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The research aims to assess the demographic impact related with the implementation of an environmental policy, which affects food availability in economically and environmentally fragile settings, dependent on few, unstable resources. The paper addresses this topic from a particular perspective, namely the special goat tax issued in Italy in 1927. I focus on the goat breeding because of its ecological footprint and the key role on population’s livelihood in marginal lands. Methodologically, the paper combines quantitative and qualitative sources. The analysis of demographic dynamics in a broad set of Italian mountain municipalities over the period 1911–1971 is matched with a qualitative part, based on a careful reading of the coeval survey on mountain depopulation. Findings of the analysis highlight that the goat tax undermined food security promoted outmigration and shrinkage in municipalities that were more dependent on goat breeding only. In addition, the 1927 law generated power struggles between landowner and local communities and between collective and private properties. Such results show that socially-blind, top-down environmental policies could exacerbate inequalities, food insecurity and power conflicts that threaten the effective implementation of the law. An ecological transition must be combined with social inclusion, constant care to the governance and power relations in order to extend public support and make regulations more effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air pollution negatively affects individuals' health and human capital accumulation. For example, students' school performance is hampered by air pollution as it decreases cognitive abilities and increases absences. Moreover, low-income students are the most exposed and vulnerable to the negative effects of air pollution as they lack protective resources and suffer from pre-existing health conditions. Here, we inquire how more stringent traffic regulations implemented in Central London from late 2015 affected pollution levels and school absences. First, we observe a substantive decrease in pollution in the area affected by the regulations from 2016 onwards. Secondly, we use a difference in differences approach to estimate the causal effect of the policy on school absences. For all schools combined, findings do not show any substantive improvement in attendance. However, when looking at the heterogeneous effects of the policy, we observe a significant decrease in absences for schools with a high share of students with low socioeconomic status (SES). Consequently, the findings highlight the efficacy of environmental policy in diminishing pollution levels and to benefit the poor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on Graeme’s published and unpublished work, as well as his long-term collaborations with two of us, we identify strands of thought that Graeme kept returning to and refining over the course of his career. We trace the evolution of four key points that he often reiterated: (1) The migration-environment relationship is complex and oversimplified; (2) Migration is both a consequence and a cause of environmental change; (3) Migration is just one possible response to environmental change; and (4) Displacement is just one type of migration response. We briefly map his impact on environmental migration scholarship and policy by revealing how key publications have been used in different contexts to shape theory and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neighborhood environments are believed to contribute to negative health outcomes; however, accurately measuring area attributes remains challenging. The objective of this research is to quantify the presence of (or lack of) environmental injustices characterized by the geographic distribution of neighborhood stressors related to the built and social environment in the South Bronx that may contribute to poor health outcomes. Objective environmental audits were collected and coded for over 2,000 block faces. Physical and social indices were calculated. Bivariate correlations and spatial regressions revealed potential environmental injustices related to the distribution of social and physical environmental stressors at the local level. This novel dataset has many future applications in the effort to understand the connection between health, environmental justice, and location. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China represents the third largest economy and the highest level of national carbon dioxide emissions when compared to other nations across the globe. Yet, little social science research has focused on the environmentally oriented behaviors of Chinese nationals, key to understanding levels of environmental impact. This study examines, in China, gender differences in environmentally oriented behaviors, environmental knowledge, and general environmental concern. Making use of path analyses, we identify a pattern of gender differences similar to common findings in the West: women demonstrated greater participation in environmental behaviors inside of the home (e.g., recycling), while outside of the home (e.g., environmental organization donations) no gendered patterns were exhibited. However, Chinese women expressed lower levels of concern than men—a finding opposite of most Western studies. Also distinct from other settings, in China, higher levels of knowledge regarding environmental issues did, indeed, translate into pro-environmental behaviors—thereby not exhibiting the knowledge-behavior gap demonstrated elsewhere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

large number of ‘environmental justice’ studies show that wealthier people are less affected by environmental burdens and also consume more resources than poorer people. Given this double inequity, we ask, to what extent are affluent people prepared to pay to protect the environment? The analyses are couched within the compensation/affluence hypothesis, which states that wealthier persons are able to spend more for environmental protection than their poorer counterparts. Further, we take into account various competing economic, psychological and sociological determinants of individuals’ willingness to pay (WTP) for both public environmental goods (e.g., general environmental protection) and quasi-private environmental goods (e.g., CO-neutral cars). Such a comprehensive approach contrasts with most other studies in this field that focus on a limited number of determinants and goods. Multivariate analyses are based on a general population survey in Switzerland ( N = 3,369). Although income has a positive and significant effect on WTP supporting the compensation hypothesis, determinants such as generalized interpersonal trust that is assumed to be positively associated with civic engagement and environmental concern prove to be equally important. Moreover, we demonstrate for the first time that time preferences can considerably influence survey-based WTP for environmental goods; since investments in the environment typically pay off in the distant future, persons with a high subjective discount rate are less likely to commit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper conceptualizes the absence of multilateral protection for environmental refugees. It does this by critically scrutinizing interviews conducted with United Nations ambassadors and senior diplomats in 2004 ( n = 45) in a number of key policy-making locations. These interviews reveal that an absence of policy on environmental refugees has been reproduced by discursive politics at the United Nations. The reasons for which are explored here in this paper, and include shifting attitudes towards the role of multilateralism and environmental issues generally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Debate over climate change focuses narrowly on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. A common justification for such emissions reductions is that they will lead to a reduction in the future impacts of climate on society. But research from social scientists and others who study environment-society interactions clearly indicates that the dominant factors shaping the impacts of climate on society are societal. A greater appreciation for this body of research would allow for consideration of a broader base of policy options to respond to the challenges of climate change, as well as the composition of climate research portfolios more likely to contribute useful knowledge to decision makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on ecological economic policy for sustainable development. Elements of ecological economic policy; Dematerialization of industrialized economies through economic growth; Focus on eco-efficient services over production/acquisition of material goods.

Examines the relevance of material flow accounting to environmental policy issues in Japan. Characteristics of recent material flows based on outcomes of international comparison study; Analysis of longer-term trends in demographic changes and economic growth; Insights on the upcoming matured and aging society.

Focuses on the environmental refugee population in the world which numbers at least 25 million, and are located mainly in Sub-Saharan Africa, India, China, Mexico, and Central America. Problem associated with the future outlook of these refugees; Impact of global warming on this problem; Implications for solving the problem.

Discusses the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) need to focus on population growth in solving environmental problems in the Los Angeles Basin in California. Suit filed by environmental groups against the EPA to force it to produce a Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) for California; Group Against Smog Pollution (GASP); Control of population growth from illegal immigration.

Editorial. Comments on the environmental policy of the United States. Political backlash caused by public antagonism toward property regulation; Definition of `carrying capacity'; Alleged evils of `domestic consumption'; Implications of losses in biodiversity; High fertility rates as ultimate environmental threat; Electorate's call for an immigration `moratorium.'

Comments on the remarks of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Chief Carol Browner on population and environmental issues and policies. Council on Environmental Quality's role; Immigration Act; Clean Air Act.