ENVIRONMENTAL SOCIOLOGY
Social ecology
o The study of human populations and their impact on the natural world
o Environmental degradation has increasingly become a social problem
Environment
o Natural world and also the human-made environment and the interaction
between the two
World's most pressing problem- finite resources
o Energy!
o Renewable resources- oxygen, water, animals, are natural resources that can
be regenerated
o Nonrenewable resources- oil, coal, iron are natural resources that cannot be
replaced
Social Problems and the Environments
o Consumption, waste, and pollution
o Overproduction of greenhouse gases
Environmental Sociology
o Study of the interaction between society and the natural environment,
including the social causes and consequences of environmental problems
Environment affects people- major weather issues- floods,
hurricanes, fires, etc
o Four Areas
Political economy of the environment
Societal attitudes about the environment
The environmental movement
Sustainable development
Political Economy of the Environment
o Economic factors influence the way organizations and corporations use the
environment
o Treadmill of Production
Operation of modern economic systems that require constant
growth, which causes increased exploitation of resources and
environmental degradation
o Environmental Racism/Classism
Greater likelihood that working class/poor and racial/ethnic
minorities will encounter pollutions and toxins
Disproportionate exposure and power to resist
Race is an independent variable affecting environmental
racism
Not just about money or class
Property values are determined in part by race historically
Place incinerator or toxic dump- you want cheap
land and the land is cheaper where the minorities
live
Societal Attitudes on the Environment
Social ecology
o The study of human populations and their impact on the natural world
o Environmental degradation has increasingly become a social problem
Environment
o Natural world and also the human-made environment and the interaction
between the two
World's most pressing problem- finite resources
o Energy!
o Renewable resources- oxygen, water, animals, are natural resources that can
be regenerated
o Nonrenewable resources- oil, coal, iron are natural resources that cannot be
replaced
Social Problems and the Environments
o Consumption, waste, and pollution
o Overproduction of greenhouse gases
Environmental Sociology
o Study of the interaction between society and the natural environment,
including the social causes and consequences of environmental problems
Environment affects people- major weather issues- floods,
hurricanes, fires, etc
o Four Areas
Political economy of the environment
Societal attitudes about the environment
The environmental movement
Sustainable development
Political Economy of the Environment
o Economic factors influence the way organizations and corporations use the
environment
o Treadmill of Production
Operation of modern economic systems that require constant
growth, which causes increased exploitation of resources and
environmental degradation
o Environmental Racism/Classism
Greater likelihood that working class/poor and racial/ethnic
minorities will encounter pollutions and toxins
Disproportionate exposure and power to resist
Race is an independent variable affecting environmental
racism
Not just about money or class
Property values are determined in part by race historically
Place incinerator or toxic dump- you want cheap
land and the land is cheaper where the minorities
live
Societal Attitudes on the Environment
