ENVIRONMENT AND SOCIETY

Rural Sociology 324/Science and Technology Studies 324

Cornell University

Spring 1998


Professor: Max J. Pfeffer

Office: Warren Hall 331
E-mail: mjp5@cornell.edu
Telephone: 255-1676
Office hours: 3:00-5:00 PM, Wednesdays or by appointment

Graduate Teaching Assistant: Alan Barton

Office: Warren Hall 132
E-mail: awb4@cornell.edu
Telephone: 255-2155
Office hours: 12:30-1:15, Mondays and Wednesdays or by appointment

Undergraduate Teaching Assistant: Clayton Summers

Office: 133 Warren Hall
E-mail: cfs2@cornell.edu
Telephone: 256-5145
Office hours: 3:00-4:00PM, Thursday


Course Objectives

The main objective of the course is to help you develop a critical understanding of the dominant trends in modern U.S. environmental thought. These include preservationism, conservationism, deep ecology, eco-feminism, social ecology, NIMBYism, and environmental justice. Many of these areas of thought are part of a set of loosely integrated ideas some consider an alternative social paradigm rooted in ecological concerns and principles. We will compare environmentalist thought with liberal, or free market, economics and positivist science. Another course objective is to familiarize you with the sociological dimensions of some major contemporary substantive environmental problems and policies. These topics include air and water quality, public lands management, biodiversity, deforestation, climate change, and ozone depletion.


Required Textbooks

Harper, Charles. Environment and Society: Human Perspectives on Environmental Issues. Prentice-Hall, 1996.

Kline, Benjamin. First Along the River: A Brief History of the U.S. Environmental Movement. Acada Books, 1997.

A packet of additional required reading is available at the Cornell Campus Store.


Requirements

1. Three examinations (two preliminaries and one final)

These will consist primarily of essays administered through a combination of take-home and in-class questions. We will hold review sessions prior to each exam during the regular class meeting time.

2. Regular attendance and completion of all assigned readings.


Grading

Requirement Percentage of Grade
Examination 1

30

Examination 2

30

Final examination

40

TOTAL

100

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Schedule, Topic and Reading Assignment

January 19 Introduction and Orientation

Reading required:

Kline, Chapters 1-2.

Reading suggested:

Timothy O'Riordan. "Frameworks for Choice: Core Beliefs and the Environment." Environment 37(8):4-29, 1993.


January 21 Environmentalism and Conservation

Reading required:

Harper, Chapter 1.

Kline, Chapters 3-4.

Reading suggested:

McKibben, Bill. "What Good is a Forest?" Audubon 98(3):54-63, 1996.

Babbit, Bruce. "Science: Opening the Next Chapter of Conservation History." Science 267(March):1954-1955, 1995.

Brick, Phil. "Determined Opposition: The Wise Use Movement Challenges Environmentalism." Environment 37(8):17-41, 1995

Orr, David W. "Conservation and Conservatism." Conservation Biology 9(2):242-245, 1995

Tokar, Brian. "Between the Loggers and the Owls: The Clinton Northwest Forest Plan." The Ecologist 24(4):149-153, 1994.

Caufield, Henry P. "The Conservation and Environmental Movements: An Historical Analysis." Pp. 13-55 in James P. Lester (ed.), Environmental Politics and Policy: Theories and Evidence. Durham: Duke University Press, 1989.

Koppes, Clayton R. "Efficiency, Equity, Esthetics: Shifting Themes in American Conservation." Pp. 230-251 in Donald Worster (ed.), The Ends of the Earth: Perspectives on Modern Environmental History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988.

Short, Brant C. "America's Conservation Consensus: Origins of the Public Lands Debate." Pp. 4-9 in Brant C. Short, Ronald Reagan and the Public Lands: American's Conservation Debate, 1979-1984. College Station: Texas A&M University, 1979.


January 23 Environmentalism and Preservation

Reading required:

Kline, Chapters 5-6.

Reading suggested:

Nash, Roderick. Wilderness and the American Mind. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1967.

Chester, Charles C. "Controversy over Yellowstone's Resources: People, Property, and Bioprospecting." Environmental History 38(8):10-35, 1996.

Cronon, William. "The Trouble with Wilderness or, Getting back to the Wrong Nature. Environmental History 1(1):8-27, 1996.


January 26 National Parks and National Forests in American Environmentalism

Reading required:

Kline, Chapter 7.

Morgan, Mark J. "Resources, Recreationists, and Revenues: A Policy Dilemma for Today's State Park Systems." Environmental Ethics 18(3):279-291, 1996.

Watkins, T.H "National Parks, National Paradox." Audubon 99(4):40-43, 1997.

