ABSTRACT
The commonplaces of "the scientist as hero" or "science as hubristic enterprise" are cultural models in that they embed values about what types of knowledge are good or moral and what kinds of institutions are trustworthy. This chapter explores the ways these two contrasting commonplaces operate in three different contexts to illustrate first how competing commonplaces can operate in a single set of claims, and, second, how those commonplaces can be appropriated by anti-environmental discourses. It contributes to a better understanding of how these commonplaces operate in conjunction with other topics and framing devices. The chapter addresses the ways that environmental discourses are shaped in response to local exigencies, and how these commonplaces are transformed by digital media. It explains the methods borrowed from critical discourse analysis to illustrate how these two commonplaces are used strategically to build arguments about the environment by constructing flexible cultural models that are easily adaptable to different contexts, and vastly different political frameworks.
