Eco-Types: Five Ways of Caring about the Environment

281 Pages·2022·16.405 MB·English

by  Emily Huddart Kennedy

ECO-T YPES

Eco- Types
Five Ways of
Caring about
the Environment
Emily Huddart Kennedy
PRINCE TON UNIVERSITY PRESS
PRINCE TON AND OXFORD
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ISBN: 978-0-691-23956-9
ISBN (e- book): 978-0-691-23957-6
British Library Cataloging- in- Publication Data is available
Editorial: Meagan Levinson and Jaqueline Delaney
Production Editorial: Jenny Wolkowicki
Production: Erin Suydam
Publicity: Kate Hensley and Kathryn Stevens
Copyeditor: Jane Simmonds
Jacket image: Andrew Zarivny / Alamy Stock Photo
This book has been composed Adobe Text Pro and Gotham.
Printed on acid- free paper. ∞
Printed in the United States of Amer i ca
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For Margaret and Morris Dunn, my grandparents, who taught
me there are many ways to care about the environment

CONTENTS
Acknowl edgments ix
Preface xi
Introduction 1
1 The Ideal Environmentalist 21
2 The Eco- Engaged 40
3 The Self- Effacing 64
4 The Optimists 85
5 The Fatalists 104
6 The Indifferent 122
7 Confronting Po liti cal Polarization 141
8 We All Care About the Environment 156
Conclusion 169
Appendices 181
Notes 227
Bibliography 241
Index 253
vii

ACKNOWLE DGMENTS
I wrote an early draft of this book during the first wave of the Covid-19
pandemic. I am fortunate to live near Pacific Spirit Regional Park, a pro-
tected area of temperate rainforest, and I composed much of this book
while walking on its trails. I am so grateful for the serenity and inspiration
that it offered me.
Although it is my name on the front cover, this book is the result of years
of conversations and collaborations with a g reat many p eople—so many that
I cannot begin to list them all here.
Thank you to the f amily, friends, and colleagues who read early drafts of
this book and had long conversations with me about the ideas in it. I am so
grateful for your support, ideas, and encouraging feedback: Camilla Speller,
Elizabeth Dunn, Stephen Huddart, Catherine Rideout, Celina Tumbach,
Mary Lucas, Riley Dunlap, Neil Guppy, Shyon Baumann, Gerry Veenstra,
Christine Horne, Richard York, Harvey Krahn, Lindsay Cuff, and Jennifer
Givens. A special note of thanks to Amin Ghaziani—my shepherd through
the intimidating and opaque world of academic book publishing and to four
anonymous reviewers whose comments w ere imm ensely helpful.
The data collection for this proj ect would have been far less efficient and
less fun without assistance from Jake Hammond, Darcy Hauslik, and Jesse
Mendiola. Also, a big thanks to Mark Billings for his skills in participant
recruitment. It also would have been impossible to collect the data without
financial support. For that, I want to acknowledge the Washington State
University New Faculty Seed Grant and the College of Arts and Sciences
for the funds to start this proj ect. Additional funding from the Social Sci-
ences Research Council of Canada allowed me to collect the survey data
and complete this book.
The real heart of the book you are reading is the voices of my participants.
I’m frequently surprised and grateful at how many p eople are willing to take
time out of their busy days to have a conversation with a stranger. I’m deeply
thankful to every one who shared their feelings, thoughts, and reflections
ix