Table Of ContentCLIMATE CHANGE AND
SOCIAL ECOLOGY
Although strategies to prevent global warming – such as by conserving energy,
relying on solar and wind power, and reducing motor vehicle use – are well-
known, societies have proved unable to implement these measures with the neces-
sary speed. They have also been unwilling to confront underlying issues such as
overconsumption, overpopulation, inequity, and dysfunctional political systems.
Political and social obstacles have prevented the adoption of improved technolo-
gies, which would provide only a partial solution in any case if the fundamental
causes of greenhouse gas emissions aren’t addressed.
Climate Change and Social Ecology takes a new approach to the climate crisis,
portraying global warming as a challenge of rapid social evolution. This book
argues that, in order to address this impending catastrophe and bring about more
sustainable development, we must focus on improving social ecology – our values,
mind-sets, and social organization. Steps to do this include institutional reforms to
improve democracy, educational strategies to encourage public understanding of
complex issues, and measures to prevent corporations and the wealthy from shap-
ing societies in other directions instead. This book presents a captivating vision of
how to help social systems evolve toward sustainability and explores the social
transformations needed for dealing with the climate crisis in the long term. It
reviews the climate change strategies considered to date, presents a detailed
description of a future sustainable society, and analyzes how this vision might be
realized through more conscious public nurturing of our social systems.
This interdisciplinary volume provides a compelling rethink of the climate cri-
sis. Authoritative and accessible, it will be of great interest to anyone concerned
about climate change and sustainability challenges and is essential reading for stu-
dents, professionals, and general readers alike.
Stephen M. Wheeler is Associate Professor of Urban Design and Planning at the
University of California, Davis, USA.
CLIMATE CHANGE AND
SOCIAL ECOLOGY
A new perspective on the
climate challenge
Stephen M. Wheeler
First published 2012
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa
business
© 2012 Stephen M. Wheeler
The right of Stephen M. Wheeler to be identified as author of this
work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and
78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British
Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Wheeler, Stephen M., 1957–
Climate change and social ecology / Stephen M. Wheeler.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Climatic changes. 2. Social ecology. I. Title.
QC903.W54 2012
304.2´5—dc23 2011038603
ISBN: 978-0-415-80985-6 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-415-80987-0 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-0-203-12423-9 (ebk)
Typeset in Bembo
by Book Now Ltd, London
CONTENTS
List of illustrations vi
Acknowledgments vii
1 Introduction 1
2 A century of climate change 10
3 Fifty years of the sustainability movement 32
4 Still off the table: Consumption, mobility, population, and equality 57
5 Storyline 1: Over the cliff 71
6 Storyline 2: A sustainable society 83
7 The nature of social ecology 93
8 Planning for social evolution 118
9 Getting from here to there 146
10 Conclusion 160
Notes 163
Recommended reading and sources 183
Index 188
ILLUSTRATIONS
Figures
2.1 The Keeling curve 14
7.1 Social ecologies over time 109
7.2 Linear versus ecological systems 110
7.3 Factors influencing social ecology 111
8.1 The process of social change 119
Boxes
5.1 IPCC storylines 79
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Many thanks to all those who have contributed their thoughts or support to the
writing of this book. Thanks in particular to Nick Bellorini, whose sage advice on
several early chapter drafts helped steer this project in very useful directions. Thanks
also to David Korten for strong early support and positive feedback, as well as to
Keith Pezzoli, Darell Slotton, Lisa Miller, Michael Rios, Steve Greco, Eric Engles,
the students of my climate change seminar, and to three anonymous reviewers for
their useful comments. Thanks to Andrew Mould, Faye Leerink, Caroline
Richmond, James Cooke, and the rest of the Routledge team for their thoughtful
and professional assistance. Special gratitude to the late Donella Meadows and
David Brower for their inspiration and example. Thanks most of all to my lovely
wife, Mimi, who has provided wonderful feedback as well as patient support, and
to my daughter, Maddy, who is a daily source of delight and reminds me who the
future is for.
1
INTRODUCTION
We’re stuck. Current approaches toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions or
dealing with many other sustainability problems aren’t working, and some of the
most important underlying issues aren’t even being talked about. The powerful
economic and political forces that brought us unsustainable development con-
tinue to deny climate change and to prevent rapid movement toward greener
societies. Political systems in the United States and most other industrial coun-
tries have shown themselves incapable of taking sufficient action. Problems go
deeper than can be addressed by technology, economic incentives, or interna-
tional agreements alone.
However, in the long run there is hope. What’s needed, as I argue in this book,
is to reframe the challenge as one of planning our own social evolution toward a
sustainable future – restructuring our social ecology so as to be capable of sustainable
development. Social change of this sort means reshaping our learning environ-
ments, institutions, and value systems so that we can begin healing ourselves, our
communities, and the planet. Most fundamentally, this sort of social change means
learning to see the world differently, in terms of dynamic, co-evolving systems and
radical interdependency. And then it means applying this understanding to con-
crete actions, building societies that can take their own long-term futures into
account as well as better ensuring short-term human and environmental welfare.
One particular sign of hope is the unprecedented growth of “civil society” in
recent decades – large and small nonprofit organizations and networks that promote
environmental, civil rights, social welfare, public health, or sustainable development
agendas. Potentially, civil society can work with a strengthened public sector – that
is, government at multiple scales – to improve social ecology and to counter the
often self-interested and unsustainable agendas of the private sector. But progress
will depend first of all on clarity about our situation and objectives. Only by
coming to grips with the cognitive and structural roots of sustainability problems,