Reading suggested:

Anderson, H. Michael. "Reforming National-Forest Policy." Issues in Science and Technology 10(2):40-47, 1994.

Sax, Joseph L. "Parks, Wilderness, and Recreation." Pp. 114-140 in Michael J. Lacey (ed.), Governments and Environmental Politics: Essays on Historical Developments Since World War Two. Washington, D.C.: The Woodrow Wilson Center Press, 1993.

Kelly, John R. "Wildland Recreation and Urban Society: Critical Perspectives." Pp. 33-50 in Alan W. Ewert, Deborah J. Chavez and Arthur W. Magill, Culture, Conflict, and Communication in the Wildland-Urban Interface. Boulder: Westview Press, 1993.

National Research Council. Science and the National Parks. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press, 1992.

Rosenbaum, Walter A., "Our 700 Million Acres: The Battle for Public Lands." Pp. 270-299 in Walter A. Rosenbaum, Environmental Politics and Policy. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 1991.


January 28 Contemporary Environmentalism

Reading required:

Harper, Chapter 8.

Kline, Chapters 8-9.

Reading suggested:

Dunlap, Riley E. and Angela G. Mertig. "The Evolution of the U.S. Environmental Movement from 1970 to 1990: An Overview." Pp. 1-10 in Riley E. Dunlap and Angela G. Mertig (eds.), American Environmentalism: The U.S. Environmental Movement, 1970-1990. Philadelphia: Taylor and Francis, 1992.

McCloskey, Michael. "Twenty Years of Change in the Environmental Movement: An Insider's View." Pp. 77-88 in Riley E. Dunlap and Angela G. Mertig (eds.), American Environmentalism: The U.S. Environmental Movement, 1970-1990. Philadelphia: Taylor and Francis, 1992.

Sheail, John. "Green History: The Evolving Agenda." Rural History: Economy, Society, Culture 4(2):209-223, 1993.

Hayes, Denis. "Earth Day 1990: Threshold of a Green Decade." Natural History April:55-58, 67-70, 1993.

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January 30 Domestic Environmental Policy Alternatives The Power to Protect

Reading required:

Hockenstein, Jeremy B., Robert N. Stavins, and Bradley W. Whitehead. "Crafting the Next Generation of Market Based Environmental Tools." Environment 39(4):12-33, 1997.

Jasanoff, Sheila. "The Dilemma of Environmental Democracy." Issues in Science and Technology 13(1):63-70, 1996.

Reading suggested:

Gottlieb, Robert. "Beyond NEPA and Earth Day: Reconstructing the Past and Envisioning a Future for Environmentalism." Environmental History Review 19(4):1-14, 1995.

Karliner, Joshua. "The Environment Industry: Profiting from Pollution." The Ecologist 24(2):59-63, 1994.

Hahn, Robert W. "United States Environmental Policy: Past, Present and Future." Natural Resources Journal 34(2):305-348, 1994.

Freeman, A. Myrick II. "Economies, Incentives, and Environmental Regulation." Pp. 145-167 in Norman J. Vig and Michael Kraft (eds.), Environmental Policy in the 1990s: Toward a New Agenda. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly, 1994.

John, Dewitt. "Civic Environmentalism." Issues in Science and Technology 10(4):30-34, 1994.

Mitchell, Robert Cameron, Angela G. Mertig, and Riley E. Dunlap. "Twenty Years of Environmental Mobilization: Trends Among National Environmental Organizations." Pp. 11-26 in Riley E. Dunlap and Angela G. Mertig (eds.), American Environmentalism: The U.S. Environmental Movement, 1970-1990. Philadelphia: Taylor and Francis, 1992.

Ingram, Helen M. and Dean E. Mann. "Interest Groups and Environmental Policy." Pp. 135-157 in James P. Lester (ed.), Environmental Politics and Policy: Theories and Evidence. Durham: Duke University Press, 1989.

Rosenbaum, Walter A. "The Bureaucracy and Environmental Policy." Pp. 212-237 in James P. Lester (ed.), Environmental Politics and Policy: Theories and Evidence. Durham: Duke University Press, 1989.


February 2 Clean Air Policies

Reading required:

Harper, Chapter 9.

Switzer, Jacqueline Vaughn. "Urban Air Quality: Getting Better or Getting Worse?" Pp. 191-213, in Environmental Politics: Domestic and Global Dimensions, 1994.

Reading suggested:

Nixon, Will. "The Air Down There." The Amicus Journal Summer:42-45, 1994.

Popper, Frank J. "Thinking Globally, Acting Locally." Technology Review April:46-53, 1992.

Schroeder, Christopher. "The Evolution of Federal Regulations of Toxic Substances." Pp. 263-313 in Michael J. Lacey (ed.), Government and Environmental Politics: Essays on Historical Developments Since World War Two. Washington, D.C.: The Woodrow Wilson Center Press, 1993.

