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ABSTRACT
In this article, I discuss the challenge posed to environmental education (EE; and education for sustainable development) by the thinkers who see the situation of the world as so severe that ‘sustainability’ is an outdated concept.
My approach is interdisciplinary and I discuss especially the connections between EE and eco-psychology. Based on psychological research, I argue that the wide-scale unconscious anxiety, which people experience, should be taken very seriously in EE. My discussion thus contributes in a new kind of way to a long-standing key issue in EE, the gap between people’s values and the perceived action.
Scholars of eco-anxiety have argued that instead of not caring, many people in fact care too much, and have to resort to psychological defenses of denial and disavowal. Thus, the question in EE is not anymore whether EE should deal with anxiety, for anxiety is already there. The prevailing attitude in EE writing is right in emphasizing positive matters and empowerment, but the relation between hope and optimism must be carefully thought about and a certain sense of tragedy must be included. Therefore, my article participates in the discussion about the role of ‘fear appeals’ in EE.
My discussion is directed to anyone who wants to understand the reasons for inaction and the ways in which these may be overcome.
Acknowledgments
I express gratitude for comments on the draft of this article by EE scholars Anna Lehtonen and Essi Aarnio-Linnanvuori.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Notes
1. There is a problem in labeling people who wish to advance environmental matters as ‘environmentalists’, because the use of the term is often related to identity politics. However, I use the term here for brevity.