ABSTRACT
This chapter concentrates on three quite different subjects, looking at how we think about nature, the roots of climate denial, and the values and attitudes that help drive consumerism. Ecofeminism offers a rich literature detailing the historical link between the objectification of women and the objectification of nature. The roots of climate denial have also been shown to be fed by political ideology and can span countermovements. A counter-movement is a social movement that arises to explicitly oppose an existing social movement. Climate change represents an existential threat to conservatives' faith in industrial capitalism and unfettered economic growth. Environmentalism emerged as a global movement in the early 1990s with the aid of such events as the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio. There was quite a debate between scholars about the globalization of environmental concern. Pragmatic social theorists—as well as environmentalists—take actors' agency and creativity seriously.
