Cultures of Environmentalism: Empirical Studies in Environmental Society

As environmental issues increasingly impinge on society, sociologists have turned their attention to nature and the environment. However, unlike the majority of sociological work on environmental issues, which has too often been dominated by abstract theoretical disputes, this book concentrates on empirical studies in environmental sociology. It shows what sociologists can bring to current debates over environmental topics (including genetic modification) and - using the author's first-hand research - demonstrates how sociologists can best pursue practical work on environmental topics. Cover......Page 1 Contents......Page 6 List of Figure and Tables......Page 8 1 Introduction: Studying Environmental Issues Sociologically......Page 10 Part I Cultures of Movement: The Sociology of Environmental Movements and Problems......Page 14 2 Social Movement Theory and the Character of Environmental Social Movements......Page 16 3 Shell, a Sure Target for Global Environmental Campaigning?......Page 35 4 How Environmental Problems Come to be ‘Global’: Sociological Perspectives on the Globalisation of the Environment......Page 50 Part II Studies of Environment, Law and Public Policy......Page 64 5 Bog Standards: Contesting Conservation Value at a Public Inquiry......Page 66 6 Independence and Impartiality in Legal Defences of the Environment......Page 84 7 Modelling the Environment: Participation, Trust and Legitimacy in Urban Air-Quality Models......Page 98 Part III Cultures of Knowing and Proving: Science, Evidence and the Environment......Page 120 8 Green Ambivalence about Science......Page 122 9 Mad about the Buoy: Trust and Method in the Brent Spar Controversy......Page 153 10 Genetically Modified Organisms and the Unbearable Irresolution of Testing......Page 168 11 The Value of Environmental Sociology: Towards a Sociology of the Sustainable Society......Page 185 Notes......Page 194 Bibliographical References......Page 201 C......Page 209 F......Page 210 L......Page 211 P......Page 212 S......Page 213 Z......Page 214 This concise and clearly written book demonstrates the power and scope of empirical analysis in environmental sociology. In doing so, it provides an antidote to the recent dominance of abstract theoretical disputes in sociological work on nature and the environment. Dividing the author's first-hand research studies into three categories - on cultures of movement, on environment, law and public policy, and on cultures of knowing and proving - this text uses case studies, interviews, focus-group techniques and observational analyses to explore the development of environmentalism and the environmental movement. The analyses enable the reader to understand how environmental disputes are contested, perpetuated and resolved. The cases are carefully documented with extensive use of original materials. Drawing on the substantive findings in the empirical chapters, the book concludes with an original sociological treatment of the challenges that will face attempts to live sustainably. It is essential reading for students and academics in sociology, social anthropology, social geography and cultural studies. "This book demonstrates the power and scope of empirical analysis in environmental sociology. In doing so, it provides an antidote to the recent dominance of abstract theoretical disputes in sociological work on nature and the environment. Dividing the author's first-hand research studies into three categories - on cultures of movement, on environment, law and public policy, and on cultures of knowing and proving - this text uses case studies, interviews, focus-group techniques and observational analyses to explore the development of environmentalism and the environmental movement. The analyses enable the reader to understand how environmental disputes are contested, perpetuated and resolved. The cases are carefully documented with extensive use of original materials. Drawing on the substantive findings in the empirical chapters, the book concludes with an original sociological treatment of the challenges that will face attempts to live sustainably. It is essential reading for students and academics in sociology, social anthropology, social geography and cultural studies."--BOOK JACKET

As environmental issues increasingly impinge on society, sociologists have turned their attention to nature and the environment. However, unlike the majority of sociological work on environmental issues which has too often been dominated by abstract theoretical disputes, this book concentrates on empirical studies in environmental sociology. It shows what sociologists can bring to current debates over environmental topics (including genetic modification) and--using the author's first-hand research--demonstrates how sociologists can best pursue practical work on environmental topics.

As environmental issues increasingly impinge on society, sociologists have turned their attention to nature and the environment. As a result, this book concentrates on empirical studies in environmental sociology