Environmental economics in the wild: Using long-form journalism and other mass media in the classroom

Instructors in principles of economics classes are incorporating more popular press material into their classes. This helps breathe life into economics and shows students that economic concepts can be applied in the real world. The current pedagogical literature on this topic often includes examples of popular media and assignments to go along with them. This approach has, by and large, not been extended to intermediate or upper-level courses. This paper develops an extensive list of long-form articles, podcasts, documentaries, and even a Hollywood film related to environmental economics that instructors can use in the classroom. Also included are discussion questions, response prompts, and a term paper assignment. By incorporating some of the myriad popular media artifacts that cover environmental issues into their courses, instructors of environmental economics can help their students apply what they learn in the textbook to real-life events.