SOC150: Society and the Environment

demography

the study of human populations that is treated as a branch of sociology since its 3 factors (births, deaths, and migrations) are largely social and cultural in nature

crude birth rates

statistical measures representing numbers of birth within a given population per year, calculated as the number of births per 1,000 members

age-specific birth rates

can look at birth rates in a specific age group (births per 1,000 women from 25-35 years old); better indicator of population growth than crude birth rates

fertility

the average number of live-born children produced by women of childbearing age in a particular society

crude death rates

statistical measures representing the number of deaths within in a given population per year, normally calculated as the number of deaths per 1,000 members

mortality

the number of deaths in a year

infant mortality rate

the number of infants who die during the first year of life per 1,000 live births. The reduction in infant mortality rates has contributed to the population explosion and is the most important influence on increasing life expectancy

rate of population growth or decline

subtract the crude death rate from the crude birth rate

demographic transition theory (1929)

states that birth and death rates are related to stages of industrial development, with high birth and death rates transitioning to lower rates as a country transitions from a preindustrial to an industrialized economy

second demographic transition

a new demographic model that predicts fertility rates will continue to fall because of shifts in family structure

dependency ratio

the ratio of dependents to the amount of working adults who support themselves

urbanization

the movement of the population into towns and cities and away from rural areas; the urbanization that began in the 20th century was an unprecedented change with major consequences for individuals and the planet

Chicago School and Urban Ecology (Park, 1952)

cities, like plants and animals, took shape by adapting to their environments with concentric rings around the “inner city”

critiques of urban ecology

cities are human made and shaped by human or social (not natural) forces, forced ghettoization of black residents

Urbanism as a way of life (Wirth, 1938)

focuses on the way that city life is different from life elsewhere, but also helps to shape life outside of cities

the environment as a sociological issue

a growing human population, industrialization, and the concentration of people in large metropolitan areas have resulted in major environmental changes and sociologists seek to understand how social behavior may determine the environmental fate of the planet

Human Exceptionalist Paradigm (HEP)

the idea that science, technology, and industrial development, fueled by vast lands, resources, and a seemingly endless supply of fossil fuel, would provide for limitless opportunities and progress; started facing challenges from sociologists and ecologists in the 1970s

New Ecological Paradigm (NEP)

the idea that humans are not exempt from the web of nature, our biophysical environment is not limitless, the carrying capacity of our planet is limited, and we must understand and respect these limits, or we will face life threatening consequences

disproportionality thesis

disproportionate amount of environmental harm is being done by a small number of mostly industrial countries

energy consumption

projection that worldwide energy use will increase by nearly 50% between 2012 and 2050, and more than half of that increase will occur in India and China

causes of loss of biodiversity

1. a growing urban population and resulting urbanization

2. deforestation

3. pollution from toxic industrial waste, runoff from fertilizers, and plastics

4. global warming, rising ocean temperatures, and increasingly acidic ocean waters

impacts of loss of biodiversity

1. provides us with new medicines and sources and varieties of food

2. plays a role in regulating atmospheric and oceanic chemistry

3. direct threat to global human well-being

environmental injustice

the idea that the harms suffered by ecosystems today are closely linked to and mirror the harms experienced by the most marginalized humans across the planet; the most toxic industries are located in the poorest nations that have the fewest enforced protections for workers and communities