For Understandable Reasons, the Founders of Sociology

Jessamy ODwyer 18/10/2012 Introduction to Sociology Mark A- render Qs. For understandable reasons, the founders of sociology paid little attention to environsal issues. However contemporaneous sociologists do. Discuss the sociology of the environment in terms of sphericalisation, consumption and sustainability. Introduction everyplace the production line of this essay I will reference book the argona of environmental sociology in two parts. Firstly, I hope to explain why the country of environmental sociology was non an argona of relevance to the founders of sociological thought.Then in the minute of arc part of the essay I will go on to deal the birth of the field of environmental sociology. Within this new subfield sociologists squander write at great length about the legion(predicate) environmental issues cladding the origination today. M any(prenominal) of these issues are overlapping and interconnected. I will address three of these ch every(prenominal)enges I b elieve to be most acute (1) Globalisation, (2) valet de chambre consumption, and (3) Sustainability.Sociology in context The founders of Sociology (Marx, Durkheim and Weber) paid little attention to environmental issues because they were non seen as relevant or specially problematic to society at the time, and therefore were not considered as topics of significance to incorrupt friendly scientists. or else they focused on matters such(prenominal) as poverty, stratification, social inequality, class systems, industrial emergence, religion and government.The detrimental conflict of homophile beings on our rude(a) environment were not yet acknowledged and the natural recordscape was taken for granted, entirely as the backdrop to the much more pressing and urgent social problems generated by industrial peachyism (Gliddens, 2007). The Emergence of Environmental Sociology It wasnt until the juvenile 1960s that environmental issues were first recognised as relevant challeng es in the field of sociology. In the United States the 1969 National Environmental Policy performance highlighted the strain hat the environment was under as a essence of merciful consumption, and the change magnitude demands of agriculture and industry. This was one of the first written laws intentional to lay down a broad national framework for protect the environment (NEPA, 1969). The emergence of this subfield was a direct consequence of the growing pursuance in environmentalism in the 1970s. I will now address the environmental challenges posed by (1) globalisation, (2) human consumption, and (3) sustainability from a sociological perspective. GlobalisationOne of the contributing factors that has hypertrophied environmental awareness in the latter half of the twentieth snow are the impacts of globalisation. Globalisation is a process where the amount of economic, social and heathenish activity carried out across national borders is increased. The process of globalisati on has hearty economic, social and environmental implications, both positive and negative. It enables free flow of goods, capital and technology and thus it becomes a motivational force for nations to develop themselves and (can) become a more gainful environment in the world scenario( Alamar.K, 2010). sequence this growing flow of capital, technology and trade has arguably helped the developed nations of the world to expand further, this has often come at the expense and exploitation of natural resources in developing countries. For example the demand for hardwood and woodchips in developed countries, such as Japan and the Netherlands, accelerates deforestation, soil impoverishment and a loss of topical anesthetic anesthetic biodiversity in less-developed parts of the world, such as Brazil and Indonesia (Dreher.A, Gaston . N. 2008). The world has been recast as one big universal market place and whilst the benefits of this are many, it is also having a negative effect on our e nvironment. Some of the otherwise negative effects of globalisation on the environment manifest themselves in the increase in tonal pattern traffic, cars, sea transport, waste and the ever emanation consumption of water and fossil competency. These factors all have profound impacts on the environment ranging from local to global (Dreher. A, Gaston. N, 2008).Increased Human Consumption As antecedently stated in the introduction the issues of globalisation and consumption are interdependent. The increased flow of goods made possible by globalisation has led to a greater international demand for consumer goods. Much of the debate surrounding environmental challenges centres on this area of changing human consumption patterns. Consumption refers to the goods, services, energy and resources that are used up by people, institutions and societies (Giddens, 2001).There is a direct correlation coefficient between high levels of consumption and economic development. As economies have flo urished particularly in developed countries, this in turn has resulted in the average whatsoeverbody having more disposable income to spend on luxuries after necessities. These luxuries come in the form of more food, clothing, personal items, leisure time, cosmetics, holidays, cars and so forth (Giddens 2001). In a lifetime the average person consumes tons of raw materials, which must(prenominal) be extracted, processed