Ch. 20 - Population, Urbanization, the Environment

What are preventative checks countered by?

"preventative" checks = control the population but by REDUCING FERTILITY RATE, including birth control and celibacy

Characteristics of the first cities ever

- ancient Mesopotamia - small compared to today - largest was Rome

Fracking illustrates the societal issues connected to the environment:

- examine issues through demography - how it relates to urbanization, study of the social, political, and economic relationships in cities

Problems with water

- no access to clean water - in poorer countries, leads to diarrhea, cholera, typhoid - richer nations use WAY too much for multinational organizations - water pollution, we ingest carcinogens because of this

What are the advantages of fracking?

- reduces unemployment and contributes to economic growth - allows energy companies access to previously nonviable and completely untapped oil & gas reserves - boost oil production and lowers energy costs - expands the production of low-emission industrial energy WHat

While fracking can be very profitable, there are a number of concerns associated with the practice:

- requires lots of water - water has a high environmental cost & once you mix it with fracking chemicals > water is not consumable for human & animal use (most of the water is recycled) - chemicals pollute groundwater near the extraction site - fracking chemicals are carcinogenic - cause minor earthquakes by undermining the stability of an area - it is not a renewable source of energy

What are the prerequisites for the development of a city?

1. Good environment with fresh water & favorable climate. 2. Advanced technology, which will produce a food surplus to support nonfarmers 3. Strong social organization to ensure social stability and a stable economy

Examples of Environmental racism on American Indian Tribes

1. The home of the Skull Valley Band of Goshute Indians was targeted as the site for a high-level nuclear waste dumping ground, amid allegations of a payoff of as high as $200 million (Kamps 2001). Keith Lewis, an indigenous advocate for Indian rights, commented on this buyout, after his people endured decades of uranium contamination, saying that "there is nothing moral about tempting a starving man with money" (Kamps 2001). 2. the Western Shoshone's Yucca Mountain area has been pursued by mining companies for its rich uranium stores, a threat that adds to the existing radiation exposure this area suffers from U.S. and British nuclear bomb testing (Environmental Justice Case Studies 2004). In the "four corners" area where Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico meet, a group of Hopi and Navajo families have been forcibly removed from their homes so the land could be mined by the Peabody Mining Company for coal valued at $10 billion (American Indian Cultural Support 2006). Years of uranium mining on the lands of the Navajo of New Mexico have led to serious health consequences, and reparations have been difficult to secure; in addition to the loss of life, people's homes and other facilities have been contaminated (Frosch 2009). 3. Members of the Chippewa near White Pine, Michigan, were unable to stop the transport of hazardous sulfuric acid across reservation lands, but their activism helped bring an end to the mining project that used the acid (Environmental Justice Case Studies 2004).

According to sociologist Gideon Sjoberg (1965), there are three prerequisites for the development of a city:

1. good environment with fresh water and a favorable climate 2. advanced technology, which will produce a food surplus to support nonfarmers; 3. strong social organization to ensure social stability and a stable economy

Why has Malthus's prediction not been realized?

1. technological increases in food production have increased both the amount and quality of calories we can produce per person. 2. human ingenuity has developed new medicine to curtail death from disease. Finally, 3. Finally, the development and widespread use of contraception and other forms of family planning have decreased the speed at which our population increases.

Conflict theorists sociologists Feagin and Parker (1990) suggested three factors by which political and economic leaders control urban growth:

1. these leaders work alongside each other to influence urban growth and decline, determining where money flows and how land use is regulated. 2. exchange value and use value of land are balanced to favor the middle and upper classes so that, for example, public land in poor neighborhoods may be rezoned for use as industrial land. 3. urban development is dependent on both structure (groups such as local government) and agency (individuals including businessmen and activists), and these groups engage in a push-pull dynamic that determines where and how land is actually used. For example, Not In My Back Yard (NIMBY) movements are more likely to emerge in middle and upper-class neighborhoods as engaged citizens protest poor environmental practices they fear will affect them, so these groups have more control over the use of local land.

In the Demographic Transition Theory, the US is in Stage _____ .

4

Population Stats:

7 billion people on the planet World is gaining 86 million people each year 98% of the growth is in poorer countries

How might a conflict theorist study population and urbanization issues?

A conflict theorist, interested in the creation and reproduction of inequality, might ask how peripheral nations' lack of family planning affects their overall population in comparison to core nations that tend to have lower fertility rates. how do inner cities become ghettos, nearly devoid of jobs, education, and other opportunities? environmental racism and other forms of environmental inequality. which parts of New Orleans society were the most responsive to the evacuation order during Hurricane Katrina? Which area was most affected by the flooding? And where (and in what conditions) were people from those areas housed, both during and before the evacuation?

