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The planet is on a path to catastrophic warming which calls for structural changes in the operation of Global North economies, not merely a transformation of energy sources, the core of "green growth" approaches. Our research on inequality and working time shows that these are powerful drivers of carbon emissions that can be the center of a progressive agenda supplementing energy transition. Our work also shows that disproportionality in emissions sources presents a policy opportunity. We challenge Pollin's view that only growth-centric approaches are politically viable, and argue that progressive politics has moved from growth-centricity to needs- and people-centered policies. In our response, we argue that the recent rise of the Green New Deal is a strong piece of evidence for our position. JEL Classification: Q5, Q54, Q56 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the politics of climate change, jobs guarantee and health insurance. It discusses the demanding emissions reductions that required as compatible with high levels of economic growth by the population. It mentions the advancing climate stabilization as the growth process decoupled from fossil fuel consumption.

I begin this paper with summaries of environment and development perspectives foundational to contemporary environmental sociology: ecological modernization theory and treadmill of production theory. Descriptions of the perspectives are provided as well as an overview of recent quantitative cross-national analyses that evaluate the propositions of both theories. Next, I provide a summary of ecologically unequal exchange theory. I argue that ecologically unequal exchange theory helps to address key limitations of both the treadmill of production and ecological modernization approaches, most notably their lack of attention paid to how structural and unequal relationships between nations influence environment and development associations. Next, I summarize bodies of empirical work within sociology that employ quantitative measurements and statistical modelling techniques to test the propositions of ecologically unequal exchange theory. I conclude by emphasizing the need for greater integration between ecologically unequal exchange theory, the two environment and development perspectives, and other political economy traditions. I also briefly discuss fruitful avenues for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Structural human ecology is a vibrant area of theoretically grounded research that examines the interplay between structure and agency in human-environment interactions. This special issue consists of papers that highlight recent advances in the tradition. Here, the guest co-editors provide a short background discussion of structural human ecology, and offer brief summaries of the papers included in the collection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building on prior research, this study investigates the effects of urban slum prevalence or proportion of the total population living in urban slum conditions on multiple macro-level health outcomes in developing nations. Results of two-way fixed effects panel analyses of 43 countries for the 1990-2007 period indicate that infant and under-five mortality rates are positively associated with urban slum prevalence, while average life expectancy for both women and men exhibits a negative association. These findings are statistically significant, net of various other factors including overall urbanization, economic development, fertility rates and HIV prevalence. Overall, the results highlight the importance of examining the 'upstream' effects of the built urban environment on human health in the developing countries and the challenges confronting the sustainable development of human societies. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Humans use fossil fuels in various activities tied to economic development, leading to increases in carbon emissions, and economic development is widely recognized as a pathway to improving human well-being. Strategies for effective sustainability efforts require reducing the carbon intensity of human well-being (CIWB): the level of anthropogenic carbon emissions per unit of human well-being. Here I examine how the effect of economic development on CIWB has changed since 1970 for 106 countries in multiple regional samples throughout the world. I find that early in this time period, increased development led to a reduction in CIWB for nations in Africa, but in recent decades the relationship has changed, becoming less sustainable. For nations in Asia and South and Central America, I find that development increases CIWB, and increasingly so throughout the 40-year period of study. The effect of development on CIWB for nations in the combined regions of North America, Europe and Oceania has remained positive, relatively larger than in other regions, and stable through time. Although future economic growth will probably improve human well-being throughout the world, this research suggests that it will also cost an increasing amount of carbon emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The authors assess the extent to which national-level integration in the world polity influences individual-level concern for the environment. While theoretically-derived propositions about such relationships have a deep history in comparative sociology, they—with few exceptions—remain untested. Consistent with past research, employed national-level measures of world polity integration include the relative presence of environmental international nongovernmental organizations (EINGOs) and the existence of environmental ministries. Results of multilevel analyses of individual-level environmental concern in 37 nations indicate that both forms of world polity integration increase the likelihood of individual-level environmental concern, net of other national-level factors and individual-level characteristics; although we find stronger support for the influence of EINGOs as a key variable indicating world polity connection. The findings provide unique support for world polity theory, suggesting that future research should consider how elements of world polity integration influence other forms of individual attitudes and behaviors. The results also highlight the importance in considering global and transnational factors when assessing the determinants of individual attitudes about the environment. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Drawing from emergent areas of sociological research and theorization, the authors consider the environmental impacts of militaries from a comparative-international perspective. The article begins with an overview of treadmill of production and treadmill of destruction theories, the latter of which highlights the expansionary tendencies and concomitant environmental consequences of militarization. This theoretical overview is followed by a narrative assessment of military growth and energy consumption, with a particular focus on the US military over the past century. Next, the authors detail the various environmental impacts associated with the growth and structure of national militaries, briefly discuss potential future research directions, and conclude by calling for scholars in future studies on society/nature relationships to seriously consider the environmental and ecological impacts of the world's militaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sociology is poised to greatly enhance our collective understanding of the various sustainability challenges facing the world today. To contribute to this endeavor, the authors conduct panel analyses of the per capita ecological footprints of nations to evaluate multiple theoretical traditions within environmental sociology and its sister approaches. Findings indicate that the consumption-based environmental impacts of nations are tied to economic development, urban population, militarization, and the structure of international trade. Ecological conditions in the context of climate and biogeography also prove to partially shape the environmental harms of human activities. Ultimately, this research suggests that political-economic factors, ecological milieu, and structural associations between nations all influence society/nature relationships. Considering the globally unsustainable levels of resource consumption and concomitant increases in pollution for a growing number of nations throughout the world, the authors contend that theoretically inclusive and methodologically rigorous investigations on such topics should be more central to the discipline. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Ambient air pollution, in the form of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5), poses serious population health risks. We estimate cross-national longitudinal models to test whether the negative relationship between life expectancy and PM 2.5 concentration is larger in nations with higher levels of income inequality. The dependent variable is average life expectancy at birth, and the focal predictor variables include PM 2.5 concentration, income inequality, and the two-way interaction between them. We also estimate the average marginal effects of PM 2.5 concentration from low to high values of income inequality, and the predicted values of life expectancy from low to high values of PM 2.5 concentration and income inequality. Results indicate that the negative relationship between life expectancy and PM 2.5 concentration is larger in nations with higher levels of income inequality, and the reductions in predicted life expectancy are substantial when both PM 2.5 concentration and income inequality are high. We suggest that the theoretical principles of Power, Proximity, and Physiology help explain our findings. This study underscores the importance in considering the multiplicative impacts of environmental conditions and socioeconomic factors in the modeling of population health. Unlabelled Image • PM 2.5 poses serious population health risks throughout the world. • We estimate longitudinal models of life expectancy for 136 nations. • Average life expectancy is negatively associated with PM 2.5 concentration. • Income inequality amplifies the negative association between them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides a review of recent anthropological, archeological, geographical, and sociological research on anthropogenic drivers of climate change, with a particular focus on drivers of carbon emissions, mitigation and adaptation. The four disciplines emphasize cultural, economic, geographic, historical, political, and social‐structural factors to be important drivers of and responses to climate change. Each of these disciplines has unique perspectives and makes noteworthy contributions to our shared understanding of anthropogenic drivers, but they also complement one another and contribute to integrated, multidisciplinary frameworks. The article begins with discussions of research on temporal dimensions of human drivers of carbon emissions, highlighting interactions between long‐term and near‐term drivers. Next, descriptions of the disciplines' contributions to the understanding of mitigation and adaptation are provided. It concludes with a summary of key lessons offered by the four disciplines as well as suggestions for future research. This article is categorized under: Climate Economics > Economics and Climate Change This article provides a review of recent anthropological, archeological, geographical, and sociological perspectives on anthropogenic drivers of climate change, with a particular focus on drivers of carbon emissions, mitigation and adaptation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]