and eventually incarcerated of as waste.In industrialised countries it is congruous increasingly difficult to dispose of the enormous amounts of refuse. Landfills are fast picking up and many urban areas are struggling to find places to dispose of domestic waste. For example, a report released by the Irish Environmental apology Agency for the year 2011 found that uncollected household waste was estimated at 128,000 tonnes, which is a matter for on-going concern given the likely hood that some of it may have been burned or dumped. This is a trend commonplace t o most if not all developed economies.The impact of deforestation is not always confined to the local area it can also have regional and potentially more global effects (e. g. , global humor change). Human impact as a contributing factor to many regional natural disasters (e. g. Bangladesh floods in 2007) cannot be easily quantified. What is clear and is that we are witnessing major shifts in our natural environment. These changes are manifesting themselves at local level in uncultivable soil, desertification, water contamination and air pollution. SustainabilityThe moderne concept of sustainable development has emerged gradually over the last 40 years. During this time individuals, communities, governments, and nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) have developed an awareness for the importance of the environment and military personnel increasing negative impacts on the natural world (Hardisty. P, 2012). Sustainable development is defined as the use of renewable resources to pro mote economic growth, the protection of animal species and biodiversity, and the commitment to maintaining clean air, water and land (United Nations Our Common rising Report 1987).Sustainable development means that growth, ideally, be carried out in such a way as to recycle physical resources, rather than ware and destroy them, and to keep pollution levels to a minimum (Giddens 2001). before long a third of the worlds population live flat off their own local produce (UNDP 1998). These peoples livelihoods are entirely dependent on the land. Therefore this makes them extremely vulnerable to any environmental change. One example of these changes is soil degradation experienced in parts of Asia and Africa.As local populations grow, so too does the demand for increased clownish output, which leads to over-farming (Giddens, 2001). More efficient and sustainable methods of farming pack to be urgently employed so as not to completely exhaust the land for future generations. In order f or sustainable development to make an impact it requires individuals, businesses, multinational corporations and the government to commit to a policy of reform in how they consume resources and the methods they use to dispose of solid waste and manage air pollution.There is reluctance amongst many to adapt to sustainable development as they point it will come at the expense of economic growth. Therefore the true challenge facing environmental sociologists is to find ways to convince or incentivise these individuals and organizations that sustainable development is the only way forward. Conclusion Over the course of this assignment I have explored the emergence of environmental sociology beginning in the 1960s.I have analysed three of the most urgent challenges facing scholars of sociology including globalisation, changing human consumption patterns, and sustainability. One thing that has become apparent is that these challenges are all interlinked, and therefore cannot be turn to in isolation. The effects of globalisation and changing consumer patterns are evident on both a local and global scale. In support of this argument I have endeavoured to provide both local and global examples of the impacts of these sociological forces.Clearly the relationship between humans and the environment is a complex one. Our increasing demand for raw materials is stripping the estate of its already scarce resources, and therefore this relationship is unsustainable, and in urgent need of rebalancing. The urgency and scale of these environmental challenges have meant that sociologists have had to redefine the parameters of classical sociology. If the environment was once merely a backdrop to the study of human social life, groups and societies (reference), changing circumstances have dictated that it can no longer be side-lined.Instead, environmental sociology must be understood, appreciated and addressed with the same diligence a traditional disciplines of sociology. Biblio graphy Books * Giddens, Anthony, Sociology 4th edition, Polity Press, 2001, Ch. 19, Pg 609-621. * Hardisty, capital of Minnesota E, Environmental and Economic Sustainability, CRC Press, 2010, Ch. 2. Journals * Alamar. K and Murali. N, Globalisation, the Environment and sustainable Development, Taylor and Francis Group, London 2010. * Alamar. K and Murali.N, Environmental Management, Sustainable Development and Human Health, Taylor and Francis Group, London, 2008. * Dreher. A, Gaston. N, Martens. P, Measuring Globalisation Gauging its Consequences, impost Science + Business Media, LLC, 2008. * Internet Resources * National Environmental Policy Act, 1969 http//www. epa. gov/region1/genus Nepa/ (accessed 7/10/12) * Environmental Protection Agency, Irelands Environmental Challenges and Priorities Report, 2012 http//www. epa. ie/ (accessed 4/10/12)