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Title: Environmental Problems Globally

Environmental Problems Globally

From Perception to Reaction

by Daniel Lachmann (Author)
©2016 Thesis 256 Pages
Science, Society & Culture

Summary

Human behavior causes environmental problems which, in turn, affect people and whole societies. The author elaborates the role of the public in the discourse about environmental protection. As the public consists of socio-economic, legal and political actors, the behavior of those actors is of significance. With a thorough analysis of the International Social Survey Programme, this book illustrates the rocky road from the perception of environmental threats to the reaction toward them. Combining a constructivist and rational choice perspective, the author points out that there are distinctive differences between individual countries in the perception, evaluation as well as in the reaction toward environmental issues. Neither is there a uniform path from perception to reaction, nor exists a one-size-fits-all-solution.

Table Of Contents

  • Cover
  • Title
  • Copyright
  • About the author(s)/editor(s)
  • About the book
  • This eBook can be cited
  • Table of Contents
  • Figure index
  • Table Index
  • Introduction
  • An Excursus: Environmental Problems
  • 1. Why conduct studies on individual environmental behavior?
  • 2. Environment and society: socio-economic, legal and political actors
  • 2.1 Economy, society and the socio-economic actor
  • 2.2 Environment, law and the legal actor
  • 2.3 Environmentalism, politics and the political actor
  • 3. Sociological theories on environmental attitudes and behavior
  • 3.1 General theories of individual environmentalism
  • 3.1.1 The constructivist perspective
  • 3.1.2 The rational-choice perspective
  • 3.2 Macro and micro explanations of environmentalism
  • 3.2.1 Macro theories of environmentalism
  • 3.2.1.1 The post-materialism hypothesis
  • 3.2.1.2 The prosperity and affluence hypothesis
  • 3.2.1.3 Globalization hypothesis
  • 3.2.2 Micro theories of environmentalism
  • 3.2.2.1 Globalization hypothesis at micro level: virtual environmentalism
  • 3.2.2.2 Age and gender effects
  • 3.2.2.3 Social positions
  • 3.2.2.4 General values
  • 3.3 Environmentalism
  • 3.3.1 Environmental perception, evaluation and willingness to pay
  • 3.3.2 Environmental action
  • 3.4 The hypothesized model
  • 4. Data, data quality and measures
  • 4.1 Methods
  • 4.2 Data quality and operationalization
  • 4.2.1 Missing values
  • 4.2.2 The independent variables
  • 4.2.3 The dependent variables
  • 4.2.4 Response pattern biases
  • 5. A global environmental profile
  • 6. Country profiles
  • 6.1 The Czech Republic
  • 6.2 Germany
  • 6.3 New Zealand
  • 6.4 Norway
  • 6.5 Spain
  • 6.6 USA
  • 7. Summary of the findings
  • 7.1 The macro level
  • 7.2 The micro level
  • 7.2.1 Birth cohorts and gender
  • 7.2.2 General values
  • 7.2.3 Social positions
  • 7.2.4 The overall contribution of birth cohorts, gender, general values, and social positions to the explanation of environmentalism
  • 7.3 Limitations of the present study
  • 8. Concluding remarks
  • Literature
  • Appendix

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Figure index

Figure 1: Conceptualization of environmental behavior according to Fietkau and Kessel (1981)

Figure 2: Path diagram: Environmental attitudes and action

Figure 3: Path diagram - Predictors influencing environmentalism

Figure 4: Cognitive maps of the evaluative dimension of environmental concern: two examples

Figure 5: Cognitive maps of the cognitive dimension of environmental concern: two examples

Figure 6: Response patterns

Figure 7: Scatterplots – GDP per capita, post-materialism, environmental concern and action

Figure 8: Scatterplots: GDP per capita, post-materialism and environmental action.

Figure 9: Scatterplot: Everyday action and its variance explained by environmental concern

Figure 10: Scatterplot: Acceptance of environmental laws and its variance explained by environmental concern

Figure 11: Scatterplot: Environmental activism and its variance explained by environmental concern

Figure 12: The low-cost hypothesis in cross national perspective

Figure 13: Correlation between the three types of environmental action

Figure 14: Cohort effects on the evaluative dimension of environmental concern

Figure 15: Explained variance of environmental action and concern by model

Figure 16: Effects of the cognitive and evaluative dimension of concern on the conative dimension by country

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Table Index

Table 4.1: Missing ratios

Table 4.2: Q10a: We worry too much about the future of the environment and not enough about prices and jobs today (%)

Table 4.3: Q14f: Do you think that modifying the genes of certain crops is…

Table 4.4: MCA of the evaluative dimension of environmental concern

Table 4.5: MCA of the cognitive dimension of environmental concern

Table 4.6: Everyday action: relative frequencies

Table 5.1: Descriptive statistics on the macro level

Table 5.2: Explained variances of environmental action by environmental concern

Table 5.3: Explained variances of acceptance of environmental laws by environmental concern

Table 5.4: Explained variances of environmental activism by environmental concern

Table 6.1: Most important issues across the six countries

Table 6.2: Most important environmental problems across the six countries

Table 6.3: Energy supply across the six countries

Table CZ 1: Most important issues in the Czech Republic

Table CZ 2: Most important environmental problems in the Czech Republic

Table CZ 3: Energy supply in the Czech Republic

Table CZ 4: Cohorts, gender and environmentalism in the Czech Republic

Table CZ 5: General values and environmentalism in Czech Republic

Table CZ 6: Social positions and environmentalism in Czech Republic

Table CZ 7: Full model Czech Republic

Table GER 1: Most important issues in Germany West and East

Table GER 2: Most important environmental problems in Germany West and East ← 11 | 12 →

Table GER 3: Energy supply in Germany West and East

Table GER 4: Cohorts, gender and environmentalism in Germany East

Table GER 5: Cohorts, gender and environmentalism in Germany West

Table GER 6: General values and environmentalism in Germany East

Table GER 7: General values and environmentalism in Germany West

Table GER 8: Social positions and environmentalism in Germany East

Table GER 9: Social positions and environmentalism in Germany West

Table GER 10: Full model Germany East

Table GER 11: Full model Germany West

Table NZ 1: Most important issue in New Zealand

Table NZ 2: Most important environmental issue in New Zealand

Table NZ 3: Energy supply in New Zealand

Table NZ 4: Cohorts, gender and environmentalism in New Zealand

Table NZ 5: General values and environmentalism in New Zealand

Table NZ 6: Social positions and environmentalism in New Zealand

Table NZ 7: Full model New Zealand

Table NO 1: Most important issue in Norway

Table NO 2: Most important environmental issues in Norway

Table NO 3: Energy supply in Norway

Table NO 4: Cohorts, gender and environmentalism in Norway

Table NO 5: General values and environmentalism in Norway

Details

Pages
256
Publication Year
2016
ISBN (PDF)
9783653066036
ISBN (MOBI)
9783653960570
ISBN (ePUB)
9783653960587
ISBN (Softcover)
9783631673478
DOI
10.3726/978-3-653-06603-6
Language
English
Publication date
2016 (April)
Keywords
environmental behavior rational choice theory constructivism environmental attitudes
Published
Frankfurt am Main, Berlin, Bern, Bruxelles, New York, Oxford, Wien, 2016. 256 pp., 60 tables, 16 graphs
Product Safety
Peter Lang Group AG

Biographical notes

Daniel Lachmann (Author)

Daniel Lachmann studied sociology at the University of Cologne. His major research interests are social science environmental research, criminology, and quantitative methods of empirical research.

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Title: Environmental Problems Globally