RNDr. Bohumil Frantál, PhD. ■ An Introduction to Environmental Sociology The origin of discipline, theoretical approaches, and current research topics Disclaimer The basis of the lecture, including the information about the foundation of environmental sociology as a discipline, contempory theoretical approaches to environmental problems, changes in environmental discourse, and the issue of the role of mass media in social construction of environmental problems, has been extracted from the book 'Environmental Sociology' (by John Hannigan, Routledge Publishing, Milton Park, Abingdon, 2006). The theoretical basis was supplemented by examples of some current themes and questions solved by the author within research projects at the Department of Environmental Geography, Czech Academy of Sciences. This teaching text has not been reviewed or edited. It is intended solely for educational activities within the course "Environmental Economy and Sustainable Development" at the Faculty of Economics and Administration, Masaryk University, Brno, and may not be published as a whole or any part freely on the Internet or otherwise disclosed. Bohumil Frantál Structure of the lecture ■ Environmental sociology as a discipline in the system of sciences, its origin, development and inspiration in traditional theories ■ Contempory theoretical approaches to environmental problems: - human ecology and the concept of competing social functions - political economy and the 'treadmill of production' concept ■ 'Risk society'thesis and the concept of 'ecological modernisation' ■ Social construction of environmental problems ■ Ecological modernisation in practice: renewable energy technologies, sociotechnical innovations Environmental sociology ■ focuses on the relationships between society and the environment ■ took shape following the environmental movement of the 1960s ■ focuses on social factors and phenomena, which cause environmental problems (-» environmentally significant behaviour), the social (socioeconomic) impacts of these problems, and ways to address these problems ■ seeks to identify and describe processes through which certain environmental conditions and phenomena are socially defined as "problems" (-» social construction of environmental problems). Environmental... Economics - Sociology - Geography They have the same object of research (society/environment] Differ with their approach (perspective], theoretical-methodological apparatus and the depth how they analyze partial aspects of the problems Economics - put emphasis on the economic effects of environmental policies Geography - put emphasis on the role of space -> spatial scale of environmental problems Sociology - put emphasis on the social conditionality of problems -> social construction of problems 'Earth Day 1970' debut of the modern environmental movement fl97(Ts -- Environmental Decade') a campaign to raise the issue of ecology and environmental issues within the policy frameworks (pollutions, energy efficiency, waste recycling, pesticides] sociologists found themselves without any theory or research to understand relationships between society and the environment T'-i I l".LI- [if rout zrtuns2i.r.dwu. PHEBCUIIt-fJI Millions Join Earth Day Observances Across ihe Nation BUT WTEOF : " Look at a short video at: https://www.youtubexom/watch?v=XBrnnByieL4 environmental movement Rachel Carson (1962): Silent Spring (criticism of the uncontrolled use of pesticides, environmental impacts, disinformation campaigns of the chemical industry) Donella H. Meadows et al. (1972): The Limits to Growth (modeling the relationship between growing populations and limited natural resources) Samuel Klausner (1971): On Man in His Environment (the term „environmental sociology" has been used for the first time) The background Classical sociologists as 'hucksters' of the idea of (never-ending] development and progress ... Generally shared premises: - Human societies are exemptional from ecological principles and constraints that govern other species - There is a possibility of endless growth and progress via continued scientific and technological development (-- ignoring the potential constraints of environmental phenomena such as climate change] - The problems can be solved via technological innovations and further economic development Human Exemptionalism Paradigm (HEP) - antropocentric approach —> re-focus sociology on more „ecocentric" holistic approach, which will redefine social processes in the environmental context -> New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) Emergence of environmental sociology (1970-2010) 1st stage: