Esta é uma tese sociológica sobre formas de assimilação social de novas institucionalidades para regulação do uso e acesso aos recursos hídricos. Busca empreender, a despeito do recorte disciplinar de sua problemática, um esforço no diálogo de saberes com os campos da economia, filosofia, antropologia, geografia humana, agronomia, ecologia e direito ambiental. Sua apresentação geral consta de uma revisão teórico-conceitual crítica sobre o princípio neoclássico da valoração ambiental e da apresentação de dois estudos de caso sobre os possíveis impactos que a política de valoração da água trará para a agricultura paulista. Na revisão teórico-conceitual, a tese discute a necessidade de elaboração de estratégias epistêmicas alternativas de interpretação dos modernos conflitos sócio-ambientais. Propõe a superação dos enfoques formalistas de modelagem da relação sociedade-natureza. Nos estudos de caso, a tese apresenta diferentes possibilidades de ajustamento entre distintas configurações territoriais - dotadas de relações específicas de produção material e de exercício do poder social - e os anseios do princípio da valoração da água. As conclusões gerais do trabalho apontam para uma crítica às intervenções institucionais de gestão ambiental baseadas em modelos universalizantes de supostas condutas racionais de agentes e/ou grupos sociais. / This is a sociological thesis about ways of social assimilating of new institutional inovations for the regulation of the use and access to water resources. It seeks to make an effort to obtain a knowledge dialogue with the fields of economy, philosophy, anthropology, human geography, agronomy, ecology and environmental laws. The thesis\'s general presentation consists of a critical theoretical review about the neoclassical principle of environmental valuation and the presentation of two case studies about the possible impacts that the water valuation policy will bring to the agriculture in São Paulo state. In the theoretical review, the thesis discusses the necessity of elaborating alternative strategies for the interpretation of the modern social and environmental conflicts. It proposes to overcome the formalist approaches of modeling in the relation society-nature. In the case studies, the thesis presents different possibilities of adjustment among different territorial configurations - with specific relations of material production and the exertion of the social power - and the aims of the water valuation principles. The general conclusions of the work point to a criticism to the institutional intervention of environmental policy based on models of suposedly rational bahaviors of agents and/or social groups.

As famílias assentadas na Gleba Ribeirão Bonito, que vivem ao lado do Parque Estadual do Morro do Diabo, estão, ao contrário do que se poderia esperar, contribuindo, através de projetos articulados por uma rede de organizações, para a conservação dos recursos naturais desta Unidade de Conservação. A dissertação explora os fatores que têm condicionado tal realidade, fundamentando-se nas contribuições teóricas da economia das instituições e da sociologia ambiental. A conclusão é que está em processo de construção, na região do Pontal do Paranapanema, uma nova instituição que pode contribuir para a promoção de um modelo de desenvolvimento regional que inclua, ao mesmo tempo, o desenvolvimento social e econômico das famílias assentadas e a conservação da natureza. / The families seated in the Gleba Ribeirão Bonito, who live to the side of the Morro do Diabo State Park, are, in contrast of that we could wait, contributing, through designs articulated for a network of organizations, for the conservation of the natural features of this Unit of Conservation. The text explores the factors that condition such reality, basing itself on the theoretical contributions of the institutional economics and environmental sociology. The conclusion is that it is in construction process, in the region of the Pontal of the Paranapanema, a new institution that can contribute for the promotion of a model of regional development that includes, at the same time, the social and economic development of the seated families and the conservation of the nature.

The purpose of this thesis is to accurately identify residents of a boomtown who are either experiencing a higher level of well-being, or lower level of well-being. By definition, we consider the former to be winning, and the latter to be losing. Multivariate ordinary least squares regression analyses help to distinguish between winners and losers by generating statistical coefficients which will show both strength and direction of the relationship between individuals and various indicators of social well-being. The data used in this thesis are from a community impact study issued in the spring of 2009, to residents of Uintah County, UT. Uintah County is a modern-day boomtown that is dependent on natural resources, particularly oil and natural gas, as a large part of the economy and social make-up of the community. The key independent variables used in this study are age, length of residence, and income, and are regressed against a variety of well-being indicators including community satisfaction, closeness with neighbors, satisfaction with law enforcement, satisfaction with local schools, and satisfaction with medical and health services. The results indicate that the older a resident is, the longer they have lived in the community, and the less money they have, the more satisfied with well-being indicators they will be. Income had little significant effect on the well-being indicators, though age and length of residence are positively statistically significant in every model. As a result, there remains much to discover for the future of boomtown research, including the effects income has on well-being, as well as the indications boomtowns have on communities in the early parts of the twenty-first century.

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The local food movement has become a prominent force in the U.S. food market, as represented by the explosive expansion of direct-to-consumer (DTC) marketplaces across the country. Concurrent with the expansion of these DTC marketplaces has been the development of the social ideal of localism: a political and ethical paradigm that valorizes artisanal production and smallness, vilifies globalization, and seeks to recapture a sense of place and community that has been lost under the alienating conditions of capitalism’s gigantism. Supporters of localism understand the movement to be a substantial political and economic threat to global capitalism, and ascribe distinct, counter-hegemonic attributes to localized consumption and production. However, critics argue that localism lacks the political imagination and economic power to meaningfully challenge global capitalism, and that it merely represents an elite form of petite bourgeois consumption. While scholars have debated this issue feverishly, there is a dearth of empirical cases measuring whether or not actual local consumers understand their local consumption within the political and ethical frame of localism, leaving much of the discussion in the realm of esoteric theorizing. This study seeks to uncover whether or not local consumers interpret their local consumption habits within localism’s moral framework by using an original survey instrument to gather primary data, and conducting an exploratory quantitative inquiry.

