Sustainability and tourism : reflections from a muddy pool

Abstract

To be 'green', is now fashionable and politically correct but just who or what is green is not easy to determine. There are 'blue greens' (who favour a market approach), 'red greens' (who mix some form of environmentalism with some form of socialism), and 'really (or radical) greens', who claim approaches unadulterated by other political ideologies. One way or the other, it seems that greens are good for you. However, they are not necessarily good for one another. As Yearley points out (1991: 4-6), numerous organizations, often with conflicting objectives and quite different memberships, claim to maintain or enhance the environment. In England, fox hunters and their opponents claim environmentalist credentials, as do hunting organizations all over the world. Not to be outdone, political groups adopt an environmentalist policy or, at least, its associated rhetoric, vying with one another to see who can be the most environmentally aware. Ironically, when such groups do achieve political power, as happened in (the former) West Germany for a brief period, consensus in decision making and its implementation proved impossible to achieve.