The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology Chapter 15; Populations, cities, and the environment
HUMAN EXCEPTIONALISM 455
the attitude that humans are exempt from natural ecological limits
MALTHUSIAN THEOREM 438
Thomas Malthus the theory that exponential growth in population will outpace arithmetic growth in food production and other resources leading to the Malthusian Trap. example Marlena is choosing not to have children because she fears in future the number of people will far outstrip land and food sources.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (EPA) 452
a U.S. government agency established in 1969 to protect public health and the environment through policies and enforcement
GREEN PARTY 459
a U.S. political party established in 1984 to bring political attention to environmentalism, social justice, diversity, and related principles
GLOBAL (or SOLAR) DIMMING 454
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 443
a derogatory term for the expansion of urban or suburban boundaries, associated with irresponsible or poorly planned development
POLLUTION 452
any environmental contaminant that harms living beings
ENVIRONMENTAL RACISM 459
any environmental policy or practice that negatively affects individuals, groups, or communities because of their race or ethnicity
GREENHOUSE GASES 454
any gases in the earth's atmosphere that allow sunlight to pass through but trap heat, thus affecting temperature
INFANT MORTALITY 435
average number of infant deaths per 1,000 live births in a particular population
URBANITES 448
people who live in cities; social composition of urban areas is complex and can include different ethnicity, students, intellectuals and single people single people seeking to build a life
GROWTH RATE 439
percentage change in population over time calculated 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 444
population increase in rural counties that adjoin urban centers or possess rich scenic or amenity values
DEMOGRAPHIC FREE FALL 439
rapid decrease in birth rates to below replacement levels; results in a shrinking population, mostly in industrialized nations
URBAN 330
relating to cities; typically describes densely populated areas
RURAL 440
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 451
resources that replenish at a rate comparable to the rate at which they are consumed; natural resources that can be replinished. water, trees, oxygen
MALTHUSIAN TRAP 438
Malthus's prediction that a rapidly increasing population will overuse natural resources, leading inevitably to a public health disaster
MEGALOPOLIS 441
a group of densely populated metropolises that grow dependent on each other and eventually combine to form a huge urban complex; the dense interconnection between Boston, NY, Philadephia, and Wash DC, metropolises is an example of megalopolis; They are closely tied.
COMMUNITY 449
a group of people living in the same local area who share a sense of participation, belonging, and fellowship
FERTILITY RATE 435
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 life time
MORTALITY RATE435
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; Carol is examining data showing the number of deaths per thousand people in Mexico.Margo is a demographer and studies population and issues related to population such as mortality.
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE 459
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 449
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 457
a social movement organized around concerns about the relationship between humans and the environment; Anastasia is part of a grassroots environmental group; Belief in citizen participation in environmental decision making.In 1960s the 2nd major stage of enviromental movement focused on the environ consequences of new tech, oil explore, chemical production and nuclear power plants.
SOCIAL ATOMIZATION 448
a social situation that emphasizes individualism over collective or group identities
GLOBAL CITIES 441
a term for megacities that emphasizes their global impact as centers of economic, political, and social power
DEMOGRAPHIC TRANSITION 439
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 455
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
BYSTANDER EFFECT or DIFFUSION OF RESPONSIBILITY 449
also know as the diffusion of responsibility; the social dynamic wherein the more people who are present in a moment of crisis, the less likely any one of them is to take action; example someone living in a crowded apartment hears a woman screaming during the night but does nothing because he assumes another person will call
EARTH DAY 458
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
METROPOLITAN STATISTICAL AREA (MSA) or AGGLOMERATION 441
an area with at least one major city of 50,000 or more inhabitants that is surrounded by adjacent counties that are socially and economically integrated with the city core
ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT 460
an estimation of the land and water area required to produce all the goods an individual consumes and to assimilate all the waste she generates
CIVIL INATTENTION 447
an unspoken rule governing interactions in public places, whereby individuals briefly notice others before ignoring them
METROPOLIS 441
an urban area with a large population, usually 500,000 to 1 million people
MODERN ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT 457
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 458
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 scienti c expertise
GRASSROOTS ENVIRONMENTALISM 459
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 443
centers of employment and commerce that began as suburban commuter coties
NATURAL INCREASE 439
change in population size that results from births and deaths; linked to a country's progress toward demographic transition
URBAN DENSITY 441
concentration of people in a city, measured by the total number of people per square mile; highest concentration on east and west coasts;
ANTI-MALTHUSIANS 439
contemporary demographers who believe Malthus's basic prediction was faulty and worry instead that worldwide population may shrink in the future
