Environmental Destruction

Study Notes

Foundational Explanations for Environmental Destruction

There are two primary approaches to explaining environmental destruction: the ecological explanation and the political economy explanation.
The ecological explanation has its roots in the field of human ecology, which was dominant in urban sociology from the 1920s to the 1960s.
Robert Park, a sociologist at the University of Chicago, introduced the urban ecology model, which drew on insights from naturalists about the interrelation and interdependence of plant and animal species.
Park argued that urban development and industrial pollution artificially broke the "web of life," upsetting the "biotic balance."
However, Park also believed that these changes could lead to adaptation, change, and a new equilibrium.
The Human Exceptionalism Paradigm (HEP) was the leading Western worldview from the industrial revolution till the 1950s, which dismissed environmental change as a topic worthy of sociological inquiry.
Human ecology is about relationships between people and their environment, with the environment perceived as an ecosystem.
The social system is a central concept in human ecology because human activities that impact on ecosystems are strongly influenced by the society in which people live.
Cultural ecology forced traditional human ecologists to take greater account of social organizational and cultural variables.
Catton and Dunlap's model specifies three general functions that the environment serves for human beings: supply depot, living space, and waste repository.
Overuse of natural resources can lead to shortages or scarcities, adversely impacting the provision of food, clean air, and other ecosystem services.
Overuse of living space results in overcrowding, congestion, and the destruction of habitats for other species.
Exceeding the ability of ecosystems to absorb wastes results in health problems from toxic wastes and in ecosystem disruption.Theories of Environmental Sociology
The world generates 2.01 billion tons of waste annually, expected to increase to 3.40 billion tons by 2050.
High-income countries generate 34% of the world's waste, despite only accounting for 16% of the global population.
Catton and Dunlap's "three competing functions of the environment" include waste repository.
The functions compete for space and can impinge on each other, such as placing a landfill in a rural area near a city.
The "treadmill of production" theory explains the relationship between capitalism, the state, and the environment.
The theory shows the contradictory relations between economic expansion and environmental disruption.
The theory describes the constant search for economic growth that creates a dynamic where advanced economies are stuck on a treadmill.
The "treadmill of production" theory portrays the dynamic as a self-reinforcing mechanism, where politicians mandate policies that encourage further expansion.
Ecological modernization is an ecological switch of the industrialization process that takes into account the maintenance of the existing sustenance base.
Sustainable development indicates the possibility of overcoming the environmental crisis without leaving the path of modernization.
Ecological modernization involves the large-scale restructuring of production-consumption cycles through the use of clean technologies.
The concept of "ecological modernization" assumes that environmental degradation is calculable, effective management is possible through collective action, and economic growth and ecological problems can be reconciled.

Description

Test your knowledge of the foundational explanations for environmental destruction with this informative quiz. Explore the ecological and political economy explanations, learn about the Human Exceptionalism Paradigm, and understand the impact of overuse of natural resources and living space. Discover the theories of environmental sociology, including the "treadmill of production" and ecological modernization. Take this quiz to deepen your understanding of the causes of environmental destruction and the potential solutions for sustainable development.