Organization & Environment current issue

Strengthening Sociological Perspectives on Organizations and the Environment

Shwom, R. — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 03:53:24 PDT

Environmental and organizational sociologists have engaged with the growing interdisciplinary study of formal organizations and their natural environment to varying extents, but to date there has been little interaction between the two sociological subdisciplines. Environmental sociology has developed strong understandings of human—environment interactions, how to study them, and political economic systems of environmental destruction and improvement. Meanwhile, organizational sociology provides insights on internal and external drivers of governmental agency, business, and social movement organizational decision making. In an effort to strengthen our sociological understandings of organizational and interorganizational processes that contribute to environmental harm and improvement, this article identifies five synthetic propositions that emerge from these bodies of knowledge: (a) no organization is an island—socially or ecologically, (b) environmental claims require environmental evidence, (c) corporate environmental actions vary and are context dependent, (d) organizational cooperation and cooptation are two sides of the same coin, and (e) cumulative environmental impacts of organizational change are constrained by system tendencies.

Ecologically Unequal Exchange and Deforestation: A Cross-National Analysis of Forestry Export Flows

Shandra, J. M., Leckband, C., London, B. — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 03:53:25 PDT

The theory of ecologically unequal exchange suggests that rich nations are able to externalize their resource demands and environmental degradation onto the poor nations of the world through the vertical flow of exports. However, there has been no cross-national research that examines if forestry export flows from poor to rich nations is associated with higher rates of deforestation in poor nations. As such, we seek to address this gap in the literature by constructing cross-national regression models of forest loss from 1990 to 2005 for a sample of 60 poor nations. In doing so, we find substantial support for ecologically unequal exchange theory that poor nations with higher levels of forestry export flows to rich nations tend to have higher rates of deforestation.We also find that a number of other factors are related to deforestation. These include international nongovernmental organizations, democracy, total forestry production, total population growth, rural population growth, and tropical climate. We conclude with a discussion of the findings, theoretical implications, methodological implications, policy suggestions, and possible directions for future research.

Ecological Habitus:Toward a Better Understanding of Socioecological Relations

Kasper, D. V. S. — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 03:53:25 PDT

There is a clear need to better understand the interdependent relationships between people and the biophysical world. Social science research is essential for such efforts but is not yet widely viewed as relevant to ecological research. Impeding its advancement in this direction are the characteristics of a modern Western worldview exhibited by, and problematic for, much of social scientific research, especially emphases on mechanism, dualism, and prediction. I offer environmental behavior research as an area in which these are apparent. I discuss the need to better account for the relations and processes that characterize human social life and suggest an alternative approach for doing so. Drawing on complementary works in sociological theory, I develop the notion of ecological habitus and propose it as a practical tool for more adequately thinking about and studying socioecological phenomena. I conclude with brief speculation about the possible empirical uses of the ecological habitus concept.

Review of Chris Jordan's Photographic and Computer Image Exhibition, Running the Numbers, Curated by Chris Bruce, Director of the Washington State University Museum of Art

Rosa, E. A. — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 03:53:25 PDT

Many contemporary artists are integrating ecological themes into their work. Few, however, can rival the centrality of the ecological themes in the work of photographer and computer artist Chris Jordan. Recognizing the vast dispersion of consumption and waste practices, and their consequential invisibility, of the hundreds of millions of individuals that make up America’s consumers, Jordan uses his camera and computer to collect their consumables or detritus in one place. The result is an evocative collection of images that confronts us with our culture of consumption --and of our waste. This collection now forms a traveling exhibition curated and first shown at Washington State University and now on its way over the next two years to three other art museums (Haverford College, Austin Museum of Art and Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art) and two science centers (Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History and Pacific Science Center). This review examines the artistic features of the Jordon exhibition only lightly in favor of developing the larger context of the works presented and presenting a critique of the overemphasis on the liberal ideology underlying its intended message.

Darwin's Worms and the Skin of the Earth: An Introduction to Charles Darwin's The Formation of Vegetable Mould,Through the Action of Worms, With Observations on Their Habits (Selections)

Clark, B., York, R., Bellamy Foster, J. — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 03:53:25 PDT

Charles Darwin’s discovery of the theory of evolution by natural selection is unquestionably one of the most profound scientific achievements in history. Darwin was heavily influenced by the great geologist Charles Lyell, who developed uniformitarianism, the methodological and substantive doctrine that sought to explain all geological formations as the result of the accumulation of small events happening continually over long periods of time. In The Formation of Vegetable Mould, Through the Action of Worms, with Observations on Their Habits, Darwin—inspired by Lyell’s grand conception—focused on how worms transform the surface of the earth through their constant, everyday activities.They contribute to the formation of soil, turning it over and over, which enhances the circulation of nutrients within ecosystems. All studies of nature are indebted to Darwin for his devotion to illustrating the power of the materialist approach and for illuminating how the world works through its natural processes, including the invisible labor of worms.

Selections from The Formation of Vegetable Mould,Through the Action o f Worms, With Observations on Their Habits

Darwin, C. — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 03:53:25 PDT

Book Review: I. G. Simmons Global Environmental History Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2008

Allen, B. — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 03:53:25 PDT

Book Review: John R. Ehrenfeld Sustainability by Design: A Subversive Strategy for Trans forming Our Consumer Culture New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2008

Walck, C. — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 03:53:25 PDT

Book Review: Mark J. Smith and Piya Pangsapa Environment and Citizenship: Integrating Justice, Responsibility and Civic Engagement London: Zed Books, 2008

Gabrielson, T. — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 03:53:25 PDT

Book Review: Ronald Sandler and Phaedra C. Pezzullo (Eds.) Environmental Justice and Environmentalism:The Social Justice Challenge to the Environmental Movement Cambridge: M IT Press, 2007

Barry, J. — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 03:53:25 PDT

Book Review: Steve Vanderheiden (Ed.) Political Theory and Climate Change Boston: MIT Press, 2008

Page, E. A. — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 03:53:25 PDT

Book Review: Pradyumna P. Karan and Unryu Suganuma (Eds.) Local Environmental Movements: A Comparative Study of the United States and Japan Lexington: University of Kentucky, 2008

Morrison, T. — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 03:53:25 PDT

Book Review: Thomas Heyd Encountering Nature:Toward an Environmental Culture Burlington,VT: Ashgate, 2007

Stephens, P. H. G. — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 03:53:25 PDT