Eco-Types

Five Ways of Caring About the Environment

By: Emily Huddart Kennedy

Narrated by: Jennifer Woodward

This audiobook narrated by Jennifer Woodward explains why acknowledging diverse eco-social relationships can help us overcome the political polarization that undermines our ability to protect the environment

When we picture the ideal environmentalist, we likely have in mind someone who dedicates herself to reducing her own environmental footprint through individual choices about consumption—driving a fuel-efficient car, for example, or eating less meat, or refusing plastic straws. This is a benchmark that many aspire to—and many others reject. In Eco-Types, Emily Huddart Kennedy shows that there is more than one way to care about the environment, outlining a spectrum of eco-social relationships that range from engagement to indifference.

Drawing on three years of interviews and research, Kennedy describes five archetypal relationships with the environment: the Eco-Engaged, often politically liberal, who have an acute level of concern about the environment, a moral commitment to protect it, and the conviction that an individual can make a difference; the Self-Effacing, who share the Eco-Engaged’s concerns but not the belief in their own efficacy; the Optimists, often politically conservative, who are confident in their relationship with the environment, doubt the severity of environmental problems, and resent insinuations that they don’t care; the Fatalists, who are pessimistic about environmental decline and feel little responsibility to adopt environment-friendly habits; and the Indifferent, who have no affinity for any part of the environmental movement.

Kennedy argues that when liberals feel they have a moral monopoly on environmental issues, polarization results. If we are serious about protecting the planet, we must acknowledge that we don’t all need to care about the environment in the same way.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2022 Emily Huddart Kennedy (P)2022 Princeton University Press

Critic reviews

“Emily Huddart Kennedy uses a perfect blend of scholarly wit and human insight to offer a sophisticated and much needed antidote to the moral laden environmentalism that so painfully polarizes our communities today.”—Kari Marie Norgaard, author of Salmon and Acorns Feed Our People

“Kennedy’s original, sophisticated, and important book demonstrates how our relationship to the environment cannot be understood through the binaries of environmentalist/anti-environmentalist and liberal/conservative. With compassion and vivid examples, she brings to life five eco-types that illustrate the complex and different ways people show concern about the environment.”—Norah MacKendrick, author of Better Safe Than Sorry: How Consumers Navigate Exposure to Everyday Toxics

“Who cares about the environment? Despite our current divided politics, just about everyone does, but in different ways. In this very accessible book, Kennedy masterfully integrates personal interviews with survey data to reveal five eco-types. The findings will surprise, generate debate, and perhaps even lead to common ground and a more sustainable future.”—Steven Brechin, coeditor of Contested Nature