Social change is often actualized through the efforts of a social movement. A
social movement is defined as being an organized effort undertaken to promote or resist
social change using both institutionalized and non-institutionalized forms of political
action (Marx and McAdam, 1994). In other words, social movements tend to embrace a
range of tactics and goals that are designed to work within or outside of accepted political
channels. The women’s movement and the environmental movement are examples of
social movements. People associated with the environmental movement are generally
concerned about issues relating to pollution, acid rain, and deforestation but their tactics
and goals are often very different. For instance, members of Earth First!, a radical
environmental organization, have been known to sabotage logging equipment and spike
trees. Those tactics, however, are not endorsed by more mainstream environmentalists
who favor more conservative strategies such as passing out leaflets, getting petitions
signed, and lobbying governmental representatives.