The Garden and the Sea: U.S. Latino Environmental Discourses and Mainstream Environmentalism

Abstract

The “environment” is a cultural construct which is shaped by shared life experiences and which differs with ethnicity. Environmental justice requires attention to divergent environmental constructions. U.S. Latino environmental discourse differs from mainstream discourses, but is rarely heard. This paper sheds light on U.S. Latino environmental discourses by examining ideal landscapes, explanations for decline, and the relationship of the environment to ethnic identity. Latino discourses suggest the need to reexamine the environment/technology relationship, the importance of social class in shaping environmental consciousness, and the limits of impact assessment as a tool for achieving social justice. Sociological tools for retrieving Latino environmental discourse include literary criticism and analysis of Latino environmental social movements. The former helps to identify the cultural content of different environmentalisms and to clarify relationships between culture and environment; the latter indicates the political potency of different elements of Latino environmental discourse.