Chapter 15

HUMAN EXCEPTIONALISM

the attitude that humans are exempt from natural ecological limits

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (EPA

a U.S. government agency established in 1969 to protect public health and the environment through policies and enforcement

GREEN PARTY

a U.S. political party established in 1984 to bring political attention to environmentalism

GLOBAL (or SOLAR) DIMMING

a decline in the amount of light reaching the earth's surface because of increased air pollution, which reflects more light back into space

URBAN SPRAWL

a derogatory term for the expansion of urban or suburban boundaries, associated with irresponsible or poorly planned development

MEGALOPOLIS

a group of densely populated metropolises that grow dependent on each other and eventually combine to form a huge urban complex

POLLUTION

any environmental contamination that harms living beings

ENVIRONMENTAL RACISM

any environmental policy or practice that negatively affects individuals, groups, or communities because of their race or ethnicity

GREENHOUSE GASES

any gases in the earth's atmosphere that allow sunlight to pass through but trap heat, thus affecting temperature

LIFE EXPECTANCY

average age to which people in a particular population are expected to live

INFANT MORTALITY

average number of infant deaths per 1,000 live births in a particular population

GROWTH RATE

percentage change in population over time figured by subtracting the number of deaths from the number of births, then adding the net migration; expressed as a fraction of the initial population

RURAL REBOUND

population increase in rural counties that adjoin urban centers or possess rich scenic or amenity values

DEMOGRAPHIC FREE FALL

rapid decrease in birth rates to below replacement levels; results in a shrinking population, mostly in industrialized nations

URBAN

relating to cities; typically describes densely populated areas

RURAL

relating to sparsely settled areas; in the United States, any county with a population density between 10 and 59.9 people per square mile

RENEWABLE RESOURCES

resources that replenish at a rate comparable to the rate at which they are consumed

MALTHUSIAN TRAP

Malthus's prediction that a rapidly increasing population will overuse natural resources, leading inevitably to a public health disaster

COMMUNITY

a group of people living in the same local area who share a sense of participation, belonging, and fellowship

FERTILITY RATE

a measure of population growth through reproduction; often expressed as the number of births per 1,000 people in a particular population or the average number of children a woman would bear over a lifetime

MORTALITY RATE

a measure of the decrease in population due to deaths; often expressed as the number of deaths per 1,000 people in a particular population

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

a movement that aims to remedy environmental inequities such as threats to public health and the unequal treatment of certain communities with regard to ecological concerns

PLURALISTIC IGNORANCE

a process in which members of a group individually conclude that there is no need to take action because they see that other group members have not done so

ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT

a social movement organized around concerns about the relationship between humans and the environment

SOCIAL ATOMIZATION

a social situation that emphasizes individualism over collective or group identities

GLOBAL CITIES

a term for megacities that emphasizes their global impact as centers of economic, political, and social power

DEMOGRAPHIC TRANSITION

a theory about change over time from high birth and death rates to low birth and death rates, resulting in a stabilized population

NEW ECOLOGICAL PARADIGM

a way of understanding human life as just one part of an ecosystem that includes many species' interactions with the environment; suggests that there should be ecological limits on human activity

EARTH DAY

an annual event conceived of by environmental activist and former senator Gaylord Nelson to encourage support for and increase awareness of environmental concerns; first celebrated on March 22, 1970

ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT

an estimation of the land and water area required to produce all the goods an individual consumes and to assimilate all the wastes she generates

METROPOLIS

an urban area with a large population, usually 500,000 to 1 million people

MODERN ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT

beginning in the 1960s, the second major stage of the environmental movement; focused on the environmental consequences of new technologies, oil exploration, chemical production, and nuclear power plants

MAINSTREAM ENVIRONMENTALISM

beginning in the 1970s, the third stage of the environmental movement; characterized by enhanced organization, improved promotional campaigns and political tactics, and an increased reliance on economic and scientific expertise

GRASSROOTS ENVIRONMENTALISM

beginning in the 1980s, fourth stage of the environmental movement; distinguished by the diversity of its members and belief in citizen participation in environmental decision making