attention to environmental issues - application of classical sociological concepts in public opinion polls, social movements (social characteristics of activists), strategies and tactics of environmental groups 2nd stage: an attempt to establish environmental sociology as a sovereign academic discipline The rise of the popularity of "green" political parties in Europe Promoting new partial paradigms and concepts (human ecology, social constructivism, ecological modernization, risk society, environmental justice, actor-network theory, etc.) Establishment and development of independent sections, commissions and departments at academic and research institutions and associations Increasing number of publications in prestigious journals Contempory theoretical approaches to environmental sociology Two (contradictory) views on three key questions: 1) How to explain the emergence of environmental probl 2) What are the mechanisms to improve environmental conditions? 3) How to approach and solve environmental problems? 1) How to explain the emergence of environmental problems? The ecological explanation - model of'competing environmental functions' (Catton & Dunlap, 1978) The political economy explanation - concepts of the 'societal-environmental dialectic' and the 'treadmill of production' (Schnaiberg, 1980)) Ecological explanation has its roots in the field of 'human ecology' (1920's-1960's, urban sociology Chicago's school, R.Park et al.) Concept of the 'web-of-life' and the 'struggle for existence' Human intervention in the form of urban development and industrial pollution artificially broke the 'biotic balance' and intensified the struggle for existence over an ever-widening area of the habitable world Processes that create and reinforce urban spatial arrangements (Parietal.) 3 principles of human ecology: ■ Concentration and deconcentration ■ Ecological specialization ■ Invasion and succession the City as a territorially based ecological system in which constant struggle over land use produced a continuous flux and redistribution of the urban population Nucleus of Con ten trillion Segments of Centralized and Decentralized Location City Growth through Invasion and Succession Competing functions of the environment (Duniap, 1993] Past Situation (circa 1900) Current Situation The environment as a living space is home for man and other organisms As a supply depot it provides renewable and non-renewable resources essential for living As a sink for garbage, sewage, industrial pollution and by-products serves the waste repository function. Health problems from toxic wastes and ecosystem disruption are outcomes of stretching the environment's waste absorption capacity. Current situation ■ The conflict between these three functions (dimensions] deepens (grows] ■ Conflict arises between all three functions simultaneously and causes new problems (global warming) ■ Conflicts between functions at the level of regional ecosystems have implications for the global environment Political economy explanation: „treadmiii of production" describes the contradictory relations between economic expansion and environmental disruption need of economic system to continually yield a profit by creating (by advertising) consumer demand for new products, even where this exceeds the physical (natural) limits to grow or its „carrying capacity" Treadmill of production It is a complex self-reinforcing mechanism supported by politicians via mandating policies The resource shortages are handled not by reducing consumption or adopting a more modest lifestyles but by opening up new areas to exploitation (e.g., mining] the dialectic tension between the treadmill of production and demands for environmental protection State must increasingly balance its dual role as a facilitator of capital accumulation and economic growth and its role as environmental regulator D. Harvey: „creating resource scarcities in order that prices may be kept high" (geographical relocation, plant closure and downsizing, reducing spending on pollution, etc.] Mechanisms of environmental improvement Four potential channels (Buttel, 2003): - Environmental activism/movements - State environmental regulation - Ecological modernisation - International environmental governance 'Risk society' thesis Ulrich Beck Beck is famous for proposing the idea of 'risk society' [first published 1986, in German]. Risk is 'a systematic way of dealing with hazards and insecurities induced & introduced by modernization'. Because modern living is characterised by decision-making, risk assessment and management also becomes part of the everyday. More