"In Our Own Image: The Environment and Society as Global Discourse"

Redclift, Michael. “In Our Own Image: The Environment and Society as Global Discourse.” Environment and History 1, no. 1 (Feb., 1995): 111–123. doi:10.3197/096734095779522735. The environment is clearly shaped by human hands, but it is also shaped by the human mind. The paper examines the way in which the environment is produced as intellectual capital. It asks about the extent to which the environment can be understood by science and through science. It explores the way in which science, as a cultural form, enables us to construct an environment that is “manageable,” but prevents us from coming to terms with increased uncertainty. Drawing on research about the Canadian frontier in the 1840s and current critiques of environmental economics, the paper concludes by suggesting that research on the global environment should recognize the existence of different, and divergent, understandings of what the global environment is, and how the problems associated with global environmental change can be addressed. All rights reserved. © 1995 The White Horse Press