ABSTRACT
In 1971 Dr Seuss introduced the world to the eco-friendly Lorax and his environmentally destructive neighbour, the Once-ler. This book, ostensibly for children, tells the tale of two individuals who value the environment in very different ways. The Once-ler capitalises on the forest as an economic commodity while the Lorax rhythmically argues for its natural value: ‘I’m the Lorax who speaks for the trees which you seem to be chopping as fast as you please’, he says to the Once-ler as the Truffula forest slowly disappears (Dr Seuss 1971: 16). Opposing environmental orientations can be traced back to the utilitarianconservation debates between John Muir (1838-1914) and Gifford Pinchot (18651946) in which Muir publicly crusaded for wilderness preservation, while Pinchot argued for the anthropocentric use of public lands (Nash 1967). More recently this separation of values has been confi rmed by researchers such as Dunlap and Heffernan (1975), who have identifi ed a non-consumptive/consumptive dichotomy – or more accurately, continuum. They argue that, like the Lorax and the ecocentric values expressed by Muir, people may be considered non-consumptive, suggesting their actions do not involve extracting anything from the environment. Conversely, individuals such as the Once-ler and the ideas expressed by Gifford Pinchot may be seen as having a consumptive outlook, meaning that their activities involve taking something from, or disrupting the natural environment.