Rosenbaum, Walter A., "The Unfinished Agenda: Air and Water." Pp. 169-211 in Walter A. Rosenbaum, Environmental Politics and Policy. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 1991.


February 4 Clean Water Policies

Reading required:

Harper, pp. 71-80.

Naiman, Robert J., John J. Magnuson, Diane M. McKnight, Jack A. Stanford, James R. Karr. "Freshwater Ecosystems and Their Management: A National Initiative." Science 270(5236):584-585, 1995

Foran, Jeffery A. and Robert W. Adler. "Cleaner Water, But Not Clean Enough." Issues in Science and Technology 10 (2):33-39, 1994.

Reading suggested:

Moore, Susan, Margot Murphy and Ray Watson. "A Longitudinal Study of Domestic Water Conservation Behavior." Population and Environment 16(2):175-189, 1994.


February 6 The Regulation of Toxic Substances

Reading required:

Harper, pp. 89-107.

Russell, Edmund P. III. "Lost Among the Part Per Billion: Ecological Protection at the United State Environmental Protection Agency, 1970-1993." Environmental History 2(1):29-51, 1997.

Reading suggested:

Hearne, Shelley A. "Tracking Toxics: Chemical Use and the Public's 'Right to Know.'" Environment 38(6):5-33, 1996.

Graham, John D. and March Sadowitz. "Superfund Reform: Reducing Risk through Community Choice." Issues in Science and Technology 10(4):35-40, 1994.

Szasz, Andrew. Ecopopulism: Toxic Waste and the Movement for Environmental Justice. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1994.

Rosenbaum, Walter A. "A Chemical Plague: Toxic and Hazardous Substances." Pp. 212-239 in Walter A. Rosenbaum, Environmental Politics and Policy. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 1991.


February 9 New Directions in Environmental Management:

Environmental Destruction and Restoration

Reading required:

Williams, Ted. "Deregulating the Wild." Audubon 99(4):56-63: 92-94, 1997.

Dobson, Andy P., A.D. Bradshaw, A.J.M. Baker. "Hopes for the Future: Restoration Ecology and Conservation Biology." Science 277(July):515-522,, 1997.

Reading suggested:

Cairns, John Jr. "Ecosocietal Restoration: Reestablishing Humanity's Relationship with Natural Systems." Environment 37(5):4-9, 1995.

Derr, Mark. "Redeeming the Everglades." Audubon October:48-56, 128-131, 1993.

Teclaff, Ludwik A. "Beyond Restoration--The Case of Ecocide." Natural Resources Journal 34(4):933-956, 1994.

Holloway, Marguerite. "Nurturing Nature." Scientific American April:98-108, 1994.

National Research Council. Restoration of Aquatic Ecosystems. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press, 1992.


February 11 Deep Ecology

Reading required:

Devall, Bill. "Deep Ecology and Radical Environmentalism." Pp. 51-62 in Riley E. Dunlap and Angela G. Mertig (eds.), American Environmentalism: The U.S. Environmental Movement, 1970-1990. Philadelphia: Taylor and Francis, 1992.

Reading suggested:

Borelli, Peter. "The Ecophilosophers." Amicus Journal Spring:30-39, 1988.

Russell, Dick. "The Monkey Wrenchers." Pp. 27-49 in Peter Borelli (ed.), Crossroads: Environmental Priorities for the Future. Washington, D.C.: Island Press, 1989.


February 13 Eco-Feminism

Reading required:

Birkeland, Janis. "The Relevance of Ecofeminism to the Environmental Professions." The Environmental Professional 17(1):55-71, 1995.

Reading suggested:

Slicer, Deborah. "Is There an Ecofeminism--Deep Ecology 'Debate'?" Environmental Ethics 17:151-169, 1995.

Birkeland, Janis. "Ecofeminism" Linking Theory and Practice." Pp. 13-59 in Greta Gaard (ed.), Ecofeminism. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1993.

Kheel, Marti. "Ecofeminism and Deep Ecology: Reflections on Identity and Difference." Trumpeter 8(2):62-72, 1991.

Plumwood, Val. "Nature, Self, and Gender: Feminism, Environmental Philosophy, and the Critique of Rationalism." Hypatia 6(1):3-27, 1991.


February 16 Social Ecology

Reading required:

Bookchin, Murray. "The Concept of Social Ecology." Pp. 152-162 in Carolyn Merchant (ed.), Ecology. Atlantic Highlands: Humanities Press, 1994.

Reading suggested:

Sale, Kirkpatrick. "Silent Spring and After: The U.S. Movement Today." The Nation 257(3):92-95, 1993.

