Page 524 - Essencials of Sociology

The Growth Machine versus the Earth 497

so splintered that Dave Foreman—the founder of Earth First!—quit his own organiza-
tion when it became too confrontational for his taste.
Radical groups have had some successes. They have brought a halt to the killing of
dolphins off Japan’s Iki Island, achieved a ban on whaling, established trash/recycling
programs, and saved hundreds of thousands of acres of trees, including the Medicine
Tree.
Sources: Carpenter 1990; Eder 1990; Foote 1990; Parfit 1990; Reed and Benet 1990; Knickerbocker 2003;
Gunther 2004; Fattig 2007; Grigoriadis 2011.

For Your Consideration
Should we applaud eco-saboteurs or jail them? As symbolic interactionists stress,
↑
it all depends on how you view their actions. And as conflict theorists emphasize, your
view depends on your social location. That is, if you own a lumber company, you will see
eco-saboteurs differently than a camping enthusiast will. How does your own view of eco-
saboteurs depend on your life situation? What effective alternatives to eco-sabotage are
there for people who are convinced that we are destroying the very life support system of
our planet? ■

environmental sociology a spe-
Environmental Sociology cialty within sociology whose focus
A specialization within sociology, environmental sociology focuses on the relationship is how humans affect the environ-
ment and how the environment
between human societies and the environment (Dunlap and Catton 1979, 1983; Bell
affects humans
2009). Environmental sociology is built around these key ideas:
1. The physical environment should be a significant variable in sociological research.
2. Human beings are but one species among many that depend on the natural
environment.
3. Human actions have unintended consequences, many of which have an impact on nature.
4. The world is finite, so there are physical limits to economic growth.
Pollution in the Least Industrialized
5. Economic expansion requires increased extraction of resources from the Nations has become a major
environment. problem. These children in the
6. Increased extraction of resources leads to ecological Philippines are scavenging floating
problems. waste in Manila Bay.
7. These ecological problems place limits on
economic expansion.
8. Governments create environmental
problems by encouraging the ac-
cumulation of capital.
9. For the welfare of humanity,
environmental problems must
be solved.
The goal of environmental
sociology is not to stop pollution
or nuclear power but, rather, to
study how humans (their cultures,
values, and behavior) affect the
physical environment and how
the physical environment affects
human activities. Not surprisingly,
environmental sociology attracts
activists, and the Section on Environ-
ment and Technology of the American
Sociological Association tries to influ-
ence governmental policies (American
Sociological Association n.d.).