recently, Beck has developed ideas about reflexivity and the self in modernity alongside his friend Giddens. Fab. iee ttiec ry o rg uk and ivunv.theory head, cam/gender C STRENGTHS] Nf>v ideas about modern living ^) (WEAKNESSES: Like Oiddem but not quhc as readable ") SPECIAL SKILLS: Pleasant, brilliant, Europe's iLntst Industrial (class] society has changed into "risk society" (^hunger is hierarchical, smog is democratic") Instead of redistributing wealth we need to redistribute risks The current risks transcend both space and time (Chernobyl accident) ..Boomerang effect" - risks that are exported abroad inevitably come back to haunt us (plastic waste in seas) The past monopoly of sciences on ^rationality" has been broken - new ..social rationality" rooted in a critique of progress Theory of,geological modernisation" (Spaargaren, Mol, 1992) The possibility of overcoming the environmental crisis without leaving the path of modernization (^sustainable development"} Process of 'superindustrialisation', new sophisticated "clean" technologies, large-scale restructuring of production-consumption cycles, diffusion of innovations Ecological modernisation thinkers are between 'catastrophis environmentalists'(no way but de-industrialization] and 'capital apologists ('business-as-usuarapproach] To reconcile economy and ecology to re-orientate policy on 'problem prevention' ("technological optimism,, and ^responsible capitalism"} 'sustainability' as the guiding concept How to approach and solve environmental problems? Basic controversy: realism vs. constructivism Constructivism: - Environmental problems are socially constructed (ecological crisis is just another 'grand narrative'} Critics from the Realism: - Constructionists reject the idea of scientific knowledge (agnosticism] and ignore the 'reality'of environmental crisis - Their rhetoric and relativism is as destructive to nature as bulldozers and chainsaws (Soule and Lease, 1995) Understanding Social Constructionism (in less than 4 minutes] Look at a short video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BDDMBy0xJU Social construction of environmental problems l Ada from the N A NEW GENE Bestseller an inconvenient truth $ the crisis of Aw global warming AL GORE * A documentary by l$t Martin Durkin w stuff4d-2.bloqspot.com Positive proof of g/ooaf u/ariiimg. fSi/i enfUry 1950 im / Stamen Toner Ute IRENA [2018] Source: Enevoldsen et al. (2019) Expert forecasts versus reality 1800 1600 1400 1200 j» 1000 600 600 400 200 0 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 201+ 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 ---CEZ[2007]---EGU[2009)---TradeWind [2009)---EWEA[2011) -Reality Growth in the installed capacity of wind energy in the Czech Republic aa5> äJ>S a* ^ J* <& J> J* d$ a1^ a* a* ^ a* a"*1 a^* a^ a* a^ a* a* Dlnstalled capacity -Number of wind turbines Wind energy development as a spatio-temporal process ■ Energy transition, particularly the renewable energy development can be considered as a diffusion of innovations or the process of spreading new ideas transfered into the forms of technologies, products, processes and organizations in space and time [cf. Wolsink, 2012] ■ Diffusions of innovations are in principle spatially uneven (Hagerstrand, 1968] ■ The implementation of wind energy projects is not determined just by physical-geographical and infrastructural conditions (wind resources, landscape protection limits, transmission grid capacity, etc.], but also by political-institutional and socioeconomic factors which affect the level of social acceptance by key stakeholders (local communities}. The system of social acceptance and its key actors Community Acceptance end users, local authorities, residents decision making on infrastructure, investments and adapted consumption; based on trust distributional justice, fairness of process Market Acceptance producers, distributors, consumers, intra-firm, financial actors investing in RES-E and DG infrastructure, using RES generated power Socio-Political Acceptance regulators, policy actors, key stakeholders, public craft institutional changes & effective policies fostering market & community acceptance Zdroj: Wolsink [2017] Prevailing divergence between generally big support for renewable energy as a general idea and the level of local acceptance of specific projects structuring real landscapes ^social gap" in attitudes is usually interpreted by the NIMBY theory which has been falsified (Wolsink, 1994, 2000] Four global „common themes" (Haiietai., 2013] affecting local acceptance of wind energy: ■ Local identity and landscape perception ■ Procedural