CHAPTER 16: ENVIRONMENT, POPULATION, AND SOCIAL CHANGE
BRIEF CHAPTER OUTLINE
I. A Climate in Crisis: Environmental Sociology
A. Society at Risk: Air, Water, and Energy
B. Disasters: At the Interface of Social and Physical Life
II. Environmental Inequality and Environmental Justice
III. Counting People: Population Studies
A. Birth Rate
B. Death Rate
C. Migration
D. Diversity and Population Change
IV. Population Growth: Are There Too Many People?
A. A Population Bomb?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Identify the social dimensions of environmental change.
2. Explain how inequality affects environmental quality for different groups.
KEY TERMS (listed in text)
birthrate (or crude birthrate) (435)
census (433)
climate change (428)
demographic transition theory (441)
demography (433)
emigration (434)
mechanical solidarity (448)
modernization (449)
sex ratio (437)
social change (442)
KEY PEOPLE
Emile Durkheim (448)
Ralph Linton (443)
LECTURE OUTLINE
I. A Climate in Crisis: Environmental Sociology
1. Environmental Sociology is the study of the interdependency between
b. The ecosystem is interconnected.
A. Society at Risk: Air, Water, and Energy
1. The most threatening forms of pollution affect air and water.
2. The invention of the automobile has transformed society.
3. Chemicals used in manufacturing have contributed to the greenhouse effect,
B. Disasters: At the Interface of Social and Physical Life
1. Disasters come from both human error and natural sources.
2. The combination of natural events and vulnerable populations leads to
II. Environmental Inequality and Environmental Justice
1. Many argue that of all environmental problems facing the United States
today, the most urgent is the dumping of hazardous wastes.
2. Environmental racism is the pattern whereby toxic wastes and other
pollutants are disproportionately found in minority and poor
neighborhoods, which results in negative health consequences.
III. Counting People: Population Studies
1. Population growth and density are responsible for some of the challenges
we face with our environment.
2. Demography is the scientific study of the human population.
3. Demographers use U.S. Census (a head count of the U.S. resident
D. Birthrate: The crude birthrate of a population is the number of births
divided by the total population, multiplied by 1,000.
1. The crude birthrate for the entire world is about 28, while the crude
birthrate for the United States is 12.4 births per thousand people.
2. Fertility rates are live births per number of women in the population.
E. Death Rate—Three important measures of the overall standard of living of a
population are:
1. crude death rate of a population: it is the number of deaths each year
per 1,000 people.
2. infant mortality rate, which is the number of deaths per year of
infants less than one year old for every 1,000 live births.
a. The United States has higher infant mortality rates and crude death
c. Racial and ethnic differences affect infant survival and life expectancy.
F. Migration—The United States has always been a land of immigrants.
1. Current U.S. migration patterns are primarily affected by the Hart-
G. Diversity and Population Change
1. The composition of a society’s population reveals a tremendous
amount of information about the society’s past, present, and future.
Wars, pestilence, disease, and natural disasters influence the
characteristics of a population in any given historical period.
4. Combined age and sex data provide a graphic format called a
population pyramid that represents the age and sex structure of an
area.
a. The birthrate of a society or group tends to rise and fall in line with the
shape of the age-sex pyramid, as illustrated by the contrast between
the age-sex pyramids of developed countries like the United States and
developing countries like Mexico.
on population predictions.
7. The Baby Boom cohort, which comprises a large proportion of the U.S.
IV. Population Growth: Are There Too Many People?
There is no scientific consensus on the carrying capacity of the planet.
Technological advances may be able to meet food and water supply needs
regardless of the size of the globe’s population.
A. A Population Bomb?
1. Thomas Malthus developed the Malthusian theory in the early 1800s,
which notes that the Earth’s population tends to grow faster than the
Earth’s carrying capacity and, therefore, the Earth will soon reach the limits
of its ability to support so many humans.
2. Malthus observed that populations grow exponentially and food
production grows arithmetically.
B. Demographic Transition Theory
1. The demographic transition theory presents an alternative to the
Malthusian theory.
2. Countries pass through a consistent sequence of three population stages
linked to the degree of development in the society and ending in lower
V. Change: A Multidimensional Process
1. Social change is the alteration of social interactions, institutions,
stratification systems, and elements of culture over time. As societies
a. Microchanges are subtle alterations in the day-to-day interactions
between people (e.g., so-called fads).
resisted.
A. Sources of Social Change
1. Cultural Diffusion occurs by such means as trade,
migration, mass media, and social interaction, and can affect
major transformations within a particular culture. Examples
include:
2. Technological Innovation and the Cyberspace Revolution—Inventions
such as the computer can be strong catalysts of historic social change. The
3. Social Movements and Collective Behavior—The purpose of a
social movement is often to initiate or vigorously resist social
change.
