ABSTRACT
This chapter explores different ways children are receiving and appropriating pervasive social messages directed at them about “saving the planet.” It examines the conflicting cultural messages children are getting about “saving the planet”. It is sometimes difficult to decipher what adults want from children regarding environmental crisis. A pattern emerged in the content and classification of these childrens’ drawings, leading to the construction of six thematic categories of children’s environmental concern: everything’s okay; taking personal action; calling for action; depicting the problem; indicting the problem makers; and recasting the problem. The use of children’s drawings has turned out to be a rather novel method in sociological research. That so few children recast saving the planet messages suggests that the environmentalization of children is an extremely effective project. More than a quarter of a century later, much the same issues arise in the environmental socialization of children.
