Tonight I had the opportunity to listen to a talk by Professor Aaron Sachs about environmental humor (or the lack thereof) in today’s society. Before tonight, the lack of environmental humor was something I had never really thought about. I always assumed that there was plenty out of it there, just like there are plenty of jokes about politics, religion, celebrities, and other such categories. However, Professor Sachs pointed out that environmentalists are often unable to laugh at themselves and can come across as too serious. After hearing this and watching some of the parody videos he showed, I began thinking about my encounters with environmental documentaries, articles, and books, and realizing that many of them are, in fact, too serious and preach-y. Lots of environmental documentaries aim to show, it seems, how every little thing that people do will kill polar bears, raise the global temperature, release toxins into the air, and doom our grandchildren. While climate change is certainly an important issue, there are probably better ways to go about encouraging people to make a difference than simply making them feel bad about themselves. Telling somebody that everything about their lifestyle is wrong is not going to make them jump up and suddenly want to change.

Humor, on the other hand, is a much more gentle way of getting people to see a point. And just because it is lighthearted does not mean it is any less effective. I have seen lots of very effective humorous/parody videos that make important points about issues like rape, gender equality, and minority rights. Professor Sachs pointed out that laughing at yourself can be fairly difficult and complicated; however, I think in the case of environmental humor, that extra effort can definitely be well worth it.