The Social Response to Environmental Risk

The Social Response to Environmental Risk PDF Author: Daniel W. Bromley
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9401129541
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 225

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Book Description
We have undertaken this volume in the belief that there is now sufficient research completed on environmental risk to justify a retrospective assessment of what is known. Our authors and our intended audience are eclectic indeed. Environ mental risk assessment receives increasing attention in the media today. The populace is practically assaulted with stories, with anecdotes, and with conflicting evidence. It is our hope that these chapters will provide the reader with a comprehensive glimpse of a fast-growing field in public policy. No complete survey of the literature would be possible or meaningful. We offer here instead the integrative thoughts of some of the most respected analysts in the field. We believe that the coverage is coherent, the perspectives are illuminating, and the individual "treatments deserving of careful study. We are grateful to Warren Samuels of Michigan State University who is editor of the Kluwer series on recent economic thought. We are also grateful to our Kluwer editor, Zach Rolnik. Both have been gracious in their toleration of unconscionable delays. IX The Social Response to Environmental Risk Policy Formulation in an Age of Uncertainty 1 ENTITLEMENTS AND PUBLIC POLICY IN ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS Daniel W. Bromley* [all rights] are conditional and derivative ... they are derived from the end or purpose of the society in which they exist. They are conditional on being used to the attainment of that end.

The Social Response to Environmental Risk

The Social Response to Environmental Risk PDF Author: Daniel W. Bromley
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9401129541
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 225

Get Book

Book Description
We have undertaken this volume in the belief that there is now sufficient research completed on environmental risk to justify a retrospective assessment of what is known. Our authors and our intended audience are eclectic indeed. Environ mental risk assessment receives increasing attention in the media today. The populace is practically assaulted with stories, with anecdotes, and with conflicting evidence. It is our hope that these chapters will provide the reader with a comprehensive glimpse of a fast-growing field in public policy. No complete survey of the literature would be possible or meaningful. We offer here instead the integrative thoughts of some of the most respected analysts in the field. We believe that the coverage is coherent, the perspectives are illuminating, and the individual "treatments deserving of careful study. We are grateful to Warren Samuels of Michigan State University who is editor of the Kluwer series on recent economic thought. We are also grateful to our Kluwer editor, Zach Rolnik. Both have been gracious in their toleration of unconscionable delays. IX The Social Response to Environmental Risk Policy Formulation in an Age of Uncertainty 1 ENTITLEMENTS AND PUBLIC POLICY IN ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS Daniel W. Bromley* [all rights] are conditional and derivative ... they are derived from the end or purpose of the society in which they exist. They are conditional on being used to the attainment of that end.

Global Environmental Change

Global Environmental Change PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309044944
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Book Description
Global environmental change often seems to be the most carefully examined issue of our time. Yet understanding the human sideâ€"human causes of and responses to environmental changeâ€"has not yet received sustained attention. Global Environmental Change offers a strategy for combining the efforts of natural and social scientists to better understand how our actions influence global change and how global change influences us. The volume is accessible to the nonscientist and provides a wide range of examples and case studies. It explores how the attitudes and actions of individuals, governments, and organizations intertwine to leave their mark on the health of the planet. The book focuses on establishing a framework for this new field of study, identifying problems that must be overcome if we are to deepen our understanding of the human dimensions of global change, presenting conclusions and recommendations.

Politics and the Environment

Politics and the Environment PDF Author: Michael Howes
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134034180
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
'An evenhanded, realistic and thoughtful approach to identifying environmental problems and management goals' Stephen Zavestoski, Assistant Professor of Sociology and Environmental Studies, University of San Francisco '...a theoretically advanced yet accessible treatment of environmental governance, drawing on an impressive range of material to investigate the roles of states and industries in addressing environmental problems.' Harriet Bulkeley, Department of Geography, University of Durham 'Written in the vein of critical optimism, this book is pitched at the right level to inspire people trying to make pragmatic changes to their governmental and industrial systems: trying to make a difference where it counts.' Timothy Doyle, Associate Professor in Geographical and Environmental Studies, University of Adelaide What is the future for our environment? We face serious risks of major industrial accidents and global environmental degradation, yet new technological developments promise a standard of living unimaginable only a few generations ago. Michael Howes outlines the ways in which governments have responded to environmental risk over the past four decades. He examines the key environmental issues and the claims of envirosceptics, offering a new strategy for making major administrative decisions in the face of uncertainty. He explains how governments have developed environmental policy, and the ongoing tensions between science, industry, the state, social movements, and electoral politics. In a clear, straightforward manner, he shows how to use the work of theorists Ulrich Beck, Michel Foucault and John Dryzek to analyse environmental policy. He also develops a new method of measuring the effectiveness of environmental governance in developed countries. Howes draws on a wide array of sources from business, government, environment groups, academic research, and NGOs to illustrate his arguments, with comparisons between the environmental policies of the UK, the USA and Australia.

Risk and Social Theory in Environmental Management

Risk and Social Theory in Environmental Management PDF Author: Thomas Measham
Publisher: CSIRO PUBLISHING
ISBN: 0643104143
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 233

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Book Description
Risk and Social Theory in Environmental Management marks a timely contribution, given that environmental management is no longer just about protecting pristine ecosystems and endangered species from anthropogenic harm; it is about calculating and managing the risks to human communities of rapid environmental and technological change. Firstly, the book provides a solid foundation of the social theory underpinning the nature of risk, then presents a re-thinking of key concepts and methods in order to take more seriously the biophysical embeddedness of human society. Secondly, it presents a rich set of case studies from Australia and around the world, drawing on the latest applied research conducted by leading research institutions. In so doing, the book identifies the tensions that arise from decision-making over risk and uncertainty in a contested policy environment, and provides crucial insights for addressing on-ground problems in an integrated way.