Bookchin, Murray. Remaking Society. New York: Black Rose Books, 1989.

Tokar, Brian. "Social Ecology, Deep Ecology, and the Future of Green Political Thought." The Ecologist 18(4/5):132-142, 1988.


February 18 Discussion and Review

February 20 PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION 1

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February 23 Science, Politics and Environmental Conflict

Reading required:

Hattis, Dale. "Drawing the Line: Quantitative Criteria for Risk Management." Environment 38(6):10-39, 1996.

Reading suggested:

Barnard, Neal D. and Stephen R. Kaufman. "Animal Research is Wasteful and Misleading." Scientific American 276(2):80-82, 1997.

Botting, Jack H. and Adrian R. Morrison. "Animal Research is Vital to Medicine." Scientific American 276(2):83-85, 1997.

Susskind, Lawrence and Sarah McKearnan. "Enlightened Conflict Resolution." Technology Review April:70-72, 1995.

Oppenheimer, Michael. "Context, Connection, and Opportunity in Environmental Problem Solving." Environment 37(5):10-15, 1995.

National Research Council. Understanding Risk. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press, 1996.

Andrews, Richard. "Risk Assessment: Regulation and Beyond." Pp. 167-186 in Norman J. Vig and Michael E. Kraft (eds.), Environmental Policy in the 1990s: Toward a New Agenda. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Press, 1994.

Dietz, Thomas, Paul Stern and Robert W. Rycroft. "Definitions of Conflict and the Legitimation of Environmental Risk." Sociological Forum 4(1):47-70, 1989.

Freudenberg, Nicolas. "Science and Politics: The Limitations of Environmental Health Research." Pp. 42-59 in Nicolas Freudenberg (ed.), Not in Our Backyards! Community Action for Health and the Environment. New York: Monthly Review Press, 1984.

Brinkman, Ronald and Sheila Jasanoff. "Concept of Risk and Safety in Toxic-Substance Regulation: A Comparison of France and the United States." Pp. 203-213 in Dean E. Mann (ed.), Environmental Policy Formation: The Impact of Values, Ideology, and Standards. Lexington: Lexington Books, 1981.


February 25 Grassroots Environmentalism

Reading required:

Lichterman, Paul. "Piecing Together Multicultural Community: Cultural Differences in Community Building Among Grass-Roots Environmentalists." Social Problems 42(4):513-524, 1995.

Reading suggested:

Freudenburg, Nicolas and Carol Steinsapir. "Not in Our Backyards: The Grassroots Environmental Movement." Pp. 27-35 in Riley E. Dunlap and Angela G. Mertig (eds.), American Environmentalism: The U.S. Environmental Movement, 1970-1990. Philadelphia: Taylor and Francis, 1992.

Glance, Natalie S. and Bernardo A. Huberman. "The Dynamics of Social Dilemmas." Scientific American March:76-81, 1994.

Mazamanian, Daniel and David Morell. "The 'Nimby' Syndrome: Facility Siting and the Failure of Democratic Discourse." Pp. 125-143 in Norman J. Vig and Michael E. Kraft (eds.), Environmental Policy in the 1990s: Toward a New Agenda. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Press, 1994.

Taylor, Dorceta E. "Environmentalism and the Politics of Inclusion." Pp. 53-63 in Robert D. Bullard, Confronting Environmental Racism: Voices from the Grassroots. Boston: South End Press, 1993.

Walsh, Edward, Rex Warland, and D. Clayton Smith. "Backyards, NIMBYs, and Incinerator Sitings: Implications for Social Movement Theory." Social Problems 40(1):25-38, 1993.


February 27 The Geographic Distribution of Environmental Hazards

Reading required:

Melosi, Martin V. "Equity, Eco-Racism and Environmental History." Environmental History Review. 19(3):1-16, 1995.

Reading suggested:

Vollers, Maryanne. "Everyone Has Got to Breathe." Audubon March-April:65-73, 1995.

Collin, Robert W. and William Harris, Sr. "Race and Waste in Two Virginia Communities." Pp. 93-106 in Robert D. Bullard, Confronting Environmental Racism: Voices from the Grassroots. Boston: South End Press, 1993.

Bailey, Conner, Charles E. Faupel, and James H. Gundlach. "Environmental Politics in Alabama's Blackbelt." Pp. 107-122 in Robert D. Bullard, Confronting Environmental Racism: Voices from the Grassroots. Boston: South End Press, 1993.

Greenberg, Michael. "Proving Environmental Inequity in Siting Locally Unwanted Land Uses." Risk: Issues in Health and Safety 4:235-252, 1993.

