Climate Change and Rural Sociology: Broadening the Research Agenda

Abstract

Climate change is the preeminent environmental problem of our time, and Joseph Molnar’s call for greater attention to it by rural sociologists is both welcome and timely. The agenda he lays out for rural sociology’s engagement with climate change, however, seems rather narrow and restrictive. Examining the potential impacts of climate change, feasible mitigation options, and possible coping or adaptive strategies for agricultural (and other natural-resource) industries and rural communities are obviously topics for which rural sociologists are particularly well qualified. However, rural sociology should be able to make broader contributions to understanding the human dimensions of climate change. To make this point I will comment in particular on the scope of Molnar’s research agenda, its dependence on natural science, and its rather casual treatment of the “climate debate.” In the process of dealing with these interrelated issues, I suggest a broader research agenda for rural sociologists and other social scientists interested in climate change and reference a wide range of literature that should provide guideposts for pursuing such research. These suggestions are informed in part by a report from a 2008 National Science Foundation workshop on “Sociological Perspectives on Climate Change” (Nagel, Dietz, and Broadbent forthcoming). My fundamental goal is to complement and extend Molnar’s call, not to critique it, even though some of my commentary will of necessity be critical.