Environments, Risks and Health

Environments, Risks and Health PDF Author: John Eyles
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317142098
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
Much of the scientific work on environmental health research has come from the clinical and biophysical sciences. Yet contributions are being made from the social sciences with respect to economic change, distributional equities, political will, public perceptions and the social geographical challenges of the human health-environments linkages. Offering the first comprehensive and cohesive summary of the input from social science to this field, this book focuses on how humans theorize their relationships to the environment with respect to health and how these ideas are mediated through an evaluation of risk and hazards. Most work on risk has focused primarily on environmental problems. This book extends and synthesizes these works for the field of human health, treating social, economic, cultural and political context as vital. Bringing disparate literatures from across several disciplines together with their own applied research and experience, John Eyles and Jamie Baxter deal with scientific uncertainty in the everyday issues raised and question how social theories and models of the way the world works can contribute to understanding these uncertainties. This book is essential reading for those studying and researching in the fields of health geography and environmental studies as well as environmental sociology, social and applied anthropology, environmental psychology and environmental politics.

The Natural and the Social

The Natural and the Social PDF Author: STEVE HINCHLIFFE
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136891595
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 184

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Book Description
The age in which people in the West have treated society and nature as essentially separate matters is at an end. Environmental change and degradation impinge on all our lives, and even our genes are increasingly seen by employers and insurers as commodities. The Natural and the Social draws on insights from across the social sciences to examine the changing character of these interrelations between society and nature. Individual chapters look in depth at genes, environments and human development, medical practices and health, and the management of environmental risk. Throughout students are encouraged to draw on their own experiences to understand the theoretical and practical problems of living in this new natural-and-social world. This exciting and original text will be essential reading for anyone who wants to understand more clearly the role and limitations of technological and scientific progress in contemporary society.

U.S. Health in International Perspective

U.S. Health in International Perspective PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309264146
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 421

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Book Description
The United States is among the wealthiest nations in the world, but it is far from the healthiest. Although life expectancy and survival rates in the United States have improved dramatically over the past century, Americans live shorter lives and experience more injuries and illnesses than people in other high-income countries. The U.S. health disadvantage cannot be attributed solely to the adverse health status of racial or ethnic minorities or poor people: even highly advantaged Americans are in worse health than their counterparts in other, "peer" countries. In light of the new and growing evidence about the U.S. health disadvantage, the National Institutes of Health asked the National Research Council (NRC) and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to convene a panel of experts to study the issue. The Panel on Understanding Cross-National Health Differences Among High-Income Countries examined whether the U.S. health disadvantage exists across the life span, considered potential explanations, and assessed the larger implications of the findings. U.S. Health in International Perspective presents detailed evidence on the issue, explores the possible explanations for the shorter and less healthy lives of Americans than those of people in comparable countries, and recommends actions by both government and nongovernment agencies and organizations to address the U.S. health disadvantage.

Social Contours of Risk

Social Contours of Risk PDF Author: Roger E. Kasperson
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136557202
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 232

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Book Description
We live in a 'risk society' where the identification, distribution and management of risks, from new technology, environmental factors or other sources are crucial to our individual and social existence. In The Social Contours of Risk, Volumes 1 and 2, two of the world's leading and most influential analysts of the social dimensions of risk bring together their most important contributions to this fundamental and wide-ranging field. Volume II centres on the analysis and management of risk in society, in international business and multinationals, and globally. The 'acceptability' of risk to an individual depends on the context, whether the larger society or in, for example, a corporate framework. Their work clarifies the structures and processes for managing risks in the private sector and the factors that produce or impede effective decisions. The authors demonstrate that corporate culture is crucial in determining risk management. They analyse the transfer of corporate risk management systems from industrial to developing countries, and how globalization is spreading and creating new kinds of risk - the combination of traditional and modern hazards presented by climate change, technology transfer and economic growth. They describe the new priorities and capacities needed to deal with these enhanced vulnerabilities around the globe.

Research to Protect, Restore, and Manage the Environment

Research to Protect, Restore, and Manage the Environment PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309049296
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 255

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Book Description
This book assesses the strengths and weaknesses of current environmental research programs, describes the desirable characteristics of an effective program, and recommends cultural and organizational changes to improve the performance of environmental research. Research areas in need of greater emphasis are identified, and overall directions for environmental research are recommended. The book also comments on the proposal to establish a National Institute for the Environment and on the elevation of the Environmental Protection Agency to cabinet status.

The Social Contours of Risk: Risk analysis, corporations and the globalization of risk

The Social Contours of Risk: Risk analysis, corporations and the globalization of risk PDF Author: Jeanne X. Kasperson
Publisher: Earthscan
ISBN: 1844071758
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 343

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Book Description
The Social Contours of RiskVolume I: Publics, Risk Communication and the Social Amplification of RiskWe live in a 'risk society' where the identification, distribution and management of risks, from new technology, environmental factors or other sources are crucial to our individual and social existence. In The Social Contours of Risk, Volumes I and II, two of the world's leading and most influential analysts of the social dimensions of risk bring together their most important contributions to this fundamental and wide-ranging field.Volume I collects their fundamental work on how risks are communicated among different publics and stakeholders, including local communities, corporations and the larger society. It analyses the problems of lack of transparency and trust, and explores how even minor effects can be amplified and distorted through media and social responses, preventing effective management. The final section investigates the difficult ethical issues raised by the unequal distribution of risk depending on factors such as wealth, location and genetic inheritance - with examples from worker and public protection, facility-siting conflicts, transporting hazardous waste and widespread impacts such as climate change.