Guilt as Keystone Emotion for Environmental Communication

Abstract

This chapter introduces how guilt, as a keystone emotion for environmental communication, exerts a cascading influence on the composition and navigation of affective and rhetorical ecologies. It outlines the book’s call for a richer understanding of environmental guilt and its collective dimensions, as well as the challenges presented in doing so. I propose an ecological approach to the study of guilt—in both metaphorical and material terms—because through improved engagement with environmental guilt we can be more effective in addressing our ecological crisis.