Environmental Issues and Society

Humans in industrial and postindustrial societies seem to have conquered the limitations placed on them by the environment through the use of technology. However, we actually live in a sensitive ecosystem in which humans and their physical environment interact and are interdependent. Harming the environment can have negative effects on the humans in it as phenomena such as the greenhouse effect, global climate change, and thermal pollution demonstrate. We live in a society that is the result of rapid changes in technology that have affected our lives. However, with every potential benefit comes a concomitant risk. Although technological advancements should not be stifled, it is important that they also be implemented with consideration for the uncertainty of their effect on the human ecosystem.

Keywords Economic Development; Environment; Ethics; Greenhouse Effect; Human Ecosystem; Industrialization; Postindustrial; Preindustrial; Society; Sociocultural Evolution; Technology; Thermal Pollution

Population, Urbanization & the Environment > Environmental Issues & Society

Overview

Increasingly, the impact of humans on the environment has become an issue of social concern. The ever-decreasing availability of sources of fossil fuels and contemporary society's ever-increasing need for it to run its technology is a concern in and of itself. However, when the use of chlorine- and bromine-based products creates a hole in the ozone layer, this becomes an issue of immense and far-reaching proportions. Although this might seem to be a simple matter of doing what is right, the interaction between society and the environment is a political one as well, and it is often difficult to reach consensus on an operational definition of what is right. For example, although legal limits may be in place in a society that cap the amount of certain kinds of pollution that a single organization is allowed to produce, is it ethical to also have a system of pollution credits (i.e., a system in which a business that produces more pollution of a given type than legally allowed is able to purchase "credits" from a business that produces less pollution than is allowed) if one's aim is truly to reduce or eliminate pollution?

Human Relationship with the Natural Environment

Humans have always depended upon the natural environment. The natural environment provides us with the raw materials necessary to feed ourselves and our families and to build our technologies, whether they are spears and baskets for hunting-and-gathering societies or harnessing sources of energy for industrialized societies. In earlier stages of sociocultural evolution, this relationship between humankind and nature was arguably easier to see. Prehistoric humans tended to live in more temperate zones where they could find year-round supplies of food and needed little shelter from the elements or lived nomadic lifestyles in order to have a continual source of food and sufficient shelter. In twenty-first-century industrialized nations, however, people tend to buy their food at supermarkets and retreat into their human-built homes for their air conditioning or heat. Yet even with high-tech approaches to farming, people are still dependent on the sun to shine, the rain to fall, and the temperature to remain within a certain range over a window of time in order to have sufficient food to eat. The demands of industrialization require that we use our natural resources in order to run our technology. However, the demands of future generations mean that we must use these resources wisely and in a sustainable manner so that society does not stop because of our lack of concern.

Environmental Movement & Ecosystems

The modern environmental movement began as societies came to realize that many of the things that were being done to improve or use technology to make life better in the short term were simultaneously having a negative impact on the environment and making life worse in the long term. Ecosystems are systems in which organisms and their environment interact and function as a unit. In ecosystems, the various parts (i.e., organisms and environment) are interdependent on each other and function as a unit. For example, animals breathe in oxygen and expel carbon dioxide to live. They also either eat plants or eat other animals that eat the plants. The plants, in turn, require the use of the carbon dioxide expelled by the animals and, in turn, expel oxygen that is used by the animals. When the animals die, their bodies decompose and provide nutrients that enrich the soil and help the plants grow in a continuing cycle of interdependence. Human ecosystems are ecosystems that include human beings. As in other ecosystems, in human ecosystems, the parts are interdependent and function together. Obviously, human beings — even in the postindustrial age — are dependent on clean air, clean water, sunshine, and other essential elements of the natural environment to survive. Similarly, the natural environment is affected by pollution and other artifacts of human civilization. If the negative impact of human civilization becomes too great, the natural environment is harmed (e.g., greenhouse effect, global climate change). If the natural environment is harmed too much, the human part of the ecosystem will have to change in response if it hopes to survive. Done early enough in the cycle, this may mean doing relatively simple things as recycling and finding alternate energy sources. If the damage caused by humans is allowed to go unchecked for too long, however, the human ecosystem may be harmed to the point that society may have to find new ways to survive, may go backward on the sociocultural evolutionary scale, or may even become extinct.

The supply of many natural resources is limited, which means that once these are gone, they cannot be replaced (e.g., fossil fuels). Other natural resources are renewable only if we harvest them in a sustainable manner (e.g., lumber from forests). In addition, the parts of an ecosystem are interdependent: What happens to one part of the ecosystem affects the other parts (e.g., global climate change affects how and where certain crops can be grown). Therefore, two factors in particular are of concern in the environmental movement: vanishing resources and environmental pollution. Human beings depend on other parts of the human ecosystem for their survival. If the resources vanish, are poisoned, or otherwise made unusable through pollution, human beings and their concomitant societies will not be able to survive in the same form as they have or, depending on the type of resource that vanishes, may not be able to survive at all.