EDGE CITIES

centers of employment and commerce that began as suburban commuter communities

NATURAL INCREASE

change in population size that results from births and deaths; linked to a country's progress toward demographic transition

URBAN DENSITY

concentration of people in a city, measured by the total number of people per square mile

ANTI-MALTHUSIANS

contemporary demographers who believe Malthus's basic prediction was faulty and worry instead that worldwide population may shrink in the future

NEO-MALTHUSIANS

contemporary demographers who worry about the rapid pace of population growth and believe that Malthus's basic prediction could be true

FAMILY PLANNING

contraception, or any method of controlling family size and the birth of children

ALIENATION

decreasing importance of social ties and community and the corresponding increase in impersonal associations and instrumental logic

CONSERVATION ERA

earliest stage of the environmental movement, which focused on the preservation of "wilderness" areas

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

economic development that aims to reconcile global economic growth with environmental protection

URBAN RENEWAL

efforts to rejuvenate decaying inner cities, including renovation, selective demolition, commercial development, and tax incentives

IMMIGRATION

entering one country from another to take up permanent residence

NONRENEWABLE RESOURCES

finite resources that can become exhausted; includes those that take so long to replenish as to be effectively finite

GLOBAL WARMING

gradual increase in the earth's temperature, driven recently by an increase in greenhouse gases and other human activity

ENVIRONMENT

in sociology, the natural world, the human-made environment, and the interaction between the two

EMIGRATION

leaving one country to live permanently in another

ANTHROPOCENTRIC

literally "human centered"; the idea that needs and desires of human beings should take priority over concerns about other species or the natural environment

UTOPIA

literally "no place"; an ideal society in which all social ills have been overcome

INTERNAL MIGRATION

movement of a population within a country

URBANIZATION

movement of increasing numbers of people from rural areas to cities

MIGRATION

movement of people from one geographic area to another for the purpose of resettling

WHITE FLIGHT

movement of upper- and middle-class whites who could afford to leave the cities for the suburbs, especially in the 1950s and 1960s

NET MIGRATION

net effect of immigration and emigration on a particular population; expressed as an increase or decrease

DYSTOPIA

opposite of a utopia; a world where social problems are magnified and the quality of life is extremely low

URBANITES

people who live in cities

NIMBY

short for "not in my back yard"; originally referred to protests aimed at shifting undesirable activities onto those with less power; now sometimes used without negative connotations to describe local environmental activists

DEMOGRAPHY

study of the size, composition, distribution, and changes in human population

TREADMILL OF PRODUCTION

term describing the operation of modern economic systems that require constant growth, which causes increased exploitation of resources and environmental degradation

SMART GROWTH

term for economic and urban planning policies that emphasize responsible development and renewal

BIOSPHERE

the parts of the earth that can support life

GREENHOUSE EFFECT

the process in which increased production of greenhouse gases, especially those arising from human activity (e.g., carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane) cause changes to the earth's atmosphere

SUBURBANIZATION

the shift of large segments of population away from the urban core and toward the edges of cities

BYSTANDER EFFECT or DIFFUSION OF RESPONSIBILITY

the social dynamic wherein the more people who are present

ENVIRONMENTAL SOCIOLOGY

the study of the interaction between society and the natural environment, including the social causes and consequences of environmental problems

MALTHUSIAN THEOREM

the theory that exponential growth in population will outpace arithmetic growth in food production and other resources

LIFE SPAN LONGEVITY

the uppermost age to which a person can potentially live

BIODIVERSITY

the variety of species of plants and animals existing at any given time

GENTRIFICATION

transformation of the physical, social, economic, and cultural life of formerly working-class or poor inner-city neighborhoods into more affluent middle-class communities

ALTRUISM

unselfish concern for the well-being of others and helping behaviors performed without self-interested motivation

ECOTERRORISM

use of violent or criminal methods to protect the environment, often in high-profile, publicity-generating ways