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Environmental Myopia: The Case For Bifocals

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 July 2012

Chris North  and
Garrett Hutson
Chris North*
Affiliation:
University of Canterbury, New Zealand
Garrett Hutson
Affiliation:
Brock University, Canada
*
Address for Correspondence: Chris North, University of Canterbury College of Education, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch 8140, New Zealand. Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

Domestic and international tourists have major impacts on Aotearoa/New Zealand, both positive and negative. In 2010, tourism was the biggest export earner and continues to grow. Environmental consequences of tourism are also growing. Ways of addressing the environmental impacts caused by a mobile society continue to be debated from a variety of practical and theoretical positions. Place-based approaches are a logical discussion focus in addressing these types of social and environmental problems but may be associated with environmental myopia. Tourism, mobility and the principles of environmental education programs such as Leave No Trace are all contested topics within the place-based discourse. This article discusses these tensions and proposes an expansion of place-based and cosmopolitan approaches, with the Leave No Trace Aotearoa/New Zealand campaign presented as an example. The article concludes with possible implications of a more bifocal approach for environmental educators.

Keywords

Leave No Tracetourismplace-based approachescosmopolitanismmobility
Type
Research Article
Information
Australian Journal of Environmental Education , Volume 27 , Issue 2 , 2011 , pp. 229 - 237
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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