Nature, Environment and Society

Nature, Environment and Society PDF Author: Philip Sutton
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 0230212441
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 216

Get Book Here

Book Description
How have sociologists responded to the emergence of environmentalism? What has sociology to offer the study of environmental problems? This uniquely comprehensive guide traces the origins and development of environmental movements and environmental issues, providing a critical review of the most significant debates in the new field of environmental sociology. It covers environmental ideas, environmental movements, social constructionism, critical realism, 'ecocentric' theory, environmental identities, risk society theory, sustainable development, Green consumerism, ecological modernization and debates around modernity and post- modernity. Philip Sutton adopts a long-term view, which focuses on the relationship between ideas of nature and environment, ecological identities and social change, providing a framework for future research. Bringing environmental isssues into contact with sociological theories, Nature, Environment and Society provides an up-to-date introduction to this important new field. It will be essential reading for all students of sociology, environmental studies and anyone interested in understanding environmental problems.

Nature, Environment and Society

Nature, Environment and Society PDF Author: Philip Sutton
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 0230212441
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 216

Get Book Here

Book Description
How have sociologists responded to the emergence of environmentalism? What has sociology to offer the study of environmental problems? This uniquely comprehensive guide traces the origins and development of environmental movements and environmental issues, providing a critical review of the most significant debates in the new field of environmental sociology. It covers environmental ideas, environmental movements, social constructionism, critical realism, 'ecocentric' theory, environmental identities, risk society theory, sustainable development, Green consumerism, ecological modernization and debates around modernity and post- modernity. Philip Sutton adopts a long-term view, which focuses on the relationship between ideas of nature and environment, ecological identities and social change, providing a framework for future research. Bringing environmental isssues into contact with sociological theories, Nature, Environment and Society provides an up-to-date introduction to this important new field. It will be essential reading for all students of sociology, environmental studies and anyone interested in understanding environmental problems.

Society and Nature

Society and Nature PDF Author: Hans Kelsen
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 131783318X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 400

Get Book Here

Book Description
First published in 1998.This is Volume XIV of eighteen in the Sociology of Behaviour and Psychology series. This text is concerned with sociological inquiry into society and nature. Written in 1946, it investigates the idea that society and nature, if conceived of as two different systems of elements, are the results of two different methods of thinking and are only as such two different objects. The same elements, connected with each other according to the principle of causality, constitute nature; connected with each other according to another, namely, a normative, principle, they constitute society

Critical Transitions in Nature and Society

Critical Transitions in Nature and Society PDF Author: Marten Scheffer
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400833272
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 398

Get Book Here

Book Description
How do we explain the remarkably abrupt changes that sometimes occur in nature and society--and can we predict why and when they happen? This book offers a comprehensive introduction to critical transitions in complex systems--the radical changes that happen at tipping points when thresholds are passed. Marten Scheffer accessibly describes the dynamical systems theory behind critical transitions, covering catastrophe theory, bifurcations, chaos, and more. He gives examples of critical transitions in lakes, oceans, terrestrial ecosystems, climate, evolution, and human societies. And he demonstrates how to deal with these transitions, offering practical guidance on how to predict tipping points, how to prevent "bad" transitions, and how to promote critical transitions that work for us and not against us. Scheffer shows the time is ripe for understanding and managing critical transitions in the vast and complex systems in which we live. This book can also serve as a textbook and includes a detailed appendix with equations. Provides an accessible introduction to dynamical systems theory Covers critical transitions in lakes, oceans, terrestrial ecosystems, the climate, evolution, and human societies Explains how to predict tipping points Offers strategies for preventing "bad" transitions and triggering "good" ones Features an appendix with equations

Extreme Events in Nature and Society

Extreme Events in Nature and Society PDF Author: Sergio Albeverio
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 354028611X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 357

Get Book Here

Book Description
Significant, and usually unwelcome, surprises, such as floods, financial crisis, epileptic seizures, or material rupture, are the topics of Extreme Events in Nature and Society. The book, authored by foremost experts in these fields, reveals unifying and distinguishing features of extreme events, including problems of understanding and modelling their origin, spatial and temporal extension, and potential impact. The chapters converge towards the difficult problem of anticipation: forecasting the event and proposing measures to moderate or prevent it. Extreme Events in Nature and Society will interest not only specialists, but also the general reader eager to learn how the multifaceted field of extreme events can be viewed as a coherent whole.

Co-Evolution of Nature and Society

Co-Evolution of Nature and Society PDF Author: Jens Jetzkowitz
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319966529
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 248

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book offers support for interdisciplinary research on the interactions of nature and society. It is based on the hypothesis that a science of coevolution is needed to explore paths to a sustainable future. Jens Jetzkowitz initially discusses why social science knowledge only rarely finds its way into sustainability discourse. One significant issue is a view of science that separates knowing and acting, and the book illustrates current problems in conceptualising interdisciplinary knowledge production. It then goes one step further and introduces a workable alternative concept, taking philosophical pragmatism as a point of departure. Sustainable development goals and transdisciplinarity are currently subject to widespread discussions and Jetzkowitz takes a stance on the debates from the perspective of coevolutionary science. This book will appeal to scholars and students interested in environmental and sustainability discourses and to anyone willing to think outside the box.