Hamilton, Cynthia. "Coping with Industrial Exploitation." Pp. 63-76 in Robert D. Bullard, Confronting Environmental Racism: Voices from the Grassroots. Boston: South End Press, 1993.

Pulido, Laura. "Sustainable Development at Granado del Valle." Pp. 123-140 in Robert D. Bullard, Confronting Environmental Racism: Voices from the Grassroots. Boston: South End Press, 1993.


March 2 Chemical Valley

Reading required:

Lewis, Susan and Kathy James. "Whose Voice Sets the Agenda for Environmental Education? Misconceptions Inhibiting Racial and Cultural Diversity." The Journal of Environmental Education. 26(3):5-12.

Reading suggested:

Sheppard, Judi Anne Caron. "The Black-White Environmental Concern Gap: An Examination of Environmental Paradigms." Journal of Environmental Education 26(2):24-35, 1995.

Phoenix, Janet. "Getting the Lead out of the Community." Pp. 77-92 in Robert D. Bullard, Confronting Environmental Racism: Voices from the Grassroots. Boston: South End Press, 1993.

Pea, Devon and Joseph Gallegos. "Nature and Chicanos in Southern Colorado." Pp. 141-160 in Robert D. Bullard, Confronting Environmental Racism: Voices from the Grassroots. Boston: South End Press, 1993.

Moses, Marion. "Farmworkers and Pesticides." Pp. 161-178 in Robert D. Bullard, Confronting Environmental Racism: Voices from the Grassroots. Boston: South End Press, 1993.


March 4 Environmental Discrimination and Social Inequality

Reading required:

Hampson, Fen Osler and Judith Reppy. "Environmental Change and Social Justice." Environment 39(3):12-39, 1997.

Spence, Mark David. "Crown of the Continent, Backbone of the World: The American Wilderness and Blackfeet Exclusion from Glacier National Park." Environmental History 1(3):29-49, 1996.

Reading suggested:

Taylor, Dorceta. "Environmentalism and the Politics of Inclusion." Pp. 53-62 in Robert D. Bullard, Confronting Environmental Racism: Voices from the Grassroots. Boston: South End Press, 1993.

Capex, Stella M. "The "Environmental Justice' Frame: A Conceptual Discussion and an Application." Social Problems 40(1):5-24, 1993.


March 6 Biodiversity: Conservation or Preservation?

Reading required:

Harper, pp. 80-88.

Raustiala, Kal and David G. Victor. "The Future of the Convention on Biological Diversity." Environment 38(4):17-44, 1996.

Reading suggested:

Hurlbut, David. "Fixing the Biodiversity Convention: Toward a Special Protocol for Related Intellectual Property." Natural Resources Journal 34(2):379-409, 1994.

Fowler, Carey and Pat Mooney. Shattering: Food, Politics, and the Loss of Genetic Diversity. Tuscon: The University of Arizona Press, 1990.

Murphy, Dennis. "Challenges to Biological Diversity in Urban Areas." Pp. 71-76 in E.O. Wilson and Francis Peter (eds.), Biodiversity. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press, 1988.


March 9 Biodiversity or Biotechnology?

Reading required:

Posey, Darrell A. "Protecting Indigenous People's Rights to Biodiversity." Environment 38(3):6-45, 1996.

Paoletti,, Maurizio and David Pimentel. "Gentic Engineering in Agriculture and the Environment: Assessing Risks and Benefits." Bioscience 46(9):665-673,1996.

Reading suggested:

Kloppenburg, Jack, Jr. and Beth Burrows. "Biotechnology to the Rescue? Twelve Reasons Why Biotechnology is Incompatible with Sustainable Agriculture." The Ecologist 26(2):61-67, 1996.

Reid, Walter V. "The Economic Realities of Biodiversity." Issues in Science and Technology 10(2):48-55, 1994.

Fowler, Carey and Pat Mooney. Shattering: Food, Politics, and the Loss of Genetic Diversity. Tuscon: The University of Arizona Press, 1990.

Sagoff, Mark. 1988. "Biotechnology and the Environment: What is the Risk?" Agriculture and Human Values. 137(Summer):26-35, 1988.


March 11 Tropical Deforestation and the Human Population

Secrets of the Chuco

Reading required:

Batisse, Michel. "Biosphere Reserves: A Challenge for Bio-Regional Development." Environment 39(5):7-33, 1997.

Guha, Ramachandra. "The Authoritarian Biologist and the Arrogance of Anti-Humanism: Wildlife Conservation in the Third World." The Ecologist 27(1):14-20, 1997.

Reading suggested:

Hecht, Susana B. "The Logic of Livestock and Deforestation in Amazonia." Bioscience 43(November):687-695, 1993.

