Ecological Optimism in the Social Sciences

Luten, Daniel B.

doi:10.1177/000276428002400107

Cited by 22 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Accounts of how innovation scholars initially engaged with environmental problems paint a similar picture (Kemp and Soete, 1992;Foray and Grübler, 1996;Smith et al, 2010), although at the time, the scholars involved were more likely to self-identify as economists of technological change. Some early statements by Rosenberg, Simon and Ruttan on the technology-environment relationship went 'largely unnoticed' (Foray and Grübler, 1996) until a highly prominent debate between the Club of Rome modellers behind Limits to Growth (Meadows et al, 1972) and innovation scholars at the Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU) at the University of Sussex, UK (Cole et al, 1973; for the debate see Luten, 1980). There were three significant features to this debate that help in understanding how future research on sustainable innovation would progress.…”

Section: The Economics Of Technological Change and 'Innovation Studiementioning

confidence: 99%

An introduction: mapping the field(s) of sustainable innovation

Boons¹,

McMeekin²

2019

Handbook of Sustainable Innovation

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This handbook seeks to take stock of, and provide further impetus to, developing academic knowledge on how technological change affects levels of ecological and social impact of human activities. The role of technology in shaping the environmental impact of societies is captured in the IPAT formula that was coined in the early 1970s (Chertow, 2000; York, Rosa and Dietz, 2003), where impact (I) results from the combination of population levels (P), levels of affluence (A), and technology (T; this comprises artefacts-machines and material objects-as well as the social practices associated with the production and use of those artefacts). Consequently, understanding the rise of such impact, as well as designing and evaluating ways of reducing it, requires an understanding of processes of innovation and technological change. Furthermore, technological change and innovation can differentially affect the social position and opportunities of human beings, both individually and in various formations (families, communities, urban areas, countries). This indicates the relevance of an integrated perspective to: (1) facilitate the understanding of various ways in which evolving technologies shape social and ecological impact; and (2) help the design and evaluation of attempts to reduce negative impacts and maximize positive impacts. Academic work in this area is widespread, and covers a range of disciplines from economics to engineering to sociology. Also, it is the key area of interest for interdisciplinary fields such as ecological economics and industrial ecology. Furthermore, it is addressed by multi-sectoral communities such as the Greening of Industry Network (GIN), Sustainable Transitions Research Network (STRN) and Sustainable Consumption Research and Action Initiative (SCORAI), where academics interact with practitioners from business organizations, governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and civic organizations. This diversity is reflected in the range of labels that have been and still are in use for social processes associated with the environmental and social impact of technological change: alongside sustainable innovation, the topic is addressed as eco-innovation, environmental innovation, responsible innovation, and the greening of technological change, to provide a non-exhaustive list. Consequently, the body of work covered in this handbook is not a readily recognizable entity. In fact, as the diversity and to some extent fragmented nature of academic inquiry can be seen as a distinctive feature, we aim to map the field in a way that adequately acknowledges this. To provide a basis for our mapping, in Section 2 we outline our view on academic knowledge production, which is based in evolutionary epistemology. This leads us to expect disciplines to generate distinct conceptual lineages. The lineages that emerge from

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Section: The Economics Of Technological Change and 'Innovation Studiementioning

confidence: 99%

An introduction: mapping the field(s) of sustainable innovation

Boons¹,

McMeekin²

2019

Handbook of Sustainable Innovation

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Finally, in the context of a limits to growth argument, it is important to understand that a positive growth rate implies that GDP will increase exponentially, while eco-efficiency improvements made possible by improvements to human knowledge will eventually involve diminishing marginal returns. Since net resource and energy throughput and environmental impact involves multiplying the first exponentially increasing number by the second number, which decreases ever more imperceptibly over time, eventually, if unchecked, growth will cancel out the improvements in eco-efficiency and the aggregate effect will be unsustainable (Huesemann, 2004;Luten, 1980). In large part, the inadequate treatment of the role of resources and energy in enabling economic activity in the standard texts can be expected since the standard economic model has been found to have "no role for physical materials, energy or the laws of thermodynamics.…”

Section: Encounters With Contentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Introductory economics textbooks: what do they teach about sustainability?

Green¹

2012

IJPEE

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In response to accelerating ecological deterioration, many universities have made commitments to integrate sustainability across the curriculum and to ensure they graduate ecologically responsible citizens. This study involves a content analysis of the coverage of environment-economy linkages in introductory economics textbooks. In North America, introductory economics courses tend to cover similar content and to rely heavily on textbooks. A small number of standard textbooks dominate this market. Standard introductory economics textbooks in current use in British Columbia, Canada were included in the study as well as three leading US textbooks. These were contrasted against a pair of micro/macro introductory texts explicitly written to address sustainability. The standard textbooks are found to largely ignore or mischaracterise environment-economy linkages and to include little content that would help further student understanding of sustainability. Universities that have made a commitment to integrate sustainability across the curriculum should examine carefully the textbooks used in their introductory economic courses and give preference to textbooks that have integrated sustainability-relevant content throughout the text and have addressed both environment-economy linkages and the challenge of sustainability with sophistication.

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“…25 Although it has come under attack in recent years for its allegedly materialistic bias and naive confidence in the reversibility of negative environmental impacts, this benefit-cost approach to conservation, sometimes relying on empirical benefit-cost studies of proposed projects, is still highly regarded as a legitimate and ideologically acceptable doctrine -in contrast to a purely exploitive view in which the short-run economic returns of resources is the only policy guide. '24 It was an optimistic, liberal, and developmentally oriented doctrine which exhibited profound faith in the ability of mankind to overcome virtually any natural obstacle.…”

Section: Benefit-cost Optimizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The defeat of the Blue Ridge pump-storage project as microcosm of environmental policy change

Feldman

1987

Policy Sci

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Ecological Optimism in the Social Sciences

Cited by 22 publications

References 19 publications

An introduction: mapping the field(s) of sustainable innovation

An introduction: mapping the field(s) of sustainable innovation

Introductory economics textbooks: what do they teach about sustainability?

The defeat of the Blue Ridge pump-storage project as microcosm of environmental policy change

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