Tree Huggers

Another day another environmental article distancing the environmental movement from tree-huggers. Who knew ABC News even knew what tree-huggers were?

Kyle Greaves [A Step it Up organizer] says that the environmental movement has expanded beyond the stereotype of "tree-huggers."

I saw this sentiment also echoed today at the Step it Up rally in Concord, New Hampshire. A representative from the Sierra Club actually mentioned a Vogue magazine article stating that "Green is the New Black." I think climate activists need to really watch their language here. First of all, the term is quickly becoming hackneyed. Second, the counterculture—which is what average people actually mean when they say "tree-huggers"—was really the first segment of the population to promote the idea of climate change. Instead of disparaging the counterculture, we should use this opportunity to acknowledge the correctness of the counterculture and promote other counterculture ideas in the process.