justice ■ Trust ■ Distributive justice The perceptions of and attitudes to wind turbines are dynamic, spatially and socially shaped phenomena The 'before and after wind turbine' studies (e.g., Gipe, 1995; Eitham et ai., 2008] suggested that the attitudes usually develop along a U-shaped curve - the experience with wind turbines increases positive views through familiarity over time. Visual impact (on the landscape) seemed to be the dominant force behind local opposition ('It's the landscape, stupid!' (Woisink, 2007). The impact of visibility on acceptance, however, is not linked just to the physical landscape context but also to socio-economic parameters fKontogianni,20i4). The 'proximity hypothesis' assumed that those living nearer to wind turbines are likely to have more negative attitudes in comparison to those living further away. Several studies reported the opposite (e.g., warren et ai. (2005] found a positive effect of distance on the dislike for proposed wind farms but negative effect of distance on the dislike of existing wind farms); the proximity hypothesis has not been definitely falsified, however. Devine-Wright (2005) emphasized that 'social distance' and 'location of interest' are usually more important factors than physical parameters like the size of turbines and their physical proximity. The empirical research ■ Repeated surveys of local communities living at locations in the Czech Republic, where wind turbines are operating Objectives ■ To map the development of perceptions and attitudes in time (pre-construction --> post-construction --> after several years] ■ To explore spatial and social asymmetries of positive and negative impacts (perceived by the supportive majority and those who oppose wind turbines] ■ To identify factors of acceptance (of prior projects --> future develoment --> repowering projects Location Number of Type Size rotor/ Capacity Year of turbines tower [m) fMW] installation Anenská 6 2 x Fuhrlander FL250 29/42 5.5 2006 Studánka 4 x DeWind D6 64/68 2008 Bantice 1 1 x Vestas V90 90/105 2 2008 Drahany 1 1 x Vestas V90 90/105 2 2006 Protivanov 3 1 x FL-100 21/35 3.1 2003 2xRepower MD77 77/85 2005 Pavlov 4 2 x Vestas V52 52/65 5.7 2006 2 x Vestas V90 90/105 Odry 2 2 x Vestas V90 90/80 4 2007 Věznice 2 2xRepower MM92 80/92 4.1 2009 Vítězná 1 lx Vestas VI12 112/119 3.0 2014 Results: Increasing (and decreasing] acceptance over time Before During After (U-curve revisited] Low _ Before During After High Low Before During After Later on Factors affecting attitudes to projects The strongest predictors of opposition are the perception of visual landscape impact, noise annoyance and the fear of falling property prices, while the main predictor of acceptance is the assessment of local economic benefits. Almost 58% people think that wind turbines disturbed local landscape. About one third of those perceiving landscape disruption would, however, even so accept projects again (if returned back in time]. Perceived landscape disruption is not a decisive factor of opposition it can be outweighed by other factors (particularly perception of the benefits for local community development, etc.] Spatial distributional injustice (opposition from neighbouring communities] Conclusions and implications ^ Attitudes (and acceptance) are complex, multi-layered and nuanced depending on individual areas of concern including perceptions of visual impact, noise, property prices and community benefits. > The aspects of clean energy and climate change are not significant predictors of local acceptance of projects in the CR. > More negative impacts and lower acceptance are reported from neighbouring municipalities from where the wind turbines can be seen but do not get any economic benefit from them. > Developers need to calculate and distribute economic compensation much more precisely among concerned communities (and stakeholders). > Local governments should negotiate long-term returns over one-off compensations, and they should try to invest money from wind to projects, which are more „ visible" by specific stakeholders Further reading on Environmental Sociology HANNIGAN, J.A. (2006]: Environmental sociology. Milton Park, Abingdon: Routledge. GOULD, K. A., LEWIS, T.L. (2009]: Twenty Lessons in Environmental Sociology New York: Oxford University Press. REDCLIFT, M., WOODGATE, G. (eds.]: The international handbook of environmental sociology. Northampton: E. Elgar. ENVIRONMENTAL SOCIOLOGY JOHN HANHIGAN The International Handbook of Environmental Sociology, Second Edition Edited bf Michas) H HeddWl and Graham Woodgato Twenty Lessons in Environmental Sociology