Environmental Sociology

Demilitarization

process of reducing/eliminating resources for armed conflict

Risk frame

characterizations of risk; used by stakeholders in environmental conflicts to advocate for their interpretations of the risks of a proposed action

Geological epoch

unit of time distinguished by stratigraphic layers that are chemically distant (i.e. changes in rock layers in crust)

Holocene

the currently recognized geological epoch, spanning the last 11,600 years since Earth’s last major ice age

• includes all recorded human history, development of civilizations

Civilization

developed and complex form of human society, emerging after the invention of agriculture; marked by growth of cities, social organization through government and laws, cultural and technological development, social class stratification, and the division of labor

Anthropocene

the concept that we have entered a new geographical epoch in which human activities have had transformative impacts on all major Earth systems

• humans have become a force of nature in our own right

• socioenvironmental change on a planetary scale

• possible dates for start are 1610 and 1964

• markers include CO2 emissions, habitiat destruction, mass extinction, plastic pollution, global warming, widespread natural resource extraction, etc

The Great Acceleration

term describing the drastic increase in human polluting activities starting after WWII around 1950 (think hockey stick graph)

• water consumption

• damming of rivers

• population increase

• primary energy use

Golden spike

used by geologists to define major geological time boundaries and large changes in the Earth’s biosphere

Metabolic rift

fundamental disruption in the relationship between societies and nature i the capitalist mode of production (demands constant growth; not comparable with protecting the environment)

Social metabolism

energy and material interchanges between societies and nature

Dominant western worldview

1) people are fundamentally different from all creatures- we have dominion

2) people can control their destiny

3) the world has unlimited opportunities for humans

4) every problem has a solution, therefore progress never ceases

Biological determinism

an individual’s behavior and characteristics are determined by their overall physiological makeup (hormones, brain size, body shape, etc)

• more broad than genetic determinism

Genetic determinism

an individual’s behavior and characteristics are determined by their genetic inheritance

• more specific than biological determinism

Human exemptionalist paradigm

1) humans have a cultural heritage distinct from their genetic inheritance, making them unlike other animals

2) social + cultural factors are the main determinants of human affairs

3) social + cultural factors are crucial context for human affairs, biophysical environment is irrelevant

4) technological and social progress can contribute indefinently; making all social problems able to be solved

The Age of Exuberance

centuries of growth and economic/technological progress that followed the sudden enlargement of habitat available to Europeans post colonization of the New World

Cornucopian myth

euphoric belief in limitless resources characteristic of capitalist economies in the industrial and post-industrial eras

Carrying capacity

max number of individuals living in a particular way that a given environment can support indefinitely (applies to humans too!)

Overshoot

growth beyond an area’s carrying capacity

Diachronic competition

competition between present and future generations for the limited resources of a finite ecosystem

New ecological paradigm

1) humans are exceptional species, but interdependent

2) human affairs are heavily influenced by social and cultural forces, but human social life is also influences by biophysical environment

3) science and technologies cannot escape ecological prinicples; therefore, limits exist to the growth of human societies

Social construction of reality

theoretical framework; social reality is a product of our shared meanings and social interactions; not materially real

Modernization

process when societies transform from rural, traditional agrarian to urban, industrial

Industrial society

industrial revolution, large-scale organization of manufacturing, division of labor, mechanized production process

Risk

the product of the probability and the adverse consequences for humans resulting from exposure to a hazard

Risk society thesis

theory suggesting that as societies become more modern, the management of socially produced environmental risks takes on a growing political, economic, social, and cultural significance. (Ulrich Beck)

Manufactured risks vs. natural hazards

natural hazards are things like plagues, famines, natural disasters, droughts, and contagious disease.

manufactured risks are things like nuclear energy/weapons, toxic contamination, chemical accidents, climate change

Characteristics of the risk society

• growing significance of scientific expertise

• individualization of risk assessment

• democratization of risk

  • more people exposed regardless of socioeconomic status

• invisibility of risks

• scale of risks is broader; stakes are higher

Precautionary consumption

attempts to avoid chemical exposures through informed consider choices or changes to everyday behaviors

Body burden

the internal contaminant load carried by most organisms in the industrialized world

Contested environmental illness

diseases/conditions that engender scientific disputes/debates over environmental causes

• carried out by gov’t, corporate/industry actors, medical institutions, general public/residents

Known vs. presumptive contested

environmental illnesses

known: illness is acknowledged, but debate around source of exposure and/or extent to which environmental factors play a role in disease etiology

presumptive: illness claims in which debate is focused on whether an identifiable medical condition actually exists

Disease etiology

cause of disease

Cancer cluster

occurrence of a greater than expected number of cases of same/related cancers among same area over the same period of time

Legacy pollution

contamination that remains in the environment from past industrial or agricultural practices

Cumulative impacts of pollution

the totality of exposures to combinations of chemicals

CAFO

concentrated animal feeding operation

Sprayfields

land where liquid swine manure is disposed of using spray irrigation systems

Superfund site

contaminated sites that the US government identifies for cleanup in the EPA’s Narional Priorities List

Brownfields

sites whose redevelopment may be complicated by the presence of a hazardous substance

Recreancy

institutional malfeasance where an expert/org fails to carry out a responsibility that is expected of them

Environmental remediation

process of removing contaminants from water and soil

Therapeutic vs. corrosive communities

therapeutic: emerge in wake of natural disasters, characterized by social cohesion and mutual aid, responses provided sense of relief and hope

corrosive: wake of technological disasters, social disruption, lack of consensus, uncertainly (believers and non-believers)

The inversion of home

home is now a souce of danger and fear, no longer a private, safe space you are in control of

Sacrifice zones

a geographical area that contains within it a disproportionate amount of industrial pollution and environmental hazards

Fenceline communities

residential communities immediately adjacent to highly polluting facilities that are most directly impacted by chemical and fossil fuel emissions

Collective illness identities

emerge when individuals develop a cognitive, moral, and emotional connection with other illness sufferers

Quiescence

absence of collective activism in the face of deprivation or injustice, especially under conditions in which one might reasonably expect protest to occur

The dominant epidemiological paradigm

a set of entrenched beliefs and practices about disease treatment and causation embedded within a network of institutions, including medicine, science, and government

Popular epidemiology

the process by which lay persons gather data and marshal the knowledge and resources of experts in order to understand the epidemiology, treat existing disease, prevent future disease, and remove the responsible environmental contaminants

Citizen science

involves public participation in the process of scientific research, both independently and in collaboration with credentialed experts

Community based participatory research

a methodology that promotes active community involvement in the processes that shape research and intervention strategies, as well as the conduct of research studies