Environmental Communication

Environmental communication is an area of communication research that focuses on how communication about the environment shapes people’s perceptions of the natural world, what behaviors they adopt, and the policies they make. Methodological approaches to environmental communication can vary widely, coming from postpositivist, interpretive, and critical frameworks. Environmental communication has grown in popularity recently, reflecting broader cultural concern about environmental problems and recognition of the connections between global and local actions. This entry provides an overview of this field of communication studies, delineates some of the approaches to studying environmental communication, offers suggestions about conducting environmental communication research, and explains the increasing interest in alternative forms of scholarship and partnerships.