Bright green environmentalism is an ideology based on the belief that the convergence of technological change and social

innovation provides the most successful path to sustainable development.

Origin and evolution of bright green thinking [edit]

The term bright green, coined in 2003 by writer Alex Steffen, refers to the fast-growing new wing of environmentalism, distinct
from traditional forms.[1][2] Bright green environmentalism aims to provide prosperity in an ecologically sustainable way through
the use of new technologies and improved design.[3]
Proponents promote and advocate for green energy, electric vehicles, efficient manufacturing sys-
tems, bio and nanotechnologies, ubiquitous computing, dense urban settlements, closed loop materials cycles and sustainable
product designs. One-planet living is a commonly used phrase.[4][5] Their principal focus is on the idea that through a combination
of well-built communities, new technologies and sustainable living practices, the quality of life can actually be improved even
while ecological footprints shrink.
Around the middle of the century we'll see global population peak at something like 9 billion people, all of whom will want to live
with a reasonable amount of prosperity, and many of whom will want, at the very least, a European lifestyle. They will see es-
caping poverty as their nonnegotiable right, but to deliver that prosperity at our current levels of efficiency and resource use
would destroy the planet many times over. We need to invent a new model of prosperity, one that lets billions have the comfort,
security, and opportunities they want at the level of impact the planet can afford. We can't do that without embracing technology
and better design.[6]
The term bright green has been used with increased frequency due to the promulgation of these ideas through the Internet and
recent coverage by some traditional media.[7][8][9]

Dark greens, light greens and bright greens[edit]

Alex Steffen describes contemporary environmentalists as being split into three groups, dark, light, and bright greens.[10]

Light Green[edit]
Light greens see protecting the environment first and foremost as a personal responsibility. They fall into the transformational
activist end of the spectrum, but light greens do not emphasize environmentalism as a distinct political ideology, or even seek
fundamental political reform. Instead, they often focus on environmentalism as a lifestyle choice.[10] The motto "Green is the new
black" sums up this way of thinking, for many.[11] This is different from the term lite green, which some environmentalists use to
describe products or practices they believe are greenwashing, those products and practices which pretend to achieve more
change than they actually do (if any).

Dark Green[edit]
In contrast, dark greens believe that environmental problems are an inherent part of industrialized, capitalist civilization, and
seek radical political change. Dark greens believe that currently and historically dominant modes of societal organization in-
evitably lead to consumerism, overconsumption, waste, alienation from nature and resource depletion. Dark greens claim this is
caused by the emphasis on economic growth that exists within all existing ideologies, a tendency sometimes referred to
as growth mania. The dark green brand of environmentalism is associated with ideas of ecocentrism, deep
ecology, degrowth, anti-consumerism, post-materialism, holism, the Gaia hypothesis of James Lovelock, and sometimes a sup-
port for a reduction in human numbers and/or a relinquishment of technology to reduce humanity's effect on the biosphere.

Contrast between Light Green and Dark Green[edit]

Jonathan Bate in The Song of the Earth feels that usually there will be deep divisions in a theory. He feels that one group is
“light Greens” also known as “environmentalists” who see protecting the environment first and foremost as a personal responsi-
bility. The other group is “dark Greens” also known as “deep ecologists”. In contrast, they believe that environmental problems
are an inherent part of industrialized civilization, and seek radical political changes. This can be simply stated as “Know Tech-
nology” vs “No Technology”. (Suresh Frederick in Ecocriticism: Paradigms and Praxis)

Bright Green[edit]
More recently, bright greens emerged as a group of environmentalists who believe that radical changes are needed in the eco-
nomic and political operation of society in order to make it sustainable, but that better designs, new technologies and more
widely distributed social innovations are the means to make those changes—and that society can neither stop nor protest its
way to sustainability.[12] As Ross Robertson writes,
[B]right green environmentalism is less about the problems and limitations we need to overcome than the "tools, models, and
ideas" that already exist for overcoming them. It forgoes the bleakness of protest and dissent for the energizing confidence of
constructive solutions.[9]

See also[edit]
 Ecology portal

 Energy portal
 Environment portal

 Renewable energy portal

 Technology portal

 Biomimicry – Imitation of biological systems for the solving of human problems

 Eco-innovation – development of products and processes that contribute to sustainable development

 Ecological modernization – School of thought in social sciences

 Ecomodernists – Environmental philosophy

 Ecosia – Web search engine

 Efficient energy use – Energy efficiency

 Environmental technology – Technical and technological processes for protection of the environment

 Hydrogen economy – Using hydrogen to decarbonize sectors which are hard to electrify

 Post-scarcity economy – Situation in which most goods are available to all very cheaply or freely

 Prometheanism – Environmentalist term

 Renewable energy commercialization – Deployment of technologies harnessing easily replenished natural resources

 Solarpunk – Literary and artistic movement

 Technogaianism – Stance favoring technology development to fight climate change and existential threats

 Viridian design movement – Aesthetic facet of bright gree