For example, if humans poison the air (our oxygen supply) or the water table with pollution, these seemingly unlimited natural resources can become unusable. Although sometimes such damage can be undone, this often does not happen before illness and loss of life occur. An excellent example of how this can happen occurred in the mid-twentieth century. Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) was widely used as a pesticide in the United States during the 1940s and '50s. After a few years of use, DDT had not only seeped into the soil and the groundwater, but on into the oceans, and by extension, the fish that lived in the oceans and the birds that ate the fish. Although the birds that ate the tainted fish continued to look healthy, they stored the chemical in their bodies which, in turn, caused their eggs to become disastrously brittle, ending not only in a severe reduction in the number of birds hatched for that generation but for many generations afterward. However, it was not only bird populations that were affected. DDT also contaminated the human food supply, with significant results including cancer and the contamination of human breast milk. Before the source of the problem was identified and corrected, severe damage had been done.

Technological By-Products

One of the major factors causing pollution to the human ecosystem are by-products of various technologies that we use to make our lives better. In the industrialized parts of the world, pollutants from vehicle emissions poison the air, causing respiratory problems. Industrialized societies also contribute to water pollution through such activities as the dumping of waste by tankers into the ocean and toxic runoff from factories into small streams that flow into larger rivers. Even everyday things such as runoff of pesticides or fertilizers used in the home garden or leaks or spills from some air-conditioning systems or other equipment can contribute to water pollution as the chemicals seeping to the ground and contaminate the water table. One type of contamination that became of great concern in the 1990s came from chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and bromine-based compounds. These chemicals were long used as coolants in refrigerators, components in the manufacture of some plastics, and aerosol propellants. When released into the air, they worked their way into the upper atmosphere and eliminated the highly reactive ozone that blocks ultraviolet light. The more the ozone layer was depleted, the more damaging ultraviolet light got through. For humans, this resulted in an increase in sunburns, skin cancers, and other dangerous illnesses. Under the Montreal Protocol (first drafted in the late 1980s and last amended in 1999), the worst ozone-depleting substances, CFCs, were banned and are gradually being phased out, with developed countries helping to fund and facilitate the elimination process in developing nations (Environmental Investigation Agency, 2011). However, their interim replacements, hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), also cause some damage to the ozone layer. The phaseout of these substitute chemicals continues in the early 2010s (Environmental Investigation Agency, 2011). Further environmental challenges remain. For instance, the ozone layer depletion and greenhouse effect, discussed next, have a complicated relationship, as ozone itself acts to insulate the earth, yet so do many of the substances that deplete it, including HCFCs and HFCs. As of 2010, some atmospheric scientists predicted that there would be a minimal net global warming effect, with the relative cooling from ozone depletion ending (Aucamp & Björn, 2010).

Greenhouse Effect

Another issue related to the problem of ozone depletion is the greenhouse effect. This is the phenomenon in which solar energy trapped in the earth's atmosphere allows sunlight to pass through to the earth but absorbs heat radiated off the earth's surface. A portion of the reflected energy is captured by carbon dioxide while the rest of the energy dissipates into space. When the amount of energy captured rises, there is a concomitant in a rise in the earth's surface temperature. Although this is a natural phenomenon, the effect is accelerated by an increase in carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, and other by-products of human technology. On a cold winter's day, a rise of a few degrees in the earth's temperature may not sound like a bad thing. However, even a minor change in the earth's average temperature can have major effects. A few degrees can accelerate the melting of the polar ice caps, which, in turn, can raise the sea level and affect the water, land, and climate subsystems of the human ecosystem. The degree to which global warming and resultant climate change are occurring as a result of an increased greenhouse effect, however, remains hotly debated. Although scientists know that there has been a rise in carbon dioxide levels since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution and that there also are indications that the temperature of the planet is rising, some observers posit that the two factors are unrelated and that the temperature rise is within normal parameters.

Thermal Pollution

Another type of pollution that results from the industrialization of human societies is thermal pollution. This phenomenon is defined as the heating up of the rivers and lakes of earth because of chemical pollution resulting from human activities (e.g., by-products of heavy industry). Human beings are increasingly becoming aware that water on this planet — despite the fact that it takes up approximately three-quarters of the earth's surface — is a limited resource. Only a small fraction of that water is accessible freshwater. Unfortunately, industrialization has had a negative impact on this precious resource. Many factories produce waste products that need to be dumped, and historically, this has been done in streams, rivers, and lakes. Some of the waste dumped into such aquatic habitats includes sewage, solid waste, nondegradable by-products, toxic chemicals, synthetic materials, and even, in some cases, radioactive materials. Further, even when the water supply is not polluted with waste, it is often used for the manufacturing process. This water is then returned — heated — to the source from which it came. This raises the temperature of the water in the river or lake, thereby altering the habitats and killing the plants and animals in the aquatic ecosystem.

