Chapter 11: Population and the Environment

Ecological disasters:

Disproportionately affect marginalized communities

demography

The study of the size, structure, distribution, and growth of the world’s population.

social demography

The effects of population changes on the organization of societies, and vice versa.

What do functionalists believe in population?

that birth and death rates work together to keep the population stable

In the Malthus Theorem, by Thomas Malthus argued that:

rapid population growth was dangerous for society, growing faster than food supply. creating famine and war.

What is the functionalist’s demographic transition?

Anti-Malthusians argue that society moves through 4 stages of population change

What is stage 1 of demographic industrialization?

pre-industrialization: both birth and death rates are high

What is stage 2 of demographic industrialization?

death rates slow while birth rates remain high

What is stage 3 of demographic industrialization?

birth rates slow to match death rates

What is stage 4 of demographic industrialization?

birth rates decline, creating a natural population shrinkage

Fertility rate

Number of births per woman of childbearing age in the population

Global fertility rate has _____ since 1964, showing that the anti-Malthsian perspective may be accurate

Declined

What is the feminist view on population?

They see the way to ensure that the world does not become overpopulated is to empower women, such as education economics, resources to give better care to children.

What is the symbolic interactionists study on population?

They view how the stages of demographic transition play out in individual lives, How these individual choices lead to larger systemic trends, & How cultural beliefs and practices affect the size and structure of a population

What do symbolic interactionists argue on population?

that age categories are social constructions (seniority)

What is the conflict theorist’s view on population?

They view the population dynamics change, resource use and inequality shifts around the world, these imbalances lead to conflict

Population changes occur due to variations in:

Birth rate, death rate, net migration rate

Growth rate

The rate at which population size increases each year.

negative population growth

The rate at which population size declines.

The biggest population change in Canada related to the birth rate was the:

Baby boom

When did baby boom occur?

After WWII

Cohort

a group of people who share similar life experiences at similar times

Generation X

born between 1966 and 1971

Generation Y/Millennials

born between 1972 and 1992

Generation Z

born between 1993 - 2011

Baby boomers are aging. Younger age groups are too small to:

support the boomers through pension contributions

Mortality rates have been:

declining overall

Women have what kind of mortality rate compared to men?

Lower

Indigenous people (and lower SES) in Canada have lower life expectancies due to

Poverty and poor access to health care

migration

The number of people moving in and out of a region

net migration rate

The number of immigrants, minus the number of emigrants, per year per 1000 inhabitants.

internal migration 

People moving from one region of a country to another.

pull factors

All those factors that encourage people to move to a particular area (in relation to migration).

push factors

All those factors that encourage people to leave an area (in relation to migration)

Ethnic enclaves

residential areas where minority groups (mainly recent immigrants) settle. Can provide cultural comfort, may also contribute to isolation from the larger community

Environmental sociologists study the interrelationship between

society and environmental concerns

Ecological Footprint

The impact of human activities measured in biologically productive land and water required to produce the goods consumed and to assimilate the wastes generated

The Natural Environment

refers to all living and non-living things that occur without human intervention

Most of the natural resources we consume are

non-renewable

Main sources of demand for water:

Agriculture

Production of energy

Industrial uses

Human consumption

What are the functionalists approach to the environment?

They are concerned about how climate change might disrupt social systems and infrastructure

What is the conflict theory approach to the environment?

Interested in how capitalism is a driving force of climate change; how the poor and vulnerable are vulnerable to climate change

What is the conflict theory concept of Treadmill of Production?

Argues that the capitalist economy drives decision-making, resulting in high extraction of natural resources high accumulation of waste, long-term resource depletion and waste dumping.

What is the conflict theory concept of Environmental Racism?

It examine the distribution of both resources and environmental hazards. Environmental challenges disproportionately affect the poor

What is the feminists approach to the environment?

They are particularly concerned with how climate change will negatively effect women – especially women in the developing world

Ecofeminism makes connections between:

The dominance of nature and the exploitation of women (men’s feminized nature)

What is the Symbolic Interactionists approach to the environment?

They are interested in how we perceive climate change and its effects

Our current era is referred to as the

Anthropocene - an era where human impact if the defining feature of the planet

Population plays a _____ role in environmental problems

small but important