Most of us are familiar with the environmental impacts of our physical technology, like the e-waste generated from cell phones or the minerals required to run our laptops, but have you ever wondered about the connections between digital media and resource extraction? This week we are joined by guest Antonio López to explore how ICT (Information and Communications Technology), and digital media and information, have not only transformed Earth but are also contributing to our collective carbon footprint. 

We begin our conversation exploring the material dimensions of our digital footprint, and then move into a deeper conversation around media and tech monopolies, desensitization in media, sensory stimulation, and the correlation between fake news, climate denial, white nationalism, and petro-masculinity. Heeding Antonio’s call we are reminded of the importance of engaging in slow media and finding loopholes in an inherently extractive global capitalism system when it comes to engaging with information and entertainment. 

Dr. Antonio López is a leading international expert bridging ecojustice with media literacy. He is a founding theorist and architect of ecomedia literacy. As a producer of dozens of youth media projects, Antonio has collaborated with the MacArthur Foundation, National Center for the Preservation of Democracy, National Rural Health Organization, and numerous First Nations across North America. He received professional training at the Center for Investigative Reporting in San Francisco, earned his BA in Peace and Conflict Studies at UC Berkeley and MA in Media Studies at the New School for Social Research. He earned a Ph.D. in Sustainability Education from Prescott College. He has written numerous academic articles, essays and four books: Mediacology: A Multicultural Approach to Media Literacy in the 21st Century, The Media Ecosystem: What Ecology Can Teach Us About Responsible Media Practice, Greening Media Education: Bridging Media Literacy with Green Cultural Citizenship, and Ecomedia Literacy: Integrating Ecology into Media Education. He is currently Chair and Associate Professor of Communications and Media Studies at John Cabot University in Rome, Italy.

♫ The music featured in this episode is "Wood Tongue Drum" by Justin Crawmer, "No Inside, No Out" by Sam Sycamore, and "Hard Time Killing Floor" by Marty O'Reilly & The Old Soul Orchestra. 

Episode References

Ecomedia Literacy: Integrating Ecology into Media Education by Antonio López

Antonio’s Recommendations

Ecomedia literacy is a young and emerging field. For the current “state of the art,” there’s a special issue devoted to ecomedia literacy:
Journal of Sustainability Education and Journal of Media Literacy edited by Antonio López, Jeff Share, and Theresa Redmond
(in association with Clare Hintz, Karen Ambrosh, and Marieli Rowe). 

Articles offering a general overview of the subject of ecomedia literacy:

López, A. (2019). Ecomedia literacy. In R. Hobbs & P. Mihailidis (Eds.), The International Encyclopedia of Media Literacy, 2 Volume Set. Wiley-Blackwell.

López, A., & Share, J. (2020). Fake climate news: How denying climate change is the ultimate in fake news. Journal of Sustainability Education, 23. 

López, A. (2020). Ecomedia literacy: Educating with ecomedia objects and the ecomediasphere. Digital Culture & Education, 12(2). 

López, A. (2021). Ecomedia literacy: Decolonizing media and the climate emergency. Peace Chronicle, Spring 2021. 

Redmond, T. (2019). Media literacy as eco-justice pedagogy. MEDIA EDUCATION: Studi, ricerche, buone pratiche, 10(1), 69-90. 

Books about the relationship between media and the environment:

Brevini, B., & Murdock, G. (Eds.). (2017). Carbon capitalism and communication: Confronting climate crisis. Palgrave Macmillan.

Corbett, J. B. (2006). Communicating nature: How we create and understand environmental messages. Island Press.

Dawson, A. (2020). People’s Power: Reclaiming the energy commons. OR Books.

Demos, T. J. (2016). Decolonizing nature: Contemporary art and the politics of ecology.

Garrard, G. (2011). Ecocriticism (2nd ed). Routledge.

Hansen, A. (2009). Environment, media and communication. Routledge.

Kellner, D., & Share, J. (2019). The critical media literacy guide: Engaging media and transforming education. Brill Sense.

Lester, L. (2010). Media and environment: Conflict, politics and the news. Polity.

Lewis, J. (2013). Beyond consumer capitalism: Media and the limits to imagination. Polity Press.

López, A. (2021). Ecomedia literacy: Integrating ecology into media education. Routledge.

Maxwell, R., & Miller, T. (2012). Greening the media. Oxford University Press.

Maxwell, R., & Miller, T. (2020). How green is your smartphone? Polity.

Nixon, R. (2011). Slow violence and the environmentalism of the poor. Harvard University Press.

Parks, L., & Starosielski, N. (Eds.). (2015). Signal traffic: Critical studies of media infrastructures. University of Illinois Press.

Qiu, J. L. (2016). Goodbye iSlave: A manifesto for digital abolition. University of Illinois Press.

Rauch, J. (2018). Slow media: Toward a sustainable future. Oxford University Press.

Rust, S., Monani, S., & Cubitt, S. (Eds.). (2016). Ecomedia: Key issues. Routledge.

Singer, K. (2014). An electronic silent spring: Facing the dangers and creating safe limits. Portal Books.

Stibbe, A. (2015). Ecolinguistics: Language, ecology and the stories we live by. Routledge.

Stibbe, A. (Ed.). (2009). The handbook of sustainability literacy: Skills for a changing world. Green Books.

Walker, J., & Starosielski, N. (Eds.). (2016). Sustainable media: Critical approaches to media and environment. Routledge.

Take Action

Fossil Free Media is a nonprofit media lab that supports the movement to end fossil fuels and address the climate emergency.

Campaign to Reduce Our Internet Footprint

Good Electronics is a network bringing together networks, organizations and individuals concerned about human rights and sustainability issues in the global electronics supply chain

Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition a diverse non-profit organization engaged in research, advocacy and grassroots organizing to promote human health and environmental justice in response to the rapid growth of the high-tech industry

Electronics Take Back Coalition promotes green design and responsible recycling in the electronics industry

iFixit is wiki-based site that teaches people how to fix almost anything

Basel Action Network is a non-profit organization whose mission is to champion global environmental health and justice by ending toxic trade, catalyzing a toxics-free future

EnoughProject working to stop the trade in conflict minerals

Badvertising is a campaign to stop adverts fueling the climate emergency. This includes ads for cars, airline flights and fossil fuels. We ended tobacco advertising when we understood the harm done by smoking. Now we know the damage done by fossil fuel products and activities, it’s time to stop promoting them.

Clean Creatives is a project by and for professional communicators who want a safe climate future.

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