NEO-MALTHUSIANS 438
contemporary demographers who worry about the rapid pace of population growth and believe that Malthus's basic prediction could be true
FAMILY PLANNING 439
contraception, or any method of controlling family size and the birth of children
ALIENATION 448
decreasing importance of social ties and community and the corresponding increase in impersonal associations and instrumental logic; amber lives in NY, the city that never sleeps so she feels she has a great deal of freedom. Sociologist argue this freedom prevents city dwellers developing intimate relationships
CONSERVATION ERA 457
earliest stage of the environmental movement, which focused on the preservation of "wilderness" areas
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT 460
economic development that aims to reconcile global economic growth with environmental protection
URBAN RENEWAL 444
efforts to rejuvenate decaying inner cities, including renovation, selective demolition, commercial development, and tax incentives
IMMIGRATION 436
entering one country from another to take up permanent residence
NONRENEWABLE RESOURCES 451
finite resources that can become exhausted; includes those that take so long to replenish as to be effectively finite; example oil; can't be replaced or regenerated other than through natural non made man processes. fossil fuels
GLOBAL WARMING 454
gradual increase in the earth's temperature, driven recently by an increase in greenhouse gases and other human activity
ENVIRONMENT 450
in sociology, the natural world, the human-made environment, and the interaction between the two
conflict theory to natural environment 443
investigate how certain members of society have greater access to natural resources than others; not all groups or individuals benefit equally from society's use of the natural environment; urban sprawl creates largely white, upper, middle class suburbs around cities whose residents are miniorities, seniors, immigrants , working class and or poor. this means that suburban residents may have access to resources, like well-funded schools that urban dwellers may not.
EMIGRATION 436
leaving one country to live permanently in another
ANTHROPOCENTRIC 455
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 445
literally "no place"; an ideal society in which all social ills have been overcome
INTERNAL MIGRATION 436
movement of a population within a country
URBANIZATION 440
movement of increasing numbers of people from rural areas to cities
MIGRATION 436
movement of people from one geographic area to another for the purpose of resettling
WHITE FLIGHT 444
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 436
net effect of immigration and emigration on a particular population; expressed as an increase or decrease
DYSTOPIA 445
opposite of a utopia; a world where social problems are magnified and the quality of life is extremely low; in many video games today the world is presented as apocalyptic and riddled with social problems; problems mangified!
NIMBY 459
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
Community supported agriculture
small farms recruit subscribers to purchase shares of the farm's harvest is enjoying major nationwide growth. example organic gardening they begin recruiting local restaurants to buy produce from their farm
DEMOGRAPHY p. 435
study of the size, composition, distribution, and changes in human population; piper is interested in how many people live in her home state where its most densely populated. Sociologists who study population are called demographers.
TREADMILL OF PRODUCTION 455
term describing the operation of modern economic systems that require constant growth, which causes increased exploitation of resources and environmental degradation
SMART GROWTH 444
term for economic and urban planning policies that emphasize responsible development and renewal;Lou was raised in an inner city that is now run down and in need of repair. He is trying to redevelop and revitalize
symbolic interactionism to natural environment 443
the meanings assigned to the natural enviroment will determine how society sees and uses it; redefining open land as a scarce resource, and redefining urban areas as valuable spaces, may lead to the reduction of urban sprawl; open land could be conserved while urban spaces could be rehabilitated and revitalized.
structural functionalism to natural environment 443
the natural world exists in order to keep the social world running smoothly. COHESIVE the environment provides raw materials and space for development in order to meet society's needs.; as population increases cities must grow in order to accommadate the growing population, so urban sprawl is functional for society. URBAN SPRAWL as a benefit for society because it allows and supports population growth!
BIOSPHERE 450
the parts of the earth that can support life
GREENHOUSE EFFECT 454
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 443
the shift of large segments of population away from the urban core and toward the edges of cities
ENVIRONMENTAL SOCIOLOGY 455
the study of the interaction between society and the natural environment, including the social causes and consequences of environmental problems; Ashlyn focuses on how the city where she lives interacts with the natural environment. This is the study of human environs and their interaction with the natural world .
LIFE SPAN or LONGEVITY 436
the uppermost age to which a person can potentially live
BIODIVERSITY452
the variety of species of plants and animals existing at any given time; example alex is a phd student and explores the development on the indigeneous flora and fauna of rain forests; Brad is interested in an area's variety of species of plants and animals existing at a particular ime.
GENTRIFICATION 444
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 449
unselfish concern for the well-being of others and helping behaviors performed without self-interested motivation
ECOTERRORISM 459
use of violence or criminal methods to protect the environment, often in high-profile, publicity- generating ways