This research provides a sociological analysis of skiing as a form of outdoor recreation and nature tourism in British Columbia, Canada. A qualitative multi-method approach is used, combining discourse analysis, interviews with skiers, and unobtrusive field observation at Whistler Blackcomb and Whitewater ski resorts. Through a focus on discourse, embodied interactions among humans and non-humans, and flows of power, this research describes an environmental ambiguity at the centre of skiing. There is a tension between interpretations of skiing as an environmentally-sustainable practice and notions of skiing as an environmental and social problem. Skiing is based on the symbolic consumption of nature and is understood by many participants as a way of entering into a meaningful relationship with the non-human environment. However, interpretations of skiing as a non-consumptive use of non-human nature are too simple. Social movement groups disrupt pro-environmental discourses of skiing by challenging the sport’s ecological and social legitimacy. Many skiers also articulate a self-reflexive environmental critique of their sport. In these instances, skiing is brought into the realm of politics. Recreational forms of interaction with the non-human environment tend to be at the periphery of environmental sociology. At the same time, sport sociologists tend to focus on the social dimensions of outdoor recreation, while bracketing out non-human nature. This research brings these two fields of inquiry into dialogue with each other, thereby addressing this double lacuna.

In this thesis, I examine how claims regarding the environmental and health impacts of hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” are constructed by industry advocates who promote the practice and environmental and social justice groups who reject it. More specifically, I examine the cultural underpinnings of the debate over fracking, and the prominence of gender as a central framing device in that debate. While the controversy over fracking is often presented as scientific or technical in nature, I maintain that it is as much a culture war as it is a science war. I demonstrate this by showing how both pro-fracking and anti-fracking groups mobilize cultural symbols and identities—motherhood, environmentalism, family farming, family values, individualism, and patriotism among them—in order to persuade the public and advocate for their positions. I contend that engagement with the cultural and ideological dimensions of those debates, including their gendered dimensions, is as important as engagement with its scientific and technical dimensions. Ultimately, I argue that a greater focus on gender contributes to our understanding of environmental risk more broadly, and to the field of environmental sociology as a whole. As such, gender deserves more scholarly attention within the field than it is currently receiving.

This thesis analyzes the global ecological crisis. It divides the global ecological crisis in to two major components: Climate change and biodiversity loss. Using a theoretical methodology based on comparing and applying a variety of lenses from within environmental sociology, the thesis asks and answers two questions: What are the causes of the global ecological crisis, and how can we solve it? Drawing on the perspectives of ecological modernization theory, ecological Marxism and deep ecology, the causes of and solutions to the global ecological crisis are identified. The primary causes of the crisis are found to be inefficient industrial technology, capitalism and an instrumentalist and anthropocentric view of the natural world. The primary solutions, therefore, must include a widespread shift towards clean and green technology, a transformative social revolution, and a new ecocentric respect for the intrinsic value of non-human life. The study offers many recommendations for policy makers.

This thesis analyzes the global ecological crisis. It divides the global ecological crisis in to two major components: Climate change and biodiversity loss. Using a theoretical methodology based on comparing and applying a variety of lenses from within environmental sociology, the thesis asks and answers two questions: What are the causes of the global ecological crisis, and how can we solve it? Drawing on the perspectives of ecological modernization theory, ecological Marxism and deep ecology, the causes of and solutions to the global ecological crisis are identified. The primary causes of the crisis are found to be inefficient industrial technology, capitalism and an instrumentalist and anthropocentric view of the natural world. The primary solutions, therefore, must include a widespread shift towards clean and green technology, a transformative social revolution, and a new ecocentric respect for the intrinsic value of non-human life. The study offers many recommendations for policy makers.

This research provides a sociological analysis of skiing as a form of outdoor recreation and nature tourism in British Columbia, Canada. A qualitative multi-method approach is used, combining discourse analysis, interviews with skiers, and unobtrusive field observation at Whistler Blackcomb and Whitewater ski resorts. Through a focus on discourse, embodied interactions among humans and non-humans, and flows of power, this research describes an environmental ambiguity at the centre of skiing. There is a tension between interpretations of skiing as an environmentally-sustainable practice and notions of skiing as an environmental and social problem. Skiing is based on the symbolic consumption of nature and is understood by many participants as a way of entering into a meaningful relationship with the non-human environment. However, interpretations of skiing as a non-consumptive use of non-human nature are too simple. Social movement groups disrupt pro-environmental discourses of skiing by challenging the sport’s ecological and social legitimacy. Many skiers also articulate a self-reflexive environmental critique of their sport. In these instances, skiing is brought into the realm of politics. Recreational forms of interaction with the non-human environment tend to be at the periphery of environmental sociology. At the same time, sport sociologists tend to focus on the social dimensions of outdoor recreation, while bracketing out non-human nature. This research brings these two fields of inquiry into dialogue with each other, thereby addressing this double lacuna.