ABSTRACT
Communicating about the environment may have been seen in mainly a matter of making the public understand the science and scientific evidence behind contentious environmental issues. Some of the most controversial environmental issues and debates of the recent period show a very different picture. Research on media, communication and the environment dates back to the 1970s. While the 1970s and 1980s thus produced a steady trickle of media and communication studies relevant to or directly touching on the environment and environmental issues, the 1990s can be characterised as the decade where these trends first coalesced into a distinctive focus on 'media and the environment'. Indeed, such is the growing interest in this field that new associations such as the International Environmental Communication Association have been formed. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
