Making Sense of the Senseless: Identity, Justice, and the Framing of Environmental Crises

Abstract

Responses to environmental crises will depend on the way in which these events are understood and characterized, perceptions that may be affected by media frames as well as by individual motivations. This paper reports on two studies looking at the role of justice and framing of environmental problems. In Study 1, 297 participants were asked to characterize the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon as an injustice, a crime, or a natural disaster following a description of the event that focused on one of several different types of harm. They also rated harm caused, responsibility for the harm, and their own affective response. In Study 2, 387 participants read a paragraph about climate change that focused on one of several targets of harm and then rated the threat of climate change, responsibility for addressing climate change, and affective response. In both studies, general belief in a just world was associated with weaker negative affect, whereas environmental identity and a liberal political orientation were associated with stronger responses. Business and industry were seen as primarily responsible for both causing and remediating the problems. Framing the issue had a limited influence. The results suggest that political differences in environmental concern are associated with different characterizations of environmental crises and that a desire for justice can both facilitate and hamper pro-environmental responses.

Appendices

Appendix 1: Introductory Paragraphs, Study 1

Environmental Harm

The explosion of the Deepwater Horizon near the Gulf of Mexico is a potentially unprecedented environmental disaster. While at first the oil seemed to be degrading relatively quickly, a plume (a large mass of gasoline within the water) was later found which could continue to pollute the Gulf for years to come. The oil has, to some degree, degraded the marsh barrier protecting Louisiana from harmfully large waves. The destruction of the delta will only make conditions worse for an indefinite period causing habitat loss and other damage to wildlife. Among many different animals affected, the harm has been most severe for different species of birds. Birds’ wings are becoming coated with oil as they are searching for food, making flying a struggle. The birds also attempt to remove the oil from their feathers and end up ingesting it, causing lung and kidney damage, and in many cases death. In addition, oil has been found in the blood of endangered sea turtles and can harm hatching eggs. Masses of dead jellyfish have washed up onto the shore. This is a long-term problem because the oil continues to move along the food chain and more and more animals are ingesting oil over time. The effects of the oil and other chemicals on reproduction are unknown, but are speculated to be highly damaging and will be linked to decreasing biodiversity. Overall, the gulf disaster has caused detrimental health effects for birds, as well as other species, and may continue to for years to come.

Social Harm

The explosion of the Deepwater Horizon near the Gulf of Mexico resulted in the expulsion of approximately 185 million gallons of oil, damaging the livelihoods of the residents of New Orleans and other coastal areas. Cleanup workers have also been negatively affected by the spill. Mental health issues (anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and others) have been on the rise since the oil spill, causing the Gulf area to request funding for extra mental health services for its citizens. Most susceptible to mental health illnesses due to the stress of the disaster are children. Among other detrimental consequences, fishermen’s jobs are very much at stake due to the lack of healthy fish to catch and sell. Many believe that this will cause workers to migrate out of the gulf area to somewhere they can find fishing jobs. Residents do not want to live in such a highly polluted area and are migrating for that reason as well. They are also being driven out by cleanup efforts. While this may seem contradictory, cleanup is guided fully by companies associated with the spill who have not allowed for the citizens’ input on important matters regarding their homeland. Many residents and workers of the Gulf demand compensation for their personal and business-related losses; however, it is not coming in as efficiently as needed. This is causing citizens of the Gulf to feel helpless in their own homeland.

Economic Harm

The explosion of the Deepwater Horizon near the Gulf of Mexico resulted in the expulsion of approximately 185 million gallons of oil. Due to this, the U.S. government banned offshore drilling until just recently (it resumed on October 12, 2010). While this was in our nation’s best interest considering the circumstances, it also forced the U.S. to rely further on the Middle East for fuel supply. This is economically trying and it complicates plans for a new energy bill. Because all of the money is going toward cleaning up and compensating Gulf residents for the disaster, there is less funding available for decreasing carbon emissions and the development of renewable energy. Associated companies are also in major economic trouble; they are already funding a 20 billion dollar claim for “oil spill compensation.” Because they are unable to pay this fully due to the halting of drilling, shareholders will not receive any funds from the companies for an indefinite period. This is causing the stock market to move toward a downward spiral. On more of a local level, a huge economic loss is already being seen for fishing companies in New Orleans—an industry worth 2.4 billion dollars. This has resulted in a loss of fisherman jobs in New Orleans and loss of fish supply for customers. Altogether, the oil spill has caused great financial losses to the United States at the global, national, and local levels.

Appendix 2: Introductory Paragraphs, Study 2

Harm to Humans

Climate change is causing temperatures to rise on Earth, putting the elderly, the very young, or those with asthma or heart problems at high risk for medical complications. The rise in temperatures has also shown to be capable of producing additional severe weather events, such as hurricanes and floods, which may result in more deaths, injuries, infectious diseases, and stress-related disorders. More climate-related disturbances such as changes in the range of infectious parasites could heighten the spread of disease, along with the warm temperatures and added humidity. The warming of the Earth contributes to increases in the frequency of pollution, exposing humans to a variety of health problems including damaged lung tissue. It may also prove especially harmful to those with asthma and other chronic lung diseases. The effects of regional climate change on agricultural production are expected to increase the number of undernourished people globally and could possibly lead to complications in child development. While the effects of climate change may presently seem small, they are projected to increase in all parts of the world in the near future.

Harm to Animals

Climate change has the potential to alter and disrupt ecosystems, the resources they offer, and the organisms living within them because of rising temperatures. Warming trends due to climate change have already caused numerous terrestrial species to respond through range shifts and also through changes in the timing of growth stages. Birds are breeding and laying their eggs earlier and migratory birds have altered their habits as well. Many mammals are now coming out of hibernation and breeding earlier, and some are expanding their ranges to higher altitudes. Many arctic species suffer due to the melting ice and declining tundra vegetation zones for feeding, especially polar bears, caribou, and reindeer. Invertebrates and insects are likely to be influenced by the effects of climate change; many invertebrates considered pests or disease organisms, such as Bark Beetles, have shifted their range and are now destroying trees in new locations. Some species of fish are becoming less abundant, affected by warmer water temperatures, changes in water quality, and seasonal flow. If the effects of climate change continue, many species will be at risk of disappearing.

Harm to a Specific Zoo Animal (Polar Bears)

Polar bears are one of the species most endangered by climate change. Regarded as the top predators in the Arctic’s marine environment, they also attract attention and affection from many of the nation’s zoo visitors. The San Diego Zoo Global program has been monitoring polar bears to determine how they can be protected from the dire effects of climate change. One polar bear they have been monitoring, Chinook, has been identified as one of many victims of the warming in the Arctic. Researchers from the program worry that Chinook will lose valuable resources from the sea ice, such as access to the ice-loving seals that supply a large portion of her diet. It is also possible that as the melting ice dramatically changes the landscape of the Arctic, Chinook will be isolated from the other bears as the bodies of water that separate the ice floes increase. Polar bears have drowned attempting to swim these increasing distances between ice masses in search of prey. Unless additional measures are taken to show concern for polar bears like Chinook and their diminishing habitat, we might lose them forever.