Applications

Electronics

When one thinks of technology in the postindustrial era, what often comes to mind first are high-tech electronic gadgets that fit in one's back pocket and bring the power of yesterday's supercomputers to one's finger tips. Computing power provides much of the infrastructure for what we do in the twenty-first century, ranging from keeping track of one's schedule or finding a movie to grid computing to analyzing signals from outer space and finding agricultural solutions for growers around the world. However, as impressive as such computer technology is, in many ways it only provides an infrastructure for developing other types of technology that has or will change our lives: cloning, bioengineering, stem cell research. Such things are exciting, the stuff of a good science-fiction story. However, there is another part to most science-fiction stories as well: the effects on society when human beings implement technology that they do not fully understand. This risk, too, is part of the picture of contemporary high-tech society.

Ulrich Beck argues that the world is out of control and the results of humans' industrial processes are unique in history and the concomitant risks simply cannot be known (cited in Yates, 2003). Rapid technological innovation requires equally rapid societal response. The proliferation of high technology to support us both at work and at home has occurred at an unprecedented rate since the mid-twentieth century. Then, huge room-filling computers were technological marvels that were talked about with wonder. In the early twenty-first century, most of us have that much computer power sitting in our laps. Although computer science may have revolutionized our lives, it may not appear to have great impact on the environment. However, computer science does not exist in a vacuum, and manufacturing plants are needed to produce the technology on which we are so reliant.

Other Technologies

In addition, societies are also making decisions about other technologies whose impact is unknown: bioengineering of plants grown for food and microorganisms bred for medicines, nanotechnology, cloning, and other postmodern technologies offer potential great good on the one hand and potential great harm on the other. At this point in history and at our level of knowledge, we are unable to truly understand the trade-offs or consequences. This does not mean that all technological research should be stopped, but it does mean that it should proceed with caution, examining both the potential risks as well as the potential benefits. The invention of the digging stick that spawned horticultural societies was unlikely to do great environmental damage. Although we can say this blithely in hindsight, we cannot say the same thing in foresight about technology that changes the balance of the human ecosystem.

It would be tempting to argue that all societies have been risk societies since the beginning of the human race because the technological innovators — whether it was the first person to fashion a basket or the first person to split the atom — did not truly understand the consequence of these actions. However, Beck argues that the concept of risk is a relatively recent one. The technologies of preindustrial societies were unlikely to have global ramifications. The same cannot be said for postindustrial technologies. Unlike the digging stick, for example, nuclear energy can have massive, global consequences. Because of this, Beck recommends the development of a "culture of uncertainty" in which all members jointly take responsibility for progress rather than take unnecessary risks (under the assumption that they will only affect others) or overemphasize safety (which would stifle creativity and progress).

Conclusion

As long as human beings have walked the face of this planet, they have had a dependent relationship with the natural environment. In the earliest hunting-and-gathering societies, this was as simple as sheltering, breathing in the oxygen made by and expelling carbon dioxide needed by the flora, and eating the plants and fertilizing them in turn after death. As societies continued to change and grow, developing and using technologies so that they could leverage natural resources into things to help them live better lives, the dependence of humans on the other parts of the human ecosystem continued to be fairly obvious: For example, if it did not rain, crops did not grow; if it rained too much, crops were likewise ruined. However, as human society evolved from horticultural and agrarian societies to become industrial in nature, in some ways they lost touch with the fact that nature was not something to be conquered and subjugated, but part of an interdependent system necessary for humans to survive. It is relatively easy to understand how humans could forget their dependence on the natural environment as they learned to control more and more things for themselves. In addition, there was no precedent for understanding the complex results of industrialization on the environment, and humans continued to pollute and consume natural resources without a second thought. However, we now know better.

It has been suggested that we live in a global risk society in which we are faced with unknown risks with potentially disastrous consequences resulting from our own actions. Yet, like the hapless hero in a science-fiction novel, humanity often forges ahead, eager to see what it can do. This is not to say that attempts to advance science or develop new technologies should be abandoned or even necessarily slowed. However, it is important to remember that what we do to our natural environment will affect us — in ways that are often unexpected. There are two sides to the equation of dealing with the environment: things that we do that affect the ecosystem around us and the resulting changes in the natural environment that affect humans. Research needs to consider both halves of this equation in order to reduce the potential risks to both the environment and humanity.

