Share
An Invitation to Environmental Sociology
Fourth Edition
- Michael Mayerfeld Bell - University of Wisconsin–Madison, USA
August 2012 | 400 pages | SAGE South Asia

The highly praised Fourth Edition of An Invitation to Environmental Sociology brings out the sociology of environmental possibility, inviting students to delve into this rapidly changing field. Written in a lively, engaging style, Bell covers the broad range of topics in environmental sociology with a personal passion rarely seen in sociology textbooks.
New To This Edition
- A new section in Chapter 1 discusses the challenges to sustainability posed by energy production and use
- Significant revisions to Chapter 5 add a new section on the sociology of food and a new section on the sociology of mobilities and environmental flows
- A new section in Chapter 8 on the social construction of “environmental non-problems” focuses on climate change skepticism
- Discussion of the realist—constructionist debate is updated in light of recent scholarship
Features and Benefits
- Improves the exposition and integration of the unifying concept of ecological dialogue
- Develops the notion of virtual environmentalism as a practical application of environmental sociology to real-world problems
- Offers an integration of environmental social movement theory
- Discusses the latest theoretical trends in environmental sociology, including environmental flows, the Jevons paradox, disproportionality, degrowth, and participatory governance
Online resources for instructors and students are available at www.pineforge.com/bell4e
Preface
Environmental Problems and Society
I: THE MATERIAL
Consumption and Materialism
Money and Machines
Population and Development
Body and Health
II: THE IDEAL
The Ideology of Environmental Domination
The Ideology of Environmental Concern
The Human Nature of Nature
The Rationality of Risk
III: THE PRACTICAL
Mobilizing the Ecological Society
Governing the Ecological Society
References
Notes
Index
"The book strikes such a nice balance on so many levels. This is not only the best environmental sociology text I've used, but it's is the best text - of any type - I've used in college-level teaching. I really look forward to the fourth edition."
University of New Hampshire