"Environmental Sociology"
by Riley E. Dunlap,
Research on Environmentalism:
The Environmental Movements and Public Opinion.
a) How do interdependent variations in population, technology, culture, social systems, and personality systems influence the physical environment?
b) How do resultant changes in the physical environment modify population, technology, culture, social systems and personality systems, or any of the interrelations among them?
Qualitative analyses have focused on the evolving tactics, goals, and ideology of the Environmental Movement and have led to the construction of "typologies of ideal types” of environmentalists.
A continuum of physical environments
In examining interactions between humans and environments differing levels of interaction must be recognized, but disciplinary traditions predispose sociologists to recognize only the “symbolic” or “cognitive” level of interaction.
“Environmentalism” - a social movement dedicated to the protection of the environment.
Environmental attitudes - high levels of environmental concern among the public.
totally “built”
completely “natural”
At the symbolic level, human beings, groups, organizations, and societies respond to meanings they attribute to various environmental conditions, and they behave according to their perceptions of their surroundings (Klausner, 1971).
Age
Public support for environmental protection, despite an expected decline from the peak of 1970 remains relatively strong, and the membership of environmental organizations continues to increase.
At the non-symbolic level, human individuals and collectivities are affected even by environmental conditions they may not perceive and to which they may thus have assigned no symbolic labels nor attributed any cultural meaning.
Residence
concern with environmental quality
Education
Political ideology
Areas of Research in Environmental Sociology:
To understand the full range of human interactions with the physical environment, environmental sociologists must consider cognitive, behavioral, and physiological interactions as well as the numerous combinations and permutations of them.
By the mid-1970s, study of environmental problems had begun to sensitize some sociologists to the reality of environmental problems and ecological constraints.
“Built” Environmental sociology expresses sustained concern with interaction between humans and the built environment, where accidents and disasters are man-made.
An alternative set of assumptions stressing the ecosystem-dependence of human societies was extracted and termed “New Environmental Paradigm” or NEP.
What environmental sociologists deny is not that Homo sapiens is an “exceptional’ species but that the exceptional characteristics of our species somehow exempt humans from ecological principles and from environmental influences and constraints.
“ecological complex”
Organizational, Industrial, and Governmental Response: Human interaction with the physical environment occurs at various levels of social organization – which can both influence and be influenced by the quality of the physical environment.
biologists' concept of “ecosystem” by Duncan (1961)
... apply insights from general ecology to sociological human ecology. Duncan’s “ecological complex” focuses on the web-like interdependence among Population, Organization, Environment and Technology.
The fundamental characteristics of environmental sociology is the importance attached to the environment as a factor that may influence, and in turn be influenced by, human behavior. It examines the relationship between the physical environment and the social complex.
Natural hazards and disasters: Hurricanes, droughts, floods, hailstorms, and earthquakes are “extreme geophysical events” that may result in death, injury and property damage or loss. There are two main modes of adjustment used to avoid natural disasters.
First, humans may modify their behavior (by various means). Second, efforts may be made to modify the natural environment.
Thank You~
Discussion Questions:
1. If environmental sociology, i.e. the study of environmental movements initiated from increasing general concern, can we think of another type of Deprivation, not a relative, but a universal, which creates movements?
2. How can the societal concern be measured? How general or specific does it have to be to create a movement?
Social Impact Assessment:
identification of the range of relevant variables to be examined and the most appropriate methodological strategies to be used
There is a positive correlation between heightened societal concern with environmental quality and work in social impact.
The major area of consensus is the need for more empirical work on the general assumption that the best guide to predicting social impacts of a proposed project is knowledge of the actual effects of existing projects of a similar nature.
Recognition of both the potential for sociological input and the limited knowledge base for such input were factors leading to the establishment of a committee on Environmental Sociology with guidelines for sociological contributions. (ASA Ad Hoc Committee on Env. Socio.)
Riley E. Dunlap
Chair of the American Sociological Association’s Task Force on Sociology and Global Climate Change. Dr. Dunlap was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2000 for his contributions to the establishment of the field of environmental sociology.
unprecedented and dangerous impact
upon the global environment
Impacts of Energy and other resource scarcities:
There is low correlation between reduced energy use and the decrease of quality of human lifestyle. However, this influence will be more significant in the case of lower socioeconomic levels.
Outline:
1. The meaning of environment
2. Environmental Sociology vs. Sociology of Environmental Issues
3. The emergence and distinctions of ES
4. Levels of interaction, areas of research
5. Social Impact Assessment
6. Conclusion
In non-sociological parlance “the environment” means our physical surroundings, the biosphere.
In contrast, within mainstream sociology “environment” means something altogether different – i.e. social and cultural influence upon behavior (particularly in contradistinction to “hereditary”).
major life-style changes are expected from future energy shortfalls
Competition for resources can lead to their overuse, and in the case of wildland recreation. Federal agencies have become concerned about carrying capacity of recreational areas. We are definitely asking the earth more than it can give.
Three organizational developments
Second, in 1972, the Society for the Study of Social Problems (SSSP) decided to add an “Environmental Problems division.”
First, in 1964, several members of the Rural Sociological Society (RSS) formed a “Sociological Aspects of Forestry Research Committee”. It later evolved into present “Natural Resources Research Group”.
“environment” from “heredity”
Conclusion: Clearly, despite its youth, environmental sociology is already a vital field of inquiry. Mutual exchange of findings and insights among researchers with diverse but complementary interests will be essential for maximizing our understanding of societal-environmental interactions.
Third, at the end of 1973 the Council of the American Sociological Association authorized formation of a committee “to develop guidelines for sociological contributions to environmental impact statements.
Sociologists' chose not to be hereditary; therefore, the discipline was committed to “environmentalism”. (Swift, 1965)
The traditional areas of its research
Resource management brought some sociologists closer to environmental topics by an interest in the problems faced by resource management agencies. Issues investigated include conditions of public acceptance of the transfer of water, perception of water supply and its relation to patters of use, etc.
- recreational visits to “natural” environments such as national parks, national forests, and wilderness areas boomed after WWII, where topics studied included “user satisfaction”, which often depended on recreation “experiences” than on tangible “products” extracted from the environment.
Knarik Gevorgyan