Rudel, Thomas K. Tropical Deforestation: Small Farmers and Land Clearing in the Ecuadorian Amazon. New York: Columbia University Press, 1993.

Tucker, Richard P. "The Depletion of India's Forests Under British Imperialism: Planters, Foresters, and Peasants in Assam and Kerala." Pp. 128-140 in Donald Worster (ed.), The Ends of the Earth: Perspectives on Modern Environmental History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988.

Fearnside, Phillip M. "Deforestation in Brazilian Amazonia: The Rate and Causes of Forest Destruction." The Ecologist. 19(6):214-218, 1988.


March 13 Tropical Deforestation and Biodiversity

Reading required:

Jepma, CJ. "Tropical Rainforests." Pp. 5-21 in CJ Jepma, Tropical Deforestation: A Socio-Economic Approach. London: Earthscan Publications Ltd., 1995.

Reading suggested:

Schmink, Marianne. "The Socioeconomic Matrix of Deforestation." Pp. 253-276 in Lourdes Arizpe, M. Priscilla Stone and David C. Major (eds.), Population and Environment: Rethinking the Debate. Boulder: Westview, 1994.

Fowler, Carey and Pat Mooney. Shattering: Food, Politics, and the Loss of Genetic Diversity. Tuscon: The University of Arizona Press, 1990, Chapter 5.

Uhl, Christopher. "Restoration of Degraded Land in the Amazon Basin." Pp. 326-332 in E.O. Wilson and Francis Peter (eds.), Biodiversity. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press, 1988.

Lugo, Ariel. "Estimating Reductions in the Diversity of Tropical Forest Species." Pp. 58-69 in E.O. Wilson and Francis Peter (eds.), Biodiversity. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press, 1988.


March 23 Environment and Population: Neo-Malthusianism

Reading required:

Harper, pp. 151-175.

Reading suggested:

Princen, Thomas. "Toward a Theory of Restraint." Population and Environment 18(3):233-255, 1997.

Sagoff, Mark. "Carrying Capacity and Ecological Economics." BioScience 45(9):610-618, 1995.

Daly, Herman E. "Reply to Mark Sagoff's 'Carrying Capacity and Ecological Economics." BioScience 45(9):621-624, 1995.

Bongaarts, John. "Can the Growing Human Population Feed Itself?" Scientific American March:36-42, 1994.

Meffe, Gary K., Anne H. Ehrlich, and David Ehrenfeld. "Human Population Control: The Missing Agenda." Conservation Biology 7(1):1-3, 1993.

Ehrlich, Paul R. and Anne H. Ehrlich. The Population Explosion. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1990.


March 25 Environment and Population: Conservatives and Liberals

Reading required:

Harper, pp. 176-195.

Reading suggested:

Banks, R. Darryl and George R. Heaton, Jr. "An Innovation-Driven Environmental Policy." Issues in Science and Technology 12(1):43-51, 1995.

Reilly, William K., Phillip Shabecoff and Derva Lee Davis. "Is There Cause for 'Environmental Optimism'?" Environmental Science and Technology 29(8):366-369, 1995.

Bartlett, Albert A. "Reflections on Sustainability, Population Growth, and the Environment." Population and Environment 16(1):5-35, 1994.

Dunlap, Riley. "Ecologist vs. Exemptionalist: The Ehrlich-Simon Debate." Social Science Quarterly 64:200-203, 1983.


March 27 Environment and Population: Striking a Balance

The Bomb Under the World

Reading required:

Connolly, Barbara and Robert O. Keohane. "Institutions for Environmental Aid: Politics, Lessons and Opportunities." Environment 38(5):12-42, 1996.

Moffat, Anne Simon. "Ecologists Look at the Big Picture." Science 273(September):1480, 1996.

Reading suggested:

Olson, Molly Harriss. "Charting a Course for Sustainability." Environment 38(4):11-36, 1996.

Henson, Paul. "Population Growth, Environmental Awareness, and Policy Direction." Population and Environment 15(4):265-277, 1994.

Meadows, Donella, Dennis L. Meadows, and Jrgen Randers. Beyond the Limits: Confronting Global Collapse, Envisioning a Sustainable Future. Post Mills: Chelsea Green Publishing Company, 1992.


March 30 Environment, Poverty and Development

Reading required:

Rosegrant, Mark W. and Robert Livernash. "Growing More Food, and Doing Less Damage." Environment 38(4):6-31, 1996.

Mellor, John W. "Environmental Problems and Poverty." Environment 30(9):9-13, 28-30, 1988.

Reading suggested:

Nagpal, Tanvi. "Voices From the Developing World: Progress Toward Sustainable Development." Environment 37(8):10-35, 1995.

