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Huumori ympäristökeskustelussa ja -tutkimuksessa

Abstrakti

Environmental problems are usually interpreted as
socio-ecological phenomena that must be taken
seriously. However, various humorous aspects can
be found from many environmental issues. For instance,
humor can be intentionally used to ridicule
opponents’ arguments in environmental disputes
or humor can be used to forestall environmental
initiatives that are feared to cause economic losses.
Humor can also be a tool that helps to find
new approaches, create innovations and aid conflict
management. On a personal level, humor can
help to cope with anxiety created by the increasing
awareness about environmental degradation. This
article gives an overview of the different traditions
of humor research from the perspective of environmental
problems. The examples, aimed to illustrate
the many facets of humor, are drawn from the Finnish
environmental debates, concentrating especially
on the debates on climate change and biodiversity.
Conclusions are made in order to identify promising
directions for future research.