Critical Political Ecology: The Politics of Environmental Science

Book Cover......Page 1
Half-Title......Page 2
Title......Page 3
Copyright......Page 4
Dedication......Page 5
Contents......Page 6
Illustrations......Page 9
Preface and acknowledgments......Page 11
Abbreviations......Page 13
1 Political ecology and the politics of environmental science......Page 16
The separation of science and politics: some past trends in political ecology......Page 17
Ecology, the subversive science......Page 19
The domination of nature......Page 20
Social justice and the developing world......Page 22
The separation of science and politics......Page 24
Political ecology and the social construction of science......Page 26
Constructivism and realism......Page 28
STS and the “science wars”......Page 31
Building a “critical” political ecology......Page 35
Structure of the book......Page 37
2 Environmental science and myths......Page 38
Overturning conventional environmental degradation......Page 39
Example 1: desertification......Page 40
Example 2: soil erosion......Page 43
Example 3: deforestation......Page 46
Environmental orthodoxies......Page 50
Challenging the I=PAT equation......Page 58
Science or myths?......Page 61
Summary......Page 64
3 Environmental “laws” and generalizations......Page 66
The frameworks of orthodox science......Page 67
Positivism and its critics......Page 68
The social regulation of science......Page 70
Building “laws” of nature......Page 74
The challenge from non-equilibrium ecology......Page 77
Diversifying “laws” of nature......Page 82
Stratification and emergence......Page 84
Semantic realism......Page 86
Transcendental realism......Page 87
Summary......Page 89
Social framings of science and knowledge......Page 92
Semiotics and metaphors......Page 94
Social divisions: gender, class, and race......Page 97
Contested boundaries and hybrids......Page 100
Pragmatism and institutions of science......Page 106
Cultural Theory and the myths of nature......Page 107
Narratives, storylines, and Actor Network Theory......Page 111
Different models of science......Page 114
Summary......Page 116
5 The coproduction of env ironmental knowledge and political activism......Page 118
Coproduction and hybridization......Page 119
The social framings of environmental concern......Page 120
Opposition to capitalism and modernity......Page 121
The loss of wilderness and tradition......Page 122
The domination of nature......Page 124
The contradictions of science and environmentalism......Page 126
The coproduction of environmental science and values......Page 128
Ecology as a critique of capitalism......Page 130
Ecology as a metaphor for social emancipation......Page 135
Narratives of fragility and crisis......Page 137
Example: public protests at Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)......Page 140
Summary......Page 146
Structure and agency in science-policy......Page 148
Scientific criticism and the enforcement of paradigms......Page 150
Identifying science-policy “actors”......Page 152
Boundary organization theory......Page 154
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)......Page 156
National and international forestry organizations......Page 159
Interlocking boundary organizations: the case of carbon-offset forestry......Page 160
Challenging boundaries: social movements and reframing science......Page 167
Ecological enlightenment and rationality......Page 168
Advocacy coalitions and resource mobilization......Page 169
Liberation Ecologies......Page 170
Social inclusivity of environmental alliances and discourses......Page 171
Implications for the construction of risk......Page 174
Social movements and political transparency......Page 176
Summary......Page 178
“Global” science and risk......Page 180
Seeing the local in the global: situated practices in global environmental models......Page 183
Imposing the local on the global: are risks universal?......Page 190
Epistemic communities and their critics......Page 194
“Local” and “indigenous” knowledge......Page 197
Translating environmental “change” into environmental “crisis”......Page 200
Rethinking environmental vulnerability......Page 202
Regions or people at risk?......Page 203
Vulnerability or adaptation?......Page 207
Summary......Page 211
8 Democratizing environmental explanations......Page 214
Democratizing explanations......Page 215
Critical Theory and liberatory science......Page 216
Can environmental “myths” be falsified?......Page 218
Integrating social framings and scientific realism......Page 220
Beyond environmental “truths” and “falsehoods”......Page 221
“Institutional” forms of explanation......Page 224
Does democratizing science enhance realism?......Page 230
Degradation syndromes and “science in places”......Page 233
Events ecology......Page 234
“Hybrid science”......Page 235
Implications for the analysis of “local” versus “global” environmental problems......Page 237
Summary......Page 240
9 Democratizing environmental science and networks......Page 242
Scientific expertise and public participation......Page 243
Scientific networks and consensus......Page 244
Challenging orthodox concepts of environmental democratization......Page 248
Regulating scientific institutions......Page 252
The “science wars” and direct challenges to science......Page 253
Reforming national and international organizations......Page 256
Reforming environmental assessments......Page 259
Empowering alternative networks......Page 262
Environmental adaptations in developing countries......Page 263
Marginalized social groups and environmental science......Page 268
Participatory environmental assessments......Page 271
Implications for integrating environmental governance and learning......Page 273
Summary......Page 274
Summary of the book’s arguments......Page 276
Ecology and ecologism......Page 277
Political ecology, structure, and agency......Page 281
Rethinking science and realism......Page 284
A new agenda for political ecology......Page 286
Bibliography......Page 290
Index......Page 320