Structures and Institutions: The Treadmill of Production, the Metabolic Rift and the Sociology of Ecological Modernization

2016 ◽  
pp. 92-114
Author(s):  
Damian F. White ◽  
Alan P. Rudy ◽  
Brian J. Gareau
Keyword(s):  
Ecological Modernization ◽  
Metabolic Rift ◽  
Treadmill Of Production

Uneven Decoupling

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 410-427 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan P. Thombs ◽  
Xiaorui Huang
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Co2 Emissions ◽  
Ecological Modernization ◽  
Climate Mitigation ◽  
Data Limitations ◽  
Treadmill Of Production ◽  
Global North ◽  
Organization Of Production ◽  
Changes Over Time ◽  
Over Time

The macro-comparative decoupling literature has often sought to test the arguments made by the treadmill of production (TP) and ecological modernization (EM) theories. However, due to data limitations, these studies have been limited to analyzing the years after 1960. Given that both theories discuss historical processes operating before 1960, analyzing pre-1960 data is warranted to more comprehensively test the propositions made by both theories. We assess the long-term relationship between economic growth and CO2 emissions from 1870 to 2014 using a sample of global North nations. We use Prais-Winsten regression models with time interactions to assess whether, when, and how much CO2 emissions have decoupled from economic growth over time. We find that significant relative decoupling has occurred twice since 1870: during the last 30 years of the nineteenth century, the timing of which is contrary to what both the EM and TP theories might expect, and after 1970. We also observe that the relationship remained relatively stable from the turn of the twentieth century to approximately 1970, which aligns with the arguments made by the classical TP work. We conclude that shifts in the global organization of production have shaped the magnitude of the economic growth–CO2 emissions relationship and its changes over time, which has implications for climate mitigation policy.

scholarly journals Environmental Expertise as Group Belonging

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 309-331 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rolf Lidskog ◽  
Göran Sundqvist
Keyword(s):  
Science And Technology Studies ◽  
Professional Socialization ◽  
Environmental Sociology ◽  
Social Recognition ◽  
Risk Society ◽  
Ecological Modernization ◽  
General View ◽  
Production Risk ◽  
Treadmill Of Production ◽  
Group Belonging

What is environmental expertise? The background to this question is that many scholars consider environmental expertise crucial for discovering, diagnosing, and solving environmental problems but do not discuss in any depth what constitutes expertise. By investigating the meaning and use of the concept of expertise in three general theories within environmental sociology—the treadmill of production, risk society, and ecological modernization— and findings from science and technology studies (STS), this article develops a sociological understanding of environmental expertise: what it is and how it is acquired. Environmental expertise is namely about group belonging and professional socialization around specialized skills; that is, it concerns both substantial competence and social recognition. The implications of this general view on expertise are then used to enrich theories in environmental sociology.

In the Shadow of Sustainable Development

2021 ◽  
pp. 21-72
Author(s):  
Christina Ergas
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Social Science ◽  
Environmental Justice ◽  
Environmental Degradation ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Developing World ◽  
Metabolic Rift ◽  
Treadmill Of Production ◽  
History Of ◽  
Autonomous Development

The prevailing notion of sustainable development has remained ineffective at reducing environmental degradation and social inequalities. The chapter argues that sustainable development, as it has been conceived, is actually a shell game for creating neocolonial dependency in the developing world rather than more sustainable, self-sufficient nations. This chapter explains the history of colonization and urbanization, contextualizing the problem of weak, neoliberal, sustainable development using social science environmental theories, such as climate denialism, ecofeminism, environmental justice, metabolic rift, and treadmill of production. It then provides an alternative, a radical sustainability that is at once socially and ecologically egalitarian, or transformative, and restores the health of people and the planet, or regenerative. These cases are presented as alternatives to sustainable development and as examples of radical sustainability and self-sufficient, autonomous development.

scholarly journals Ecological Modernization and the Global Economy

2002 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 92-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arthur P. J. Mol
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Effects ◽  
Research Agenda ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Environmental Movement ◽  
Global Capitalism ◽  
Ecological Modernization ◽  
The World ◽  
Treadmill Of Production ◽  
Countervailing Powers ◽  
Environmental Reform

This paper explores what an ecological modernization perspective has to offer in an era marked by globalization. Globalization processes and dynamics are mostly seen as detrimental to the environment. The point that an ecological modernization perspective puts on the research agenda is that, although global capitalism has not been beaten and continues to show its devastating environmental effects in all corners of the world, we are moving beyond the era of a global treadmill of production that only further degrades the environment. More or less powerful, reflexive, countervailing powers are beginning to move towards environmental reform. And these powers are no longer limited to a small environmental movement that only reacts to the constant undermining of society's sustenance base. In analyzing these countervailing forces, the paper also explores the consequences of globalization processes for ecological modernization ideas and perspectives.

scholarly journals Environmental Concern in a Capitalist Economy: Climate Change Perception Among U.S. Specialty-Crop Producers

2020 ◽  
pp. 108602661989754 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yetkin Borlu ◽  
Leland Glenna
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Natural Resource ◽  
Water Availability ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Environmental Concern ◽  
Ecological Modernization ◽  
Positive Role ◽  
Specialty Crop ◽  
Industrial Sectors ◽  
Treadmill Of Production

The agricultural sector offers a unique opportunity to examine the topic of climate change because agriculture is more susceptible to climate disruptions than many other industrial sectors. Based on the analysis of the survey data and in-depth interviews with specialty-crop producers in California, New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington, we test the capacity of ecological modernization and treadmill of production perspectives to explain how resource-intensive producers recognize water availability and climate change as threats to their operation’s economic viability. We find that producers in capitalist markets recognize natural resource problems; however, they fail to respond to climate change beyond natural resource problems. We also find that local markets play a positive role in raising environmental awareness of producers. Finally, our finding on the association between the perceptions of water availability and climate change goes beyond the treadmill of production dualism that only theorizes the impacts of economic factors on the environment.

scholarly journals Social inequalities and environmental conflict

2006 ◽  
Vol 12 (25) ◽  
pp. 15-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
David N. Pellow
Keyword(s):  
Residential Segregation ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Environmental Conflict ◽  
Risk Society ◽  
Ecological Modernization ◽  
Environmental Racism ◽  
Communities Of Color ◽  
Treadmill Of Production ◽  
Social Scientific

This paper is organized around two points. The first concerns the literature on environmental justice (EJ) studies and its lack of incorporation of social scientific theories and concepts concerning racism. This is surprising, given EJ studies' strong interest in challenging a form of racism - environmental racism. This, in turn, allows for a critique of theories of racism for their lack of attention to the ways in which society-environment relations structure racist practices and discourses, and a critique of scholars who have understated the continuing impact of racism on communities of color. The second point concerns the degree to which modernization has led to an improvement in the environmental impacts associated with market economies and their production systems. Drawing on ecological modernization, risk society, and the treadmill of production theories, I argue that, as with popular and scholarly views on racism, many scholars have overstated the level of progress society has made on this front. I also argue that this is largely because - via practices such as environmental racism and globalization - many of the worst dimensions of the market economy's externalities are out of sight and out of mind (due largely to spatial and residential segregation and international hazardous waste exports), making it possible to either ignore or dismiss claims to the contrary.

The racial fix and environmental state formation

2020 ◽  
pp. 001139212091309
Author(s):  
Ian Carrillo
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
State Formation ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Policy Formation ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Ecological Modernization ◽  
The Political ◽  
Race And Racism ◽  
Treadmill Of Production ◽  
The Relationship

Theories of the environmental state – treadmill of production and ecological modernization – have dominated discussion of the political economy of environmental change. While the former contends that the state’s mitigation of labor–capital relations engenders ecological instability, the latter posits that the state’s use of business-friendly incentives can goad producers and consumers to adopt sustainable practices. However, these theories largely focus on dynamics related to class, labor, and markets, and thus overlook the role that race and racism play in the political economy. In contrast, this article argues that racial politics are not peripheral influences, but rather are central to the political economy in which environmental policy formation occurs. The author advances the argument with the concept of the racial fix, which refers to the idea that race and racism are mechanisms for circumventing barriers that slow the treadmill of production. Synthesizing long-standing and emerging research, the author outlines three dimensions – spatial, political, and cognitive – that constitute the racial fix. Overall, this article not only shows how race and racism serve as building blocks for environmental state formation, but also articulates new theoretical paths for studying the relationship between race and environment.

Gender-Focused Bilateral Aid in the Environmental Sector

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-29
Author(s):  
Jamie M. Sommer ◽  
Samia Tasmim ◽  
John M. Shandra
Keyword(s):  
Political Ecology ◽  
Ordinary Least Squares ◽  
Ecological Modernization ◽  
Forest Loss ◽  
Least Squares Regression ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Feminist Political Ecology ◽  
Bilateral Aid ◽  
Economic Dependency ◽  
Treadmill Of Production

According to feminist political ecology, women are uniquely and disproportionately affected by forest loss in many low- or middle-income countries (LMICs) because of gender divisions with regard to labor, land access, and forest resources. However, most macro-comparative theories of development (including economic dependency, ecological modernization, treadmill of production, world society, and neo-Malthusian theories) tend to ignore gender. We draw on ideas from feminist political ecology to examine how gender-focused bilateral aid in the environmental sector impacts forest loss from 2001 to 2015. To do so, we analyze data for 79 LMICs using ordinary least squares regression. We find that more gender-focused bilateral aid in the environmental sector is related to less forest loss. We also find support for economic dependency theory (more agricultural and forestry exports are related to more forest loss) and neo-Malthusian theory (more population growth is related to more forest loss). The main finding on bilateral financing supports the idea that gender should receive more attention in cross-national research, especially the integration of gender-related measures into analyses to refine and expand conventional macro-theories of development.

scholarly journals Race to the Bottom (of the Well): Groundwater in an Agricultural Production Treadmill

2018 ◽  
Vol 66 (3) ◽  
pp. 392-410 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew R Sanderson ◽  
Vivian Hughes
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Structural Model ◽  
Ecological Modernization ◽  
Groundwater Depletion ◽  
High Plains ◽  
Water Efficiency ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
Treadmill Of Production ◽  
Technological Modernization ◽  
Irrigation Technologies

Abstract Groundwater from the Ogallala-High Plains Aquifer supports one of the most productive agriculture regions in the world. Yet, despite nearly 40 years of policies designed to conserve and sustain this vital resource, the Aquifer continues to be depleted at an unsustainable rate. We integrate propositions from treadmill of production theory and ecological modernization theory to develop a structural model, focusing especially on the role of technological modernization as a key mechanism motivating depletion. A time-sequenced path analysis of all counties in the Ogallala Aquifer region reveals that groundwater depletion has a strong internal momentum characteristic of an agricultural production treadmill. Technological modernization promotes depletion through Jevon’s Paradox. Increases in water efficiency—more crop per drop—are associated with less groundwater consumption, but more extensive deployments of irrigation infrastructures overwhelm the beneficial effects of increased water efficiency. An income-subsidy mechanism supports the treadmill dynamic. Agricultural production and increased water efficiency do not influence incomes. Instead, incomes are influenced mainly by expansions of irrigation technologies, which generates subsidies, and this dynamic puts further “spin” on the treadmill. The implications of the findings for theory and policy are discussed.

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