1.
Longo, Stefano, 1969, et al.
(författare)
Nutrient overloading in the Chesapeake Bay: Structural conditions in poultry production and the socioecological drivers of marine pollution
2021
Ingår i: Sociology of Development. - : University of California Press. - 2374-538X. ; 7, s. 416-440
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat) abstract
We examine socioecological drivers of nutrient overloading and eutrophication in the Chesapeake Bay associated with poultry production on the Delmarva Peninsula. We use a social metabolic analysis-rooted in a political-economy perspective-that highlights the interchange of matter and energy and the inextricable links within and between social and ecological systems, illuminating the social structural processes contributing to ecological changes. The concentration and consolidation of poultry production through integration, which involves contract farming, and geographic concentration of operations, have been associated with intensified and increased scale of chicken (broiler) production. These processes have had significant effects on waste accumulation, maintenance, and disposal, and this industry has become one of the major contributors of nutrient overloading in the Chesapeake Bay. This study, therefore, specifies social processes that are driving environmental changes between land and sea.
2.
Longo, Stefano, 1969, et al.
(författare)
Sociology for sustainability science
2021
Ingår i: Discover Sustainability. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2662-9984. ; 2
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat) abstract
Sociological insights are often underutilized in sustainability science. To further strengthen its commitment to interdisciplinary problem-driven, solutions-oriented research, sustainability science can better incorporate fundamental sociological conceptions into its core. We highlight four aspects of sociological thought that we consider crucial for advancing sustainability science research: (1) social construction and critical realism, (2) structure and agency, (3) historical specificity, and (4) collective action. We draw on examples from sociology to support a dynamic understanding of how social relations interact with the bio-geo-physical world. This necessary integration of sociological insights, we argue, is critical to generate comprehensive assessments of the causes and consequences of human-induced environmental change, and tend to be overlooked or oversimplified within the field of sustainability science. Beyond that, it can stimulate the development and implementation of viable solutions to sustainability challenges.
