The promise of nuclear anxieties in Earth Day 1970 and the problem of quick-fix solutions
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[1] Pennsylvania State University
Pennsylvania State University
Borough of State College, Estados Unidos
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- Localización: Southern communication journal, ISSN 1041-794X, Vol. 81, nº 5, 2016, págs. 330-345
- Idioma: inglés
- Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
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Resumen
While the first Earth Day amplified the perceived importance of environmental regulations during the early 1970s, i t had less success in altering the public ’ s relationship to the planet. To better understand these mixed outcomes, this article traces rhetorics of anxiety from d iscourses of the nuclear arms race to their appropriation in service of Earth Day 1970. Although these anxieties could have produced a reconsideration of environmental values, Earth Day ’ scouplingof these rhetorics with calls for civic engagements to immediately resolve audience concerns dissipated their critical energy . The conclusion argues that the success of the first environmental holiday ’ s anxious rhetorics points to the potential for using social media to agitate again st the causes of climate change.