Terms & Concepts

Economic Development: The sustainable increase in living standards for a nation, region, or society. More than mere economic growth (i.e., a rise in output), economic development is sustainable and positively affects the well-being of all members of the group through such things as increased per capita income, education, health, and environmental protection. Economic development is progressive in nature and positively affects the socioeconomic structure of a society.

Environment: The external factors that influence how an organism functions. One of the major external factors is the physical surroundings (either human-made or natural) in which the individual lives. Important aspects of the physical environment include temperature, air pressure, noise, vibration, atmosphere, and the availability of sustenance. In addition, for humans, external environmental factors include the society to which the individual belongs and the culture of which the individual is a part.

Ethics: In philosophy, ethics refers to the study of the content of moral judgments (i.e., the difference between right and wrong) and the nature of these judgments (i.e., whether the judgments are subjective or objective).

Greenhouse Effect: The phenomenon in which solar radiation trapped in the earth's atmosphere allows sunlight to pass through to the earth but absorbs heat radiated off the earth's surface. This results in a rise in the earth's surface temperature. Although this is a natural phenomenon, the effect is accelerated by an increase in carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, and other by-products of human technology.

Human Ecosystem: Any interdependent system in which humans and their physical environment interact. Examples of a human ecosystem include a city, a farmland community, or the entire planet.

Industrialization: The use of mechanization to produce the economic goods and services within a society. Historically, industrialization is a society's transition between farm production and manufacturing production. Industrialization is associated with factory production, division of labor, and the concentration of industries and populations within certain geographical areas and concomitant urbanization.

Postindustrial: The nature of a society whose economy is no longer dependent on the manufacture of goods (i.e., industrial), but is primarily based upon the processing and control of information and the provision of services.

Preindustrial: The nature of a society that has not yet been industrialized. Preindustrial societies tend to be small and family oriented. There are several types of preindustrial societies: hunting-and-gathering societies, horticultural societies, pastoral societies, and agrarian societies.

Society: A distinct group of people who live within the same territory, share a common culture and way of life, and are relatively independent from people outside the group. Society includes systems of social interactions that govern both culture and social organization.

Sociocultural Evolution: The process by which a society develops through the growth of its stores of cultural information.

Technology: The application of scientific methods and knowledge to the attainment of industrial or commercial objectives. Technology includes products, processes, and knowledge

Thermal Pollution: The heating up of the rivers and lakes of earth because of chemical pollution resulting from human activities (e.g., by-products of heavy industry).

Bibliography

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Suggested Reading

Bouwman, H., van den Berg, H., & Kylin, H. (2011). DDT and malaria prevention: Addressing the paradox. Environmental Health Perspectives, 119, 744–747. Retrieved November 18, 2013, from EBSCO online database Academic Search Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=63888800&site=ehost-live

Bush, J., Moffatt, S., & Dunn, C. E. (2002). Contextualisation of local and global environmental issues in north-east England: Implications for debates on globalization and the "risk society." Local Environment, 7, 119–133. Retrieved September 23, 2008 from EBSCO online database Academic Search Premier: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=6699107&site=ehost-live.

Ducre, K. A. (2012). Greening sociology. In R. V. Kahn, A. J. Nocella, S. D. Fassbinder (Eds.), Greening the academy: Ecopedagogy through the liberal arts (pp. 33–45). Rotterdam, Netherlands: Sense Publishers. Retrieved November 18, 2013 from EBSCO online database eBook Academic Collection (EBSCOhost). http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e000xna&AN=532524&site=ehost-live

Gareau, B. (2013). From precaution to profit: Contemporary challenges to environmental protection in the Montreal Protocol. New Haven, CT: Yale University.

Havemann, P. (2003). Genetic modification, ecological good governance and the law: New Zealand in the age of risk. James Cook University Law Review, 10, 7–50. Retrieved September 29, 2008 from EBSCO online database Academic Search Premier: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=15254017&site=ehost-live.

Pathak, P. (2014). Human rights approach to environmental protection. OIDA International Journal of Sustainable Development, 7, 17–24. Retrieved December 30, 2014 from EBSCO online database SocINDEX with Full Text. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sih&AN=96262446

Theodori, G. L., & Luloff, A. E. (2002). Position on environmental issues and engagement in proenvironmental behaviors. Society and Natural Resources, 15, 471–482. Retrieved September 232, 2008 from EBSCO online database Academic Search Premier: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=6885841&site=ehost-live.

Van Putten, M. (2005). Rebuilding a mainstream consensus for environmentalism. Bioscience, 55, 468–469. Retrieved September 23, 2008 from EBSCO online database Academic Search Premier: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=17164590&site=ehost-live.