Abstract

The environmental movement has seen declining political activism over the last 20 years, while engagement in nonpolitical conservation behaviors has increased (e.g., recycling, carrying reusable shopping bags, etc.). Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring bridges gaps in movement tactics by allowing participants to engage in public, collective pro-movement behavior without engaging in politics or protest. In light of this, I analyze how VWQM participants conceptualize their role in and relationship to an evolving environmental movement, articulate group (collective, movement) and individual identities (personal, activist), and use VWQM as a vehicle for identity alignment. Results indicate : (1) Participants see VWQM as a unique opportunity to support the environmental movement in a way congruent with their personal identity, (2) participants readily accept collective and movement identities associated with the environmental movement but resist identities related to activism, and (3) movement participation and identity development is jointly influenced by processes of movement institutionalization and neoliberalism.

摘要

在过去的20年中，环保运动的政治活动有所减少，而参与非政治保护行为的活动有所增加（例如，回收，携带可重复使用的购物袋等）。志愿者水质监测通过允许参与者参与公共，集体的促进运动行为而无需参与政治或抗议活动，从而弥合了运动策略上的差距。有鉴于此，我分析了VWQM参与者如何概念化他们在不断发展的环境运动，清晰表达的群体（集体，运动）和个人身份（个人，活动家）中的角色和与之的关系，以及如何将VWQM用作身份一致的工具。结果表明：（1）参与者将VWQM视为以与其个人身份相符的方式支持环境运动的独特机会，