Freedom and Evolution

Freedom and Evolution PDF Author: Adrian Bejan
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030340090
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 160

Get Book Here

Book Description
The book begins with familiar designs found all around and inside us (such as the ‘trees’ of river basins, human lungs, blood and city traffic). It then shows how all flow systems are driven by power from natural engines everywhere, and how they are endlessly shaped because of freedom. Finally, Professor Bejan explains how people, like everything else that moves on earth, are driven by power derived from our “engines” that consume fuel and food, and that our movement dissipates the power completely and changes constantly for greater access, economies of scale, efficiency, innovation and life. Written for wide audiences of all ages, including readers interested in science, patterns in nature, similarity and non-uniformity, history and the future, and those just interested in having fun with ideas, the book shows how many “design change” concepts acquire a solid scientific footing and how they exist with the evolution of nature, society, technology and science.

Good Enough

Good Enough PDF Author: Daniel S. Milo
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674504623
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 321

Get Book Here

Book Description
In this spirited and irreverent critique of Darwin’s long hold over our imagination, a distinguished philosopher of science makes the case that, in culture as well as nature, not only the fittest survive: the world is full of the “good enough” that persist too. Why is the genome of a salamander forty times larger than that of a human? Why does the avocado tree produce a million flowers and only a hundred fruits? Why, in short, is there so much waste in nature? In this lively and wide-ranging meditation on the curious accidents and unexpected detours on the path of life, Daniel Milo argues that we ask these questions because we’ve embraced a faulty conception of how evolution—and human society—really works. Good Enough offers a vigorous critique of the quasi-monopoly that Darwin’s concept of natural selection has on our idea of the natural world. Darwinism excels in accounting for the evolution of traits, but it does not explain their excess in size and number. Many traits far exceed the optimal configuration to do the job, and yet the maintenance of this extra baggage does not prevent species from thriving for millions of years. Milo aims to give the messy side of nature its due—to stand up for the wasteful and inefficient organisms that nevertheless survive and multiply. But he does not stop at the border between evolutionary theory and its social consequences. He argues provocatively that the theory of evolution through natural selection has acquired the trappings of an ethical system. Optimization, competitiveness, and innovation have become the watchwords of Western societies, yet their role in human lives—as in the rest of nature—is dangerously overrated. Imperfection is not just good enough: it may at times be essential to survival.

Nature, Technology, and Society

Nature, Technology, and Society PDF Author: Victor Ferkiss
Publisher: NYU Press
ISBN: 0814726178
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 351

Get Book Here

Book Description
Ferkiss (emeritus, government, Georgetown U.) delves thoughtfully into how various civilizations and cultures, including Western civilization, have historically looked at humanity, nature, and technology. He then looks at the conflicting attitudes of contemporary thinkers, seeking a balance, but maintaining a bias toward reverence for nature and an unwillingness to allow technology and its owners to set all the terms. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Nature's Fortune

Nature's Fortune PDF Author: Mark R Tercek
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 0465046967
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 274

Get Book Here

Book Description
What is nature worth? The answer to this question -- which traditionally has been framed in environmental terms -- is revolutionizing the way we do business. In Nature's Fortune, Mark Tercek, CEO of The Nature Conservancy and former investment banker, and science writer Jonathan Adams argue that nature is not only the foundation of human well-being, but also the smartest commercial investment any business or government can make. The forests, floodplains, and oyster reefs often seen simply as raw materials or as obstacles to be cleared in the name of progress are, in fact as important to our future prosperity as technology or law or business innovation. Who invests in nature, and why? What rates of return can it produce? When is protecting nature a good investment? With stories from the South Pacific to the California coast, from the Andes to the Gulf of Mexico and even to New York City, Nature's Fortune shows how viewing nature as green infrastructure allows for breakthroughs not only in conservation -- protecting water supplies; enhancing the health of fisheries; making cities more sustainable, livable and safe; and dealing with unavoidable climate change -- but in economic progress, as well. Organizations obviously depend on the environment for key resources -- water, trees, and land. But they can also reap substantial commercial benefits in the form of risk mitigation, cost reduction, new investment opportunities, and the protection of assets. Once leaders learn how to account for nature in financial terms, they can incorporate that value into the organization's decisions and activities, just as habitually as they consider cost, revenue, and ROI. A must-read for business leaders, CEOs, investors, and environmentalists alike, Nature's Fortune offers an essential guide to the world's economic -- and environmental -- well-being.

Nature, Society, and Justice in the Anthropocene

Nature, Society, and Justice in the Anthropocene PDF Author: Alf Hornborg
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9781108454193
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 304

Get Book Here

Book Description
Are money and technology the core illusions of our time? In this book, Alf Hornborg offers a fresh assessment of the inequalities and environmental degradation of the world. He shows how both mainstream and radical economists are limited by a particular worldview and, as a result, do not grasp that conventional money is at the root of many of the problems that are threatening societies, not to mention planet Earth itself. Hornborg demonstrates how market prices obscure asymmetric exchanges of resources - human labor, land, energy, materials - under a veil of fictive reciprocity. Such unequal exchange, he claims, underpins the phenomenon of technological development, which is, fundamentally, a redistribution of time and space - human labor and land - in world society. Hornborg deftly illustrates how money and technology have shaped our thinking and our social and ecological relations, with disturbing consequences. He also offers solutions for their redesign in ways that will promote justice and sustainability.