Identity and the Natural Environment: The Psychological Significance of Nature

The often impassioned nature of environmental conflicts can be attributed to the factthat they are bound up with our sense of personal and social identity. Environmental identity -- howwe orient ourselves to the natural world -- leads us to personalize abstract global issues and takeaction (or not) according to our sense of who we are. We may know about the greenhouse effect -- butcan we give up our SUV for a more fuel-efficient car? Understanding this psychological connectioncan lead to more effective pro-environmental policymaking.Identity and the Natural Environmentexamines the ways in which our sense of who we are affects our relationship with nature, and viceversa. This book brings together cutting-edge work on the topic of identity and the environment,sampling the variety and energy of this emerging field but also placing it within a descriptiveframework. These theory-based, empirical studies locate environmental identity on a continuum ofsocial influence, and the book is divided into three sections reflecting minimal, moderate, orstrong social influence. Throughout, the contributors focus on the interplay between social andenvironmental forces; as one local activist says, "We don't know if we're organizing communities toplant trees, or planting trees to organize communities."

Susan Opotow is Professor in the Graduate Program in Dispute Resolution at the University of Massachusetts, Boston.