Example of the perspectives regarding child immigration to the US

A functional perspective theorist might focus on the dysfunctions caused by the sudden influx of underage asylum seekers a conflict perspective theorist might look at the way social stratification influences how the members of a developed country are treating the lower-status migrants from less-developed countries in Latin America An interactionist theorist might see significance in the attitude of the Murrietta protesters toward the migrant children.

How might symbolic interactionists study them?

A symbolic interactionist interested in the day-to-day interaction of groups and individuals: the way family-planning information is presented to and understood by different population groups, the way people experience and understand urban life, and the language people use to convince others of the presence (or absence) of global climate change. For example, some politicians wish to present the study of global warming as junk science, and other politicians insist it is a proven fact.

When does gentrification most often occur?

As cities evolve from manufacturing-based industrial to service- and information-based postindustrial societies

How did suburbs become a thing?

As cities grew more crowded, and often more impoverished and costly, more and more people began to migrate back out of them, transportation also improved a lot so that also gave way to suburbanization

Problems in the air

China's fast-growing economy and burgeoning industry have translated into notoriously poor air quality. Smog hangs heavily over the major cities, sometimes grounding aircraft that cannot navigate through it. Pedestrians and cyclists wear air-filter masks to protect themselves. In Beijing, citizens are skeptical that the government-issued daily pollution ratings are trustworthy. Fossil fuels > putting too much stress on the earth's atmosphere Human activity > pollution in the air

International Efforts to assuage climate change

During the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, the United States agreed to fund global climate change programs. In September 2010, President Obama announced the Global Climate Change Initiative (GCCI) as part of his administration's Global Development Policy. The GCCI is a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funding program intended to improve the economic and environmental sustainability of peripheral and semi-peripheral countries by encouraging the use of alternative, low-carbon, energy sources with financial incentives. Programming is organized around three pillars: (1) climate change adaptation, (2) clean energy, and (3) sustainable landscapes (Troilo 2012).

Electronic waste, or e-waste, is one of the fastest growing segments of garbage.

E-waste is the name for obsolete, broken, and worn-out electronics—from computers to mobile phones to televisions.

Why is there a controversy with climate change?

For companies making billions of dollars in the production of goods and services, the idea of costly regulations that would require expensive operational upgrades has been a source of great anxiety. They argue via lobbyists that such regulations would be disastrous for the economy. Some go so far as to question the science used as evidence. There is also a lot of finger-pointing among countries, especially when the issue arises of who will be permitted to pollute. Industrialized semi-peripheral and peripheral nations are releasing increasing quantities of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide. The core nations, now post-industrial and less dependent on greenhouse-gas-causing industries, wish to enact strict protocols regarding the causes of global warming, but the semi-peripheral and peripheral nations rightly point out that they only want the same economic chance to evolve their economies.

How may functionalist sociologists study population and urbanization issues?

Functionalist sociologists all aspects of population, urbanization, and the environment serve as vital and cohesive elements, ensuring the continuing stability of society. how the growth of the global population encourages emigration and immigration, and how emigration and immigration serve to strengthen ties between nations. the way migration affects environmental issues; for example, how have forced migrations, and the resulting changes in a region's ability to support a new group, affected both the displaced people and the area of relocation? the way various urban neighborhoods specialize to serve cultural and financial needs.

garbage

Garbage creation and control are major issues for most core and industrializing nations, and it is quickly becoming one of the most critical environmental issues faced in the United States.

What is being done about disaster of e-waste?

Gov is trying to address - putting stricter regulations - but corporations are against this. Meanwhile, many environmental groups, including the activist group Greenpeace, have taken up the cause. Greenpeace states that it is working to get companies to: measure and reduce emissions with energy efficiency, renewable energy, and energy policy advocacy make greener, efficient, longer lasting products that are free of hazardous substances reduce environmental impacts throughout company operations, from choosing production materials and energy sources right through to establishing global take-back programs for old products (Greenpeace 2011).

Which type of nations are releasing most greenhouse gases?

Industrialized semi-peripheral and peripheral nations

What was Malthus's prediction?

Malthus saw that people could produce only so much food in a given year, yet the population was increasing at an exponential rate. Eventually, he thought people would run out of food and begin to starve. They would go to war over increasingly scarce resources and reduce the population to a manageable level, and then the cycle would begin anew.

Where does e-waste go?

Many companies ship their e-waste to developing nations in Africa and Asia to be "recycled." While they are, in some senses, recycled, the result is not exactly clean. In fact, it is one of the dirtiest jobs around. Overseas, without the benefit of environmental regulation, e-waste dumps become a kind of boomtown for entrepreneurs willing to sort through endless stacks of broken-down electronics for tiny bits of valuable copper, silver, and other precious metals. Unfortunately, in their hunt, these workers are exposed to deadly toxins.