4. War and Revolution
a. A revolution is the overthrow of central state institutions and has the
VI. Theories of Social Change
A. Functionalist Theory
1. Early functionalist theories (Spencer and Durkheim) argued that societies
become more complex as they move through history, from “homogeneity
2. Newer functionalist theories emphasize the role of racial, ethnic, social
class, and gender differences in the process of social change.
B. Conflict Theory
1. For Karl Marx, social conflict—caused by economic determinism
between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat—precipitated all social
change.
C. Symbolic Interaction Theory
1. Because of its micro-level approach, symbolic interactionism does not
VII. Globalization and Modernization: Shaping Our Lives
1. Globalization refers to the increased interconnectedness and
interdependence of societies around the world.
2. The trend may erase geographic distances between cultures and their
A. From Community to Society
1. Ferdinand Tönnies focused on the process of modernization as:
a. a progressive loss of strong personal ties and primary groups typified
B. Urbanization
1. The growth and development of cities is historically a relatively recent
phenomenon.
2. Urbanization is the process in which people move to cities and whereby
C. Social Inequality, Powerlessness, and the Individual
1. Marx and Habermas focus on how the personal feelings of powerlessness
that accompany modernization are due to social inequalities that are
LECTURE/DISCUSSION SUGGESTIONS
1. World Population. Using data from the United Nations Population Division
2. U.S. Population Trends. The Population Reference Bureau (https://www.prb.org)
provides data and analysis about major population trends in the United States.,
3. Local Environmental Issues. Use specific environmental concerns in your
community or state as a basis for exploring the social, economic, and political
considerations of forging effective environmental policy. Introduce students to the
4. Immigrants. Introduce students to immigrants in your city or state, and an indication
of the organizations serving immigrants through resettlement and absorption, language
students, employment preparation, and so on. This could be the prelude to group projects in
which students research particular communities, their experiences, and their concerns. What is
their experience with employment, housing, education, and involvement in the broader
community? How has the community received them? Is there evidence of anti-immigrant
bias? How do public officials relate to immigrant communities and their concerns?
5. Sustainable Energy and Economy. The Sustainable Energy and Economy Network
6. Population Growth. Using vital statistics websites such as the U.S. Census website,
7. A Theoretical Debate on Population Growth. After the students study this chapter
and become fully acquainted with the theories of population growth, have students
8. Governmental Control of Births. Most countries have a policy stand on controlling
live births. This is a complex socio-economic-political issue because it involves
religious, cultural, economic, and political oppositions, attitudes, values, and beliefs.
9. Community Organizing. Present a film focused on community organizing and
mobilization within a social movement. Several national and local organizations,
including labor unions, environmental groups, and other advocacy movements, have
produced their own films for use in outreach and mobilization. Such films provide
material and inspiration for class discussion.
10. Blogs. Weblogs are a established medium for networking, communication, the
sharing of interests, and the building of social movements. The Uncommon Thought
Journal site has a rather comprehensive “Full Blog Roll” of news sources, blogs of
11. Social Movements. Share written accounts, or invite a veteran of a social movement,
12. Inequality and Social Change. Examine the stories of Malcolm X, Martin Luther
King Jr., and the Black Power Movement and examine their common elements, the
mission of the movement, its accomplishments (short and long term). Then engage
students in a discussion about reform movements (radical or reactionary) and tie the
13. Feministic Social Movements. “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful,
committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
That was cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead’s comment when studying cross-
14. Emigrants. Have your students conduct interviews with people they know who
15. Collective Behavior. Assign students to interview their family and community
16. Civil Disobedience. Begin by logging onto www.actupny.org and collectively view
some of the enclosed documents such as “Getting Arrested: Why We Do It.” These
17. Climate Change. As a class, listen to Episode 495 of This American Life titled: “Hot
STUDENT ACTIVITIES
1. International Population Issues. The United National Population Fund
2. Cohort Analysis. Student class presentation: Organize students into groups based on
birth cohorts in the United States and representing racial-ethnic, social class, and
gender diversity. Have students research the central historical events that shaped the
3. Service Learning. Many communities, tribal organizations, and campuses organize
weekend river clean-ups and other environmental projects. In addition to contributing
4. Neighborhood Watch. Have students use municipal demographic data, in consultation
with community development groups, public school systems, and other groups
involved in housing equity issues, to study the patterns of racial and ethnic segregation
5. American Community Surveys. Assign groups of students to examine selected
6. Environmental Footprint. The Earth Day Network website