Synopses & Reviews
This integrative book about human-environment relations connects many issues about human societies, ecological systems, and environments with data and perspectives from different fields of study. While the viewpoint is primarily sociological, coverage is specifically designed to relate to a diverse audience and encompass viewpoints from a variety of natural and social science approaches. KEY TOPICS Chapter topics include environmental problems and ecosystems; the resources of the earth: sources and sinks; global climate change, scientific uncertainty, and risk; population, environment, and food; energy and society; transforming structures: markets, politics, and policy; environmentalism: ideology, and collective action; and globalization: trade, environment, and the third revolution. For individuals with an interest in– and concern for–the environment.
Synopsis
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About the Author
Charles Harper is a professor of sociology at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. As a member of the faculty there since 1968, he has developed and taught numerous courses in the sociology department. Dr. Harper’s teaching and scholarly interests inolve the study of social change, globalization, the sociology of religion, social theory, and environmental sociology. He has published papers in a variety of academic journals.
Along with Environment and Society, Dr. Harper is the author of two other textbooks. Co-authored with Kevin Leicht, his book Exploring Social Change: America and the World (Prentice Hall, 2007) is now in its Fifth Edition. Another book, Food, Society, and Environment (Prentice Hall, 2003) was co-authored with Bryan F. LeBeau. .
As an undergraduate, Dr. Harper studied biology and the natural sciences. He received a bachelor’s degree from Central Missouri State University, a Master’s degree in sociology from the University of Missouri, and a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln.
He and his wife, Anne, live close to Creighton’s campus near a “clan” of adult children, stepchildren, and grandchildren. He also enjoys traveling, bicycling, and reading.
Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE: ENVIRONMENT, HUMAN SYSTEMS, AND SOCIAL SCIENCE
Environments and Ecosystems
Sociocultural Systems
Ecosystem and Sociocultural Evolution: Human Ecology
Environmental Social Sciences
Conclusion: Environment, Ecosystems, and Human Systems
Personal Connections
CHAPTER TWO: HUMANS AND THE RESOURCES OF THE EARTH: SOURCES AND SINKS
Land and Soil
Water Resources
Biodiversity and Forests
Wastes and Pollution
Conclusion: Resources of the Earth
Personal connections
CHAPTER THREE: GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE
Ozone Depletion and Ultraviolet Radiation
Turning Up the Heat: Global Warming
Do we know enough to act?
Personal Connections
CHAPTER FOUR :ENERGY AND SOCIETY
A Historical Detour: Recent Energy Crises
Energy Problems: Environmental and Social
The Energetics of Human Societies
The Present Energy System and its Alternatives
In Summary: Energy and the Risks We Take
Personal Connections
CHAPTER FIVE: POPULATION, ENVIRONMENT, AND FOOD 224
The Dynamics of Population Change
How serious is the problem of population growth?
Making Sense out of this Controversy
Population, Food, and Hunger
Feeding eight billion people in the next 50 years?
Stabilizing World Population: Policy Options
Conclusion
Personal Connections
CHAPTER SIX: GLOBALIZATION, GROWTH, AND SUSTAINABILITY 288
Globalization
Sustainability
Growth and Sustainability: Two Perspectives
Sustainable Societies?
Transformations and Sustainability: Social Change
Conclusion: A Transformation to Sustainability?
Personal Connections
CHAPTER SEVEN: TRANSFORMING STRUCTURES: MARKETS AND POLITICS
Markets
Politics and Policy
Possible Levers for Progress
The Global Political-Economy and the Environment
Conclusion
Personal Connections
CHAPTER EIGHT: ENVIRONMENTALISM: IDEIOLOGY AND COLLECTIVE ACTIONS
American Environmentalism
Global Environmentalism
Environmentalism and Change
Environmentalism: How Successful?
In conclusion
Personal Connections
REFERENCES