Structural Human Ecology

The field of Structural Human Ecology researches the dynamic links between population, environment, social organization, and technology. Its cutting-edge research in risk analysis can be utilized to evaluate environmental policies and demonstrate how to mitigate human impacts on the biosphere. International scholars presented these essays at a 2011 symposium.

The desire to understand people’s influence on ecosystems has inspired scientific studies and analyses of the stress individuals and communities place on the environment, human well-being, and the tradeoffs between them. As an emerging discipline, Structural Human Ecology is devoted to unlocking the dynamic links between population, environment, social organization, and technology. The new field offers cutting-edge research in risk analysis that can be used to evaluate environmental policies and thus help citizens and societies worldwide learn how to most effectively mitigate human impacts on the biosphere. The essays in this volume were presented by leading international scholars at a 2011 symposium honoring the late Dr. Eugene Rosa, then Boeing Distinguished Professor of Environmental Sociology at WSU.

Table of Contents

Preface
Paul Ehrlich

Section I
Theoretical and Conceptual Issues

1. Introduction to Structural Human Ecology
Thomas Dietz and Andrew K. Jorgenson

2. Metatheoretical Foundations of Post-Normal Prediction
Richard York

3. Epistemology, Ontology, and the Practice of Structural Human Ecology
Thomas Dietz

Section II
Risk

4. Perspectives on Risks and Concerns with Respect to Climate Engineering
Ortwin Renn, Nadine Bratchatzek, Sylvia Hiller, and Dirk Scheer

5. Opportunities and Dilemmas in Managing Risk and Uncertainty
Roger E. Kasperson

6. Design Principles for Governing Risks from Emerging Technologies
Paul C. Stern

Section III
Structural Human Ecology of Nations

7. Energy and Electricity in Industrial Nations
Allan Mazur

8. Population, Affluence, and Greenhouse Gas Emissions: The Continuing Significance of Structural Human Ecology and the Utility of STIRPAT
Andrew K. Jorgenson

9. The Implications of Structural Human Ecology for Environmental Concern’s Global Reach
Sandra T. Marquart-Pyatt

Section IV
Directions for the Future

10. Context Matters: Eugene A. Rosa’s Lessons for Structural Human Ecology
Thomas Dietz

Contributors
Index