Well based on this current generation of college students, I would say tree-hugging and Tibetan poetry is more along the lines.
I realize that "haters gotta hate", but now some right-wingers eagerly proclaim your "moral superiority" at the drop of a hat. Forget about honest discussions.
And yes, I AM a tree-hugger - and damn proud of it.
I want clean air so that less people have to suffer from asthma, COPD, and lung cancer.
I want clean water so less people have to deal with the effects of lead and persistent organic compounds.
I want us to do something about global warming, so that our grand-kids don't have to deal with a chaotic world by 2100.
As to being an elitist:
When I reached college age, I never could even consider Princeton, nor could I consider living on campus at RU - because my blue collar family could not afford it. I commuted to school for 3 years.
I worked each summer at my uncle's dairy farm for $20 a week (plus room and board), because he needed the help just to survive.
I shoveled cow manure, pig manure, and chicken manure every day. I picked rocks, pulled weeds, cleared spider webs, tarred roofs, white-washed walls, and worked 15 hours a day during haying season throwing bales onto wagons and into mows. I suspect I got more dirt under my fingernails in a month than you have in your entire life.
So assuming all people who love the natural world are pansies incapable of understanding what real work is like is a complete caricature and flat -out wrong. My family taught me the value of real work and living up to your responsibilities, and I am grateful they did.
Have a good time making fun of me and those of my ilk, since that seems to be one thing you at which you are skilled. Just letting you know that there is diversity in all groups.