tree hugger

• treehugger, tree-hugger

Compound of tree +‎ hugger. Popularized after the 1970's Chipko movement in India, who resorted to actual group hugging of trees in order to prevent deforestation. Tommy James claims that his 1971 song Draggin' the Line popularized the phrase.

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tree hugger (plural tree huggers)

1. (slang, derogatory) An environmental campaigner, especially one who aims to restrict logging and especially one who uses dramatic, attention-grabbing methods of obstruction.

   Coordinate term: bunny hugger

   • 1999, Mother Jones Magazine (Mar–Apr 1999, page 64)

     Animal liberationists like Rosmarino resented the tree huggers' insensitivity to animals and reluctance to risk jail time, while more mainstream environmentalists like AFR's Jeff Berman disagreed with the bunny huggers' wacky morality and in-your-face tactics. The two groups' differences were in full view as they teamed up to parade through Vail last winter.

2. (slang) A hippie.(Can we add an example for this sense?)
   • 2005, Erin Bell, Miss Diagnosed: Unraveling Chronic Stress:

     The idea of naturopathic doctors had always formed an image in my mind of old, bearded, tree-huggers who boiled roots and made poultices out of gross things to treat weird people who believed in that "natural" stuff.

   • 2014, Zoe Ambler, The Road of Darkness:

     She'd heard the term from American soldiers about these 'free love' people. 'Tree huggers' who reveled in sex, drink and drugs.

   • 2020, D. L. Kline, Simple Spirituality:

     Until fairly recently, even the idea of a MBS connection was dismissed by Western medicine as the province of New Age tree huggers, so it had very little mainstream credibility.

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