Keyfitz, Nathan. "The Growing Human Population." Pp. 61-72 in Managing Planet Earth: Readings from Scientific American Magazine. New York: W. H. Freeman and Company, 1990.


April 1 Environment, Technology and Development

Reading required:

Kammen, Daniel M. and Michael R. Dove. "The Virtues of Mundane Science." Environment 39(6):10-41, 1997.

Matson, P.A., W.J. Parton, A.G. Power, A.J. Swift. "Agricultural Intensification and Ecosystem Properties." Science 277(July):504-509, 1997.

Reading suggested:

Plunknett, Donald L. "Technology for Sustainable Agriculture." Scientific American September:182-186, 1995.

Crosson, Pierre and Norman J. Rosenberg. "Strategies for Agriculture." Pp. 73-83 in Managing Planet Earth: Readings from Scientific American Magazine. New York: W. H. Freeman and Company, 1990.

MacNeill, Jim. "Strategies for Sustainable Economic Development." Pp. 109-123 in Managing Planet Earth: Readings from Scientific American Magazine. New York: W. H. Freeman and Company, 1990.

Senanayake, Ranil. "The Ecological, Energetic, and Agronomic Systems of Ancient and Modern Sri Lanka." Pp. 227-307 in Gordon Douglass (ed.), Agricultural Sustainability in a Changing World Order. Boulder: Westview Press, 1984.


April 3 Discussion and Review

April 6 PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION 2

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April 8 Human Dimensions of Global Ecosystems

Reading required:

Bloom, David. "International Public Opinion on the Environment." Science 269(5222):354-357, 1995.

Dunlap, Riley E., George H. Gallup and Alec M. Gallup. "Of Global Concern: Results of the Planetary Survey." Environment 35(9):7-39, 1993.

Reading suggested:

Caldwell, Lynton. "Globalizing Environmentalism: Threshold of a New Phase in International Relations." Pp. 63-76 in Riley E. Dunlap and Angela G. Mertig (eds.), American Environmentalism: The U.S. Environmental Movement, 1970-1990. Philadelphia: Taylor and Francis, 1992.


April 10 Human Dimensions of Ozone Depletion

Reading required:

Harper, pp. 109-115.

Reading suggested:

Dowie, Mark. "A Sky Full of Holes." The Nation 263(2):11-16, 1996.

Stewart, Richard B. "Comprehensive and Market-Based Approaches to Global Change Policy." Pp. 24-37 in John M. Reilly and Margot Anderson (eds.), Economic Issues in Global Climate Change: Agriculture, Forestry, and Natural Resources. Boulder: Westview Press, 1992.

Morrisette, Peter M. "The Evolution of Policy Responses to Stratospheric Ozone Depletion." Natural Resources Journal 29:794-820, 1989.

Young, Orin. "The Politics of International Regime Formation: Managing Natural Resources and the Environment." International Organization 43(3):349-375, 1989.


April 13 Science, Technology and Climate Change

Reading required:

Harper, pp. 115-147

Reading suggested:

Muller, Frank. "Mitigating Climate Change: The Case for Energy Taxes." Environment 38(2):13-43, 1995.

Schneider, Stephen H. "Detecting Climatic Change Signals: Are There Any 'Fingerprints'?" Science 263:341-347, 1994.

Victor, David G. and Julian E. Salt. "Managing Climate Change." Environment 36(10):7-15, 1994.

Broecker, Wallace S. "Global Warming on Trial." Natural History April:6-14, 1992.

Singer, Fred S. "Warming Theories Need Warning Label." The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists 48(5):34-39, 1992.

White, Robert M. "The Great Climate Debate." Scientific American 263(1):36-42, 1990.

Kasprzyk, Leszek. "Science and Technology Policy and Global Change." Social Science Journal 41:433-439, 1989.


April 15 Environmental Implications of Free Trade

Reading required:

Harper, Chapter 10.

Reading suggested:

Bhagwati, Jagdish. "The Case for Free Trade." Scientific American November:42-49, 1993.

Daly, Herman E. "The Perils of Free Trade." Scientific American November:50-57, 1993.

Costanza, Robert, John Audley, Richard Borden, Paul Ekins, Carl Folke, Silvio O. Funtowicz, and Jonathan Harris. "Sustainable Trade: A New Paradigm for World Welfare." Environment 37(9):16-39, 1995.

Durwood, Zaelke, Paul Orbuch, and Robert F. Housman (eds.), Trade and the Environment: Law, Economics, and Policy. Washington, D.C.: Island Press, 1993.


April 17 Borderline Cases:

Environmental Matters at the United States-Mexico Border

Required reading:

Vogel, David. "Reconciling Free Trade with Responsible Regulation." Issues in Science and Technology 12(1):73-79, 1995.