American Indian Tribes and Environmental Racism

Native Americans are unquestionably victims of environmental racism. For Native American tribes, the issues can be complicated—and their solutions hard to attain—because of the complicated governmental issues arising from a history of institutionalized disenfranchisement. Unlike other racial minorities in the United States, Native American tribes are sovereign nations. However, much of their land is held in "trust," meaning that "the federal government holds title to the land in trust on behalf of the tribe" (Bureau of Indian Affairs 2012). Some instances of environmental damage arise from this crossover, where the U.S. government's title has meant it acts without approval of the tribal government. Other significant contributors to environmental racism as experienced by tribes are forcible removal and burdensome red tape to receive the same reparation benefits afforded to non-Indians.

Where was the first metropolis?

New York was the first U.S. megalopolis, a huge urban corridor encompassing multiple cities and their surrounding suburbs. These metropolises use vast quantities of natural resources and are a growing part of the U.S. landscape.

What makes a suburb a suburb?

Simply, a suburb is a community surrounding a city. In the United States, most consider the suburbs home to upper— and middle—class people with private homes. In other countries, like France, the suburbs--or "banlieues"-- are synonymous with housing projects and impoverished communities. In fact, the banlieues of Paris are notorious for their ethnic violence and crime, with higher unemployment and more residents living in poverty than in the city center. Further, the banlieues have a much higher immigrant population, which in Paris is mostly Arabic and African immigrants. This contradicts the clichéd U.S. image of a typical white-picket-fence suburb.

During the Industrial Era, there was a growth spurt worldwide.

The development of factories brought people from rural to urban areas, and new technology increased the efficiency of transportation, food production, and food preservation.

metropolis

Together, the suburbs, exurbs, and metropolitan areas all combined meGalopolis:a large urban corridor that encompasses several cities and their surrounding suburbs and exurbs

What is the largest city by population?

Tokyo

sex ratios to know

US: 97 men to 100 women India: 106 men to 100 women

Trash issues are more severe in _______ areas.

Urban

Toxic and Radioactive Waste

While nuclear energy promises a safe and abundant power source, increasingly it is looked upon as a danger to the environment and to those who inhabit it. We accumulate nuclear waste, which we must then keep track of long term and ultimately figure out how to store the toxic waste material without damaging the environment or putting future generations at risk. Problem: energy. When disaster occurs, how can we safely evacuate the large numbers of affected people?

Human ecology

a functionalist field of study that looks at on the relationship between people and their built and natural physical environments

Fertility rate

a measure noting the number of children born

Fracking

a method used to recover gas and oil from shale by drilling down into the earth and directing a high-pressure mixture of water, sand, and proprietary chemicals into the rock

crude death rate

a number derived from the number of deaths per 1,000 people per year.

population composition

a snapshot of the demographic profile of a population

Radioactivity is a form of ____ pollution.

air

refugee

an individual who has been forced to leave his or her country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster

cancer cluster

areas near toxic sites

Stage 1 of the Demographic Transition Theory

birth, death, and infant mortality rates are all high, while life expectancy is short e.g. 1800s in the US

exurbs

communities that exist outside the ring of suburbs and are typically populated by even wealthier families who want more space and have the resources to lengthen their commute.

natural environment

consists of the earth's surface and atmosphere, including various living organisms and their natural environment

What does suburban sprawl lead to?

contributes to traffic congestion, which in turn contributes to commuting time. And commuting times and distances have continued to increase as new suburbs developed farther and farther from city centers.

"the tragedy of the commons"

described how a common pasture was ruined by overgrazing.

Pollution

describes what happens when contaminants are introduced into an environment (water, air, land) at levels that are damaging.

According to Ehrlich, it is the _________ , not specifically the food supply, that will play a crucial role in the continued health of planet's population.

environment

The study of human population, demography consists of...

fertility, mortality, migration

Conflict perspective

focus on the way urban areas change according to specific decisions made by political and economic leaders. These decisions generally benefit the middle and upper classes while exploiting the working and lower classes.

What did Ehrlich propose to fix population problems?

for a goal of zero population growth (ZPG), in which the number of people entering a population through birth or immigration is equal to the number of people leaving it via death or emigration.

What do environmental sociologists study?

how humans interact with their environment

carrying capacity

how many people can live in a given area considering the amount of available resources.

Synonym for fracking

hydraulic fracturing

Positive checks

increasing mortality rate = killing people off

Mortality rate

is a measure of the number of people who die.

