, and achieved very interesting results.
- See, for example, the article « L’anthroposophie, discrète multinationale de l’ésotérisme » in Le Monde diplomatique. It begins: « What do biodynamic agriculture, a school with an atypical pedagogy, a major cosmetics company and an investment in a wind farm have in common? They’re all linked to anthroposophy, a spiritual movement founded in the early 20th century by Rudolf Steiner. Discreet but influential, this international movement has economic and political connections… right up to the French government. » https://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/2018/07/MALET/58830
- See also the Ecology & esotericism round-table organized in Angers by AZER, the Association de Zététique pour un Écologisme Rationnel https://metadechoc.fr/podcast/ecologie-et-esoterisme/
- MIVILUDES is a French government agency charged with observing and analyzing the phenomenon of cult movements. See, for example, their 2021 activity report https://www.miviludes.interieur.gouv.fr/sites/default/files/publications/francais/MIVILUDES-RAPPORT2021_web_%2027_04_2023%20_0.pdf
- Survey conducted by Ipsos for the Pacte du pouvoir de vivre, May 16, 2024 at https://www.ipsos.com/fr-fr/europeennes-2024/la-lutte-contre-le-rechauffement-climatique-un-enjeu-prioritaire-pour-lunion-europeenne
