Record Display for the EPA National Library Catalog

RECORD NUMBER: 22 OF 63

Main Title Environmental values in American culture /
Author Kempton, Willett,
Other Authors
Author Title of a Work
Boster, James S.
Hartley, Jennifer A.
Publisher MIT Press,
Year Published 1996
OCLC Number 36237474
ISBN 0262611236; 9780262611237; 0262111918; 9780262111911
Subjects United States--Environmental conditions ; Public interest--United States ; Values--United States ; Ecology ; Environmental conditions--United States
Holdings
Library Call Number Additional Info Location Last
Modified
Checkout
Status
EJBM  GE150.K46 1996 Headquarters Library/Washington,DC 11/01/2002
Edition 1st MIT Press pbk. ed.
Collation xiii, 320 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm
Notes
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Contents Notes
Introduction -- Background -- Cultural models of nature -- Cultural models of weather and the atmosphere -- Environmental values -- Cultural models and policy reasoning -- Case studies of influential specialists -- Patterns of agreement and disagreement -- Implications of our findings -- Appendices. "How do Americans view environmental issues? From EarthFirst! members to sawmill workers, this study by a team of cognitive anthropologists offers both good and bad news for those addressing environmental issues in the public arena. On the one hand it reveals surprising similarities in the way different groups of Americans view long-term global environmental change, and on the other it shows that Americans have serious misunderstandings about these issues, which skews public support for policies. Using research techniques developed in the study of other cultures, Environmental Values in American Culture explores the reasons for the recent increase in environmental sentiments among Americans, and shows that current views attributing public environmentalism to a single cause are greatly oversimplified. It investigates the components of public environmentalism: beliefs (what people think the world is like), values (what is moral or desirable), and cultural models (the organization of beliefs or values into explanations or justifications). The authors document how scientific information on such issues as global warming, ozone depletion, and species extinctions is interpreted and transformed by the public, and how underlying beliefs and values influence preferences for or against environmental policies. The interviews with and surveys of groups such as EarthFirst!, Sierra Club members, the general public, congressional staff, coal miners, and sawmill workers yield rich insights about how people conceptualize - and misconceptualize - major environmental issues. They also reveal public beliefs and values that differ sharply from those of environmental scientists and economists, identify what is shared by Americans and what is idiosyncratic to extreme groups, and show that religious and spiritual values concerning the environment and concerns for one's descendants are as important as economic tradeoffs." --Publisher.