1. The Natural World and the Social World
Chapter 15
The Natural World and the Social World
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

2. The Environment
Sociologists are interested in social ecology (the study of human populations and their impact on the natural world), especially as environmental degradation has increasingly become a social problem. According to sociologists, the environment refers to the natural world, the human-made environment, and the interaction between the two.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

3. The Environment (cont’d)
Environmental sociology is the study of the interaction between society and the natural environment, including the social causes and consequences of environmental problems.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

4. The Environment (cont’d)
One of the world’s most pressing problems is how to meet enormous and growing demands for energy. Renewable resources (oxygen, water, animals) are natural resources that can be regenerated and nonrenewable resources (oil, coal, iron) are natural resources that cannot be replaced.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

5. The Environment (cont’d)
Problems of consumption are linked to problems of waste; therefore another pressing environmental concern is pollution.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

6. The Environment (cont’d)
The atmosphere and the air we breathe is polluted by greenhouse gases (any gases in the Earth’s atmosphere that allow sunlight to pass through, but trap heat, thus affecting temperature), such as carbon monoxide, lead, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, sulfur, and particulates such as soot, smoke, and dust.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

8. The Environment (cont’d)
An increase in greenhouse gases from air pollution results in greater retention of heat with the Earth’s atmosphere, leading to global warming, which is an increase in the world’s average temperature.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

9. The Environment (cont’d)
Environmental sociology focuses on four areas. The first is the political economy of the environment, which focuses on how economic factors influence the way organizations and corporations use the environment.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

10. The Environment (cont’d)
The treadmill of production is a term describing the operation of modern economic systems that require constant growth, which causes increased exploitation of resources and environmental degradation.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

11. The Environment (cont’d)
Environmental sociology also studies societal attitudes about the environment. The new ecological paradigm recognizes that human activity can have both intended and unintended consequences that shape social life and life on the planet.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

12. The Environment (cont’d)
The third area studies the environmental movement (a social movement organized around concerns about the relationship between humans and the environment). Its first efforts in the nineteenth century (conservation era), focused on conservation of wilderness areas.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

13. The Environment (cont’d)
The modern environmental movement arose in the mid-twentieth century in response to ecological disasters that threaten public health and safety. Mainstream environmentalism grew in the 1980s as the movement consolidated and lobbied government about environmental concerns.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

14. The Environment (cont’d)
Most recently, grassroots environmentalism has emerged in response to perceived blind spots in the larger mainstream groups. Grassroots organizers focus on local action and community involvement.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

15. The Environment (cont’d)
The fourth area of environmental sociology deals with sustainable development. This is a broad concept based on the premise that the development aspirations of all countries cannot be met by following the path already taken by industrialized nations because the world’s ecosystems cannot sustain such growth.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

16. Population
Demography is the study of the size, composition, distribution, and changes in human population. Three basic demographic variables are crucial to understanding population dynamics.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

18. Population (cont’d)
The first is fertility rates—the average number of births per 1,000 people in the population. The second is mortality rates—the average number of deaths per 1,000 people in the population.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

20. Population (cont’d)
A related concept is infant mortality rates—the average number of deaths per 1,000 live births. Also related is life expectancy—the average age to which a person can expect to live. The third demographic variable is migration—the movement of people from one geographic area to another for the purpose of resettling.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

22. Population (cont’d)
Concerns about population growth first emerged during the Industrial Revolution. Robert Malthus was one of the first scholars to sound the alarm about overpopulation. His Malthusian theorem stated that exponential population growth would outpace arithmetic growth in food production and other resources.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

23. Population (cont’d)
Neo-Malthusians believe that population growth will eventually outpace available resources and lead to a global catastrophe, while the anti-Malthusians believe that family planning (contraception or any other method of controlling family size and birth of children) and other changes will eventually cause population shrinkage.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

