Noticing, Caring, and Hauntings: Environmental Practices and the Struggle for Alternative Futures

This article explores environmental care practices and individuals' relationships with their surroundings in Chile, emphasizing how the unequal burden of care, particularly among women, shapes responses to the climate crisis. Drawing on Science and Technology Studies and Posthumanist thinking, we advocate for cultivating the art of noticing–developing affective and ethical attunements with the environment that inspire novel care practices. However, this potential is constrained by lingering social and ecological arrangements that impede alternative futures. Through the lens of hauntology, we examine how entrenched systems trap individuals in unsustainable cycles. Based on survey data and interviews, we show that while many seek to reimagine their relationship with the environment, the unequal distribution of care–disproportionately shouldered by women–limits systemic change. Our findings highlight the importance of confronting past failures and embracing our interdependence with the environment. We argue that redistributing care more equitably is crucial for enabling just and sustainable futures, where care is shared, alternatives can flourish, and both human and non-human actors can thrive.