American Studies: Environment

Abstract

American environmental studies, such as ‘human ecology,’ somewhat predate the rise of modern concern about ‘environmental problems.’ However, most of the pre-1960s work emphasized the influence of the natural environment upon human communities. In contrast, the more recent work has stressed the impact of societies upon their natural habitats, and has followed policy construction of different kinds of environmental problems. Two streams of work are outlined. The first refers largely to social surveys of the concerns of individual Americans about environmental hazards, and their preference for various policies of environmental protection. A basic distinction is drawn between perceptions of natural resources, on the one hand, and environmental systems, on the other. These include analyses of environmental risk tolerance, risk aversion, anxiety, and protection support through additional tax and market surcharges. A second stream of work focuses on social institutions and their orientations towards ecological systems and environmental protection. Especially important are the technological and economic mechanisms of major economic organizations in their use of natural resources. Related are the studies of the social and political influences by regional, national, and transnational economic organizations that influence both the political protection of the environment, and the consciousness of major publics about this protection. In general, modern American environmental studies have been strongly influenced by policy conflicts in American society. The agenda for research has successively incorporated the analysis of (a) the causes of air and water pollution, (b) the social uses of energy, and (c) control over sources of global warming and ozone depletion. To a lesser extent, the agenda for research has also emerged from other social concerns, such as the impact of economic globalization of the economy.