Cornucupian theory = the optimistic one

it asserts that human ingenuity can resolve any environmental or social issues that develop: e.g. agricultural scientists will figure out how to grow it, as they have already been doing for centuries. After all, in this perspective, human ingenuity has been up to the task for thousands of years and there is no reason for that pattern not to continue

What factors limited the size of these cities?

lack of adequate sewage control, limited food supply, and immigration restrictions

There are the two primary means of waste disposal in the United States:

landfill and incineration - neither are good choices for getting rid of dangerous toxins

fecundity rate

measures the potential number of children that could be born to women of childbearing age.

concentric zone model is an example of human ecology

model views a city as a series of concentric circular areas, expanding outward from the center of the city, with various "zones" invading adjacent zones (as new categories of people and businesses overrun the edges of nearby zones) and succeeding (then after invasion, the new inhabitants repurpose the areas they have invaded and push out the previous inhabitants).

An internally displaced person

neither a refugee nor an asylum-seeker. Displaced persons have fled their homes while remaining inside their country's borders - trapped inside their country/home

infant mortality rate

number of deaths among infants under 1 year of age for every thousand live births in a given year

What is gentrification?

occurs when members of the middle and upper classes enter and renovate city areas that have been historically less affluent while the poor urban underclass are forced by resulting price pressures to leave those neighborhoods for increasingly decaying portions of the city.

Problems with soil

over-tilling soil in an attempt to expand agriculture has resulted in the disappearance of large patches of topsoil, soil erosion, desertification

Why is the problem of e-waste being exacerbated?

planned obsolescence (the designing of products to quickly become outdated and then be replaced by the constant emergence of newer and cheaper electronics)

New York, London, and Tokyo are all examples of...

postindustrial cities

Malthusian Theory

predictions about how earth would handle the population growth

environmental deficit

profound and negative harm to the natural environment, caused by humanity's focus on short-term material affluence

preventative checks

reducing fertility checks

Environmental racism

refers to the way in which minority group neighborhoods (populated primarily by people of color and members of low socioeconomic groups) are burdened with a disproportionate number of hazards, including toxic waste facilities, garbage dumps, and other sources of environmental pollution and foul odors that lower the quality of life.

What does the population composition include?

sex ratio & population pyramid

Gemeinshsaft

social organization in which people are closely tied by kinship and tradition

Gesellschaft

social organization; people together based on individual self-interest

Stage 3 of the Demographic Transition Theory

society is thoroughly industrialized; birthrates decline, while life expectancy continues to increase. Death rates continue to decrease. Mexico's population is at this stage.

environmental sociology

studies the way humans interact with their environments- A key factor of environmental sociology is the concept of carrying capacity, which describes the maximum amount of life that can be sustained within a given area. While

Demography

study of populations - How quickly will we go from 7 billion to 8 billion? How will that population be distributed? Where is population the highest? Where is it slowing down? Where will people live?

Demographic Transition Theory

suggests that future population growth will develop along a predictable four-stage model. Societies develop along a predictable continuum as they evolve from unindustrialized to postindustrial.

Which nation consumes more products than virtually any other nation?

the US

Suburbs

the communities surrounding cities, typically close enough for a daily commute in, but far enough away to allow for more space than city living affords

What did Ehrlich believe about human population?

the human population is moving rapidly toward complete environmental collapse, as privileged people use up or pollute a number of environmental resources such as water and air.

crude birth rate

the incidence of childbearing in a society's population

white flight refers to...

the migration of economically secure white people from racially mixed urban areas and toward the suburbs

Stage 4 of Demographic Transition Theory

the postindustrial era of a society. Birth and death rates are low, people are healthier and live longer, and society enters a phase of population stability. Overall population may even decline. For example, Sweden is considered to be in Stage 4.

human ecology focuses on ....

the relationship between people and their built and natural environment. This is an area that is garnering more attention as extreme weather patterns and policy battles over climate change dominate the news.

ecology

the study of the interaction of living organisms and the natural environment

urban sociology

the study of the relationship between social, political, and economic relationships in cities

Urbanization

the study of the social, political, and economic relationships in cities

Why did people turn to the exurbs?

the suburbs became more crowded and lost their appeal

ecosystem

the system composed of the interaction of all living organisms and their natural environment

zero population growth

there is no net growth in population

asylum-seekers

those whose claim to refugee status has not been validated.

The biggest challenge will be sustainable development:

to achieve development that occurs without depleting or damaging the natural environment

climate change

used to refer to long-term shifts in temperatures due to human activity and, in particular, the release of greenhouse gases into the environment

What did Malthus predict would control the human population?

war, famine, disease - "positive checks" since they increase mortality rates, keeping population in check

Stage 2 of the Demographic Transition Theory

where birthrates are higher while infant mortality and the death rates drop. Life expectancy also increases e.g. Afghanistan