24. Population (cont’d)
They forecast a very different future when the pattern of demographic transition (a theory suggesting the possible transition over time from high birth and death rates to low birth and death rates, resulting in a stabilized population) now occurring in many industrialized nations spreads to the rest of the developing world.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

25. Urbanization
Urbanization refers to the movement of increasing numbers of people from rural areas to urban areas.
Before the Industrial Revolution, most people around the world lived in rural areas. The wide-scale development of cities was made possible by the significant social, economic, and political changes accompanying the Industrial Revolution.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

26. Urbanization (cont’d)
About 83 percent of Americans now live in cities (about 6 percent lived in cities in the early 1800s).
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

28. Urbanization (cont’d)
A metropolis is an urban area with a large population, usually 500,000 to 1,000,000 people. A Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) or agglomeration refers to one or more adjacent counties with at least one major city of at least 50,000 inhabitants that is surrounded by an adjacent area that is socially and economically integrated with the city.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

29. Urbanization (cont’d)
A megalopolis (or megacity) is a group of densely populated metropolises that grow dependent on each other and eventually combine to form a huge urban complex.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

30. Urbanization (cont’d)
Along with urbanization, an important counter trend surfaced in the years immediately following World War II. Suburbanization is the shift of large segments of population away from the urban core and toward the edge of cities. Urban sprawl is a derogatory term applied to the expansion of urban or suburban boundaries, associated with irresponsible or poorly planned development.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

32. Urbanization (cont’d)
Some suburbs can become edge cities (centers of employment and commerce that began as suburban commuter communities). Smart growth refers to economic and urban planning policies that emphasize the redevelopment of inner cities or older suburbs.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

33. Urbanization (cont’d)
Another trend that has changed many formerly blighted cities is gentrification (the transformation of poor inner-city neighborhoods into more affluent middle-class communities).
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

34. Urbanization (cont’d)
Louis Wirth’s research was in line with the belief that cities caused social atomism (a social situation that emphasizes individualism over collective or group identities).
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

35. Urbanization (cont’d)
Many sociologists also believe that the freedom of city life is a source of alienation (decreasing importance of social ties and community and the corresponding increase in impersonal associations and instrumental logic).
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

36. Urbanization (cont’d)
Other research on cities has examined the bystander effect (the social dynamic wherein the more people that are present in a moment of crisis, the less likely any one of them is to take action). More recent research seems to indicate that altruism, rather than panic, tends to prevail in disasters.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

37. Urbanization (cont’d)
An urban legend is modern folklore and a story that is believed (incorrectly) to be true and is widely spread because it expresses concerns, fears, and anxieties about the social world.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

38. Concept Quiz
1. Which of the following is an example of a renewable resource?
a. Coal
b. Copper
c. Iron
d. Oxygen
ANS: D REF Problems of Consumption: Resource Depletion, p OBJ: Conceptual
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

39. Concept Quiz
2. The conservation era of the environmental movement focused on:
a. the environmental consequences new technology, oil exploration, and nuclear power plants.
b. an increased reliance on economic and scientific expertise.
c. recycling.
d. the preservation of wilderness areas.
ANS: D REF: The Conservation Era, p OBJ: Factual
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

40. Concept Quiz
3. The study of the size, composition, distribution, and changes in human population is called:
a. urban sociology.
b. demography.
c. social ecology.
d. environmental sociology.
ANS: B REF: Demography, p. 418, OBJ: Vocabulary
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

41. Concept Quiz
4. The __________ stated that at some point in the future, people would far outnumber the available land and food sources.
a. Population theory
b. Malthus theorem
c. Demographic transition theory
d. Darwin theorem
ANS: B REF: Theories on Population Growth, p OBJ: Vocabulary
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

42. Concept Quiz
5. The social dynamic wherein the more people that are present in a moment of crisis, the less likely any one of them is to take action is called:
a. altruism.
b. pluralistic ignorance.
c. the bystander effect.
d. social atomism.
ANS: C REF: Alienation and Altruism: The Case of New York City, p OBJ: Vocabulary
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.