Environmental Sociology and the Explanation of Environmental Reform

Abstract

This article makes the case that environmental sociology is in the midst of a significant shift of problematics, from the explanation of environmental degradation to the explanation of environmental reform. In this article, the author suggests that there are four basic mechanisms of environmental reform or improvement: environmental activism/movements, state environmental regulation, ecological modernization, and international environmental governance. He suggests further that although `green consumerism' is one of the most frequently discussed mechanisms of environmental improvement within environmental sociology and in movement discourse, green consumerist arguments generally tend to rest on one or more of the other four mechanisms of environmental reform. One of the main tasks of environmental sociology will be to assess which of these four mechanisms is the most fundamental to environmental reform. The author concludes with the hypothesis that environmental movements and activism are ultimately the most fundamental pillars of environmental reform.