April 20 Policies for Global Environmental Protection

Reading required:

Porter, Gareth and Janet Welsh Brown. "The Emergence of Global Environmental Politics." Pp. 1-30 in Gareth Porter and Janet Walsh Brown, Global Environmental Politics. Boulder: Westview, 1996.

Reading suggested:

Cruz, Wilfrido, Mohan Munasinghe and Jerry Warford. "Greening Development: Environmental Implications of Economic Policies." Environment 38(5):6-38, 1996.

O'Riordan, Timothy, William C. Clark, Robert W. Kates, and Alan McGowan. "The Legacy of Earth Day: Reflections at a Turning Point." Environment 37(3):7-15, 1995.

Schneider, Stephen H. "The Whole Earth Dialogue." Issues in Science and Technology 4(3):93-99, 1988.

Tucker, Richard P. and John F. Richards. "The Global Economy and Forest Clearance in the Nineteenth Century." Pp. 577-585 in Kendall E. Bailes (ed.), Environmental History: Critical Issues in Comparative Persepective. Lanham: University Press of America, 1985.

Hardin, Garrett. "The Tragedy of the Commons." Science 162:1243-1248, 1968.


April 22 Environmentalism and the Sociology of Values

Reading required:

Harper, Chapter 2.

Reading suggested:

Elliot, Herschel. "A General Statement of the Tragedy of the Commons." Population and Environment 18(6):515-531, 1997.

O'Neill, John. "Cost-Benefit Analysis, Rationality and the Plurality of Values." The Ecologist 26(3):98-103, 1996.

Gowdy, John M. "Progress and Environmental Sustainability." Environmental Ethics 16:41-55, 1994.

Dunlap, Riley E. and William R. Catton, Jr. "Struggling with Human Exemptionalism: The Rise, Decline and Revitalization of Environmental Sociology." American Sociologist 25(1):5-30, 1994.

Stern, Paul C., Thomas Dietz and J. Stanley Black. "Support for Environmental Protection: The Role of Moral Norms." Population and Environment 8(3/4):204-207, 1986.

Giddens, Anthony. "Fundamental Concepts of Sociology." Pp. 145-168 in Anthony Giddens, Capitalism and Modern Social Theory: An Analysis of the Writings of Marx, Durkheim and Max Weber. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1971.

White, Lynn Jr. "The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis." Science 155(3767):1203-1207, 1967.


April 24 The Dominant Social Paradigm

Reading required:

Rees, William E. "The Ecology of Sustainable Development." The Ecologist 20(1):18-23, 1990.

Reading suggested:

Dorfman, Robert. "An Economist's View of Natural Resource and Environmental Problems." Pp. 67-95 in Robert Repetto (ed.), The Global Possible. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1984.

Smith, Robert J. "Privatizing the Environment." Journal of Labor Research 3:11-50, 1982.

Catton, William R, Jr. and Riley E. Dunlap. "A New Ecological Paradigm for Post-Exuberant Sociology." American Behavioral Scientist 24(1):15-47, 1980.


April 27 The New Environmental Paradigm

Reading required:

Harper, Chapter 7.

Reading suggested:

Gigliotti, Larry M. "Environmental Issues: Cornell Students' Willingness to Take Action, 1990." The Journal of Environmental Education 26(1):34-42, 1994.

Dunlap, Riley E., "Trends in Public Opinion Toward Environmental Issues: 1965-1990." Pp. 89-116 in Riley E. Dunlap and Angela G. Mertig (eds.), American Environmentalism: The U.S. Environmental Movement, 1970-1990. Philadelphia: Taylor and Francis, 1992.

Paehlke, Robert C. "Environmental Values and Democracy: The Challenges of the Next Century." Pp. 349-367 in Norman J. Vig and Michael E. Kraft (eds.), Environmental Policy in the 1990's: Toward a New Agenda. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Press, 1994.

Watts, Nicholas and Geoffrey Wandesforde-Smith. "Postmaterial Values and Environmental Policy Change." Pp. 29-42 in Dean E. Mann (ed.), Environmental Policy Formation: The Impacts of Values, Ideology, and Standards. Lexington: Lexington Books, 1981.

Dunlap Riley E. and Kent VanLiere. "The New Environmental Paradigm." Journal of Environmental Education 9(4):10-19.


April 29 Toward an Alternative Paradigm

Reading required:

Colwell, Thomas. "The Nature-Culture Distinction and the Future of Environmental Education." The Journal of Environmental Education 28(4):4-8, 1997.

Reading suggested:

Kates, Robert W. "Sustaining Life on the Earth." Scientific American October:114-122, 1994.


May 1 Discussion and Review

To be announced FINAL EXAMINATION


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