The Environment A Sociological Introduction

About this book

Shows how questions about the environment cannot be properly answered without taking a sociological approach. Provides a comprehensive guide to the ways in which sociologists have responded to the challenge of environmental issues as diverse as global warming, ozone depletion, biodiversity loss and marine pollution.

Contents

The Environment: A Sociological Introduction Acknowledgements Contents Introduction CHAPTER ONE Natural Environments 1. Defining Nature and Environment 2. Humans in Natural Environments 3. Natural and Artificial Environments 4. Conclusion CHAPTER TWO Knowing the Environment 1. Involvement and Detachment 2. The Scientific Revolution 3. Social Constructions of Nature 4. Critical Realism 5. Conclusion CHAPTER THREE Experiencing the Environment 1. An Environment of the Senses 2. Experiencing Environments 3. Ecological Identifications 4. Ecological Citizenship CHAPTER FOUR Transforming the Environment 1. Social Development and the Environment 2. Industrialization 3. Urbanization 4. The Treadmill of Production and Consumption CHAPTER FIVE Polluting the Environment 1. Types of Pollution 2. Awareness and Significance of Pollution 3. Sensitivity to Risks 4. Conclusion CHAPTER SIX Defending the Environment 1. Changing Attitudes 2. The Modern Origins of Nature Conservation 3. The Development of Environmentalism 4. Conclusion CHAPTER SEVEN Politicising the Environment 1. A Politics of Nature 2. Ecologism: A New Political Ideology 3. The Emergence of Green Parties 4. Conclusion CHAPTER EIGHT Sustaining the Environment 1. The Idea of Sustainable Development 2. A Brief History of Sustainable Development 3. Sustainable Development in Practice 4. Can Societies Become Sustainable? 5. Conclusion CHAPTER NINE A Global Environment? 1. What is Globalization? 2. The Biosphere as Environment 3. Global Problems, Global Solutions? 4. Conclusion Glossary Bibliography Index

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Biography

P.Sutton, Lecturer in Sociology, Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen