The Green Marble: Earth System Science and Global Sustainability by David Turner

Author:David Turner
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Tags: science, Earth Sciences, General, System Theory, Philosophy & Social Aspects, Life Sciences, Ecology
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Published: 2018-05-15T00:00:00+00:00

ECOLOGICAL MODERNIZATION THEORY

Ecological modernization (EM) is a process by which societies address environmental change issues. Ecological modernization theory (EMT) is a theory of social change, i.e., an effort to explain why and how EM occurs. EMT is based on the assumptions that (1) science and technology can provide the goods and services that we (the global billions) aspire to, without degrading the environment; and that (2) the changes that need to be made to restore and maintain environmental quality are economically and politically feasible. EMT developed in Western Europe and is a product of reflexive modernization that builds on the western model of modernization (Spaargaen et al., 2000). The degree to which it applies to environmental management in non-European countries, and at the global scale, is under debate.

EMT accepts that modernization and globalization have induced a contemporary environmental crisis, but it anticipates that technology will increasingly become environmentally friendly and provide solutions to emerging environmental problems. Atmospheric scientists discovered that smokestack emissions of sulfur and nitrogen were causing aquatic acidification, so engineers invented smokestack scrubbers that remove the sulfur and nitrogen. Now, Earth system scientists have discovered that carbon dioxide (CO2) from coal-burning power plants is accumulating in the atmosphere and causing global warming, so engineers will design and build solar and wind turbine facilities to generate power from renewable sources. There is a strong reliance in EMT on the worldview of the scientist and the engineer, and on the effectiveness of governmental policy to ameliorate environmental problems.

At the level of individuals, EMT means reducing personal consumption (e.g., biking, recycling), the greening of consumer choices (Spaargaen and Mol, 2008), a willingness to pay taxes for improving environmental quality, and the greening of electoral politics. Informed consumers purchase environmentally friendly products. Informed voters elect environmentally friendly politicians. Citizens are assumed to engage in civil society in a way that influences the evolution of environmental policy. The old divisions in society among socioeconomic classes are overridden by a common exposure to risk from environmental change (Beck, 1992).

At the level of social organizations, EM means a rich array of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that address environmental change issues. These would include organizations such as (1) the Forest Stewardship Council, which certifies wood products as produced sustainably; (2) the Nature Conservancy, which purchases and manages small and large tracks of land for conservation purposes; (3) the Natural Resources Defense Council, which lobbies and litigates for environmental causes; and (4) Greenpeace, which undertakes direct action against companies that degrade the environment. NGOs work collaboratively with governmental agencies.

At the level of nation-states, EM involves building appropriate (strong but not overbearing) regulatory frameworks, and using the regulated market to incentivize environmentally friendly development. The state is seen as sensitive to bottom-up pressure for environmental management reforms. EM is favored by “political modernization,” meaning governments that thrive on open debate (Leroy and van Tatenhove, 2000). To address regional and global-scale environmental change issues, EM requires some surrender of national sovereignty, e.g., through participation in international environmental agreements.

At the regional

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