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Sociocultural evolution

Sociocultural evolution, sociocultural evolutionism or cultural evolution are umbrella terms for theories of cultural and social evolution that describe how cultures and societies change over time. Whereas sociocultural development traces processes that tend to increase the complexity of a society or culture, sociocultural evolution also considers process that can lead to decreases in complexity (degeneration) or that can produce variation or proliferation without any seemingly significant changes in complexity (cladogenesis).[1] Sociocultural evolution can be defined as "the process by which structural reorganization is affected through time, eventually producing a form or structure which is qualitatively different from the ancestral form." Most 19th-century and some 20th-century approaches to socioculture aimed to provide models for the evolution of humankind as a whole, arguing that different societies are at different stages of social development. Introduction[edit]

Transformation of culture - Wikipedia Transformation of culture, or cultural change, is the dynamic process whereby the living cultures of the world are changing and adapting to external or internal forces. This process is occurring within Western culture as well as non-Western and indigenous cultures and cultures of the world. Forces which contribute to the cultural change described in this article include: colonization, globalization, advances in communication, transport and infrastructure improvements, and military expansion. Theories of cultural change[edit] Various scholars have proposed different theories of cultural change. Thomas R. Transformation of Western culture[edit] "Western" or European culture began to undergo rapid change starting with the arrival of Columbus in the New World, and continuing with the Industrial Revolution. Transformation of indigenous cultures[edit] Around the world many indigenous groups have over centuries or millennia successfully sustained economies in one particular place and ecosystem.

10 Daily Habits That are Killing the Environment Image Source Fotopedia They say it takes 21 days to form a habit, and many of us have daily habits that are slowly destroying the environment. Here is a list of 10 things we can easily change to reduce our impact on the planet, with suggestions for ways to develop new, environmentally-friendly habits instead. 1. Leaving The Lights On You’ve probably heard this a million times before but turning the light off when you leave the room, even if you’re only going for a few minutes, really does make a difference to the environment, since it saves a finite source of energy that can’t be replaced. 2. Many people guess the amount of water they need when they boil the kettle, and they end up boiling too much. 3. Maybe you’re not ready to take a step in the veggie or vegan direction, but if you’re eating farmed meat, you’re supporting an incredibly environmentally damaging industry. 4. 5. 6. 7. It’s remarkably easy to compost at home, and you don’t need a garden to do it. 8. 9. 10.

Global Environmental Politics: From Person to Planet - Simon Nicholson, Paul Wapner The Oxford Handbook of Environmental Political Theory Emancipatory catastrophism: What does it mean to climate change and risk society? Ulrich Beck Ulrich Beck, Ludwig Maximilian University, Konradstr. 6, Munich, 80801, Germany. Email: u.beck@lmu.de Abstract The metamorphosis of the world is about the hidden emancipatory side effect of global risk. This article argues that the talk about bads produces ‘common goods’. As such, the argument goes beyond what has been at the heart of the world risk society theory so far: it is not about the negative side effects of goods but the positive side effects of bads. Article Notes Funding Funded by the European Research Council (ERC) project: ‘Methodological Cosmopolitanism - In the Laboratory of Climate Change’, ERC-2012-AdG - 323719_Cosmo-Climate - © The Author(s) 2014

RETHINKING GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY: FROM GLOBAL GOVERNANCE TO TRANSNATIONAL NEOPLURALISM - KÜTTING - 2015 - Public Administration Originally focused on seeking policy solutions through international cooperation, transnational administration, and global governance, the study of global environmental policy has become increasingly diverse and fragmented. Complex, crosscutting variables ranging from a wider constellation of non-state actors to diverse critical perspectives, along with a focus on narrower sub-fields and the changing nature of environmental challenges themselves, have left the field in a state of flux. A broader, more process-oriented explanatory framework is needed. Institutionalist, global governance and civil society approaches, as well as middle-range concepts such as policy networks, are insufficient, while critical analyses, although a step in the right direction, are overly deterministic.

untitled Anna M. Agathangelou⇑ Anna M. Agathangelou, Department of Political Science, York University, 4700 Keele Street, S Ross 653, Toronto, Ontario, M3J 1P3, Canada. Email: agathang@yorku.ca Abstract Failure and denial are seductive concepts, and they were explicitly theorised at the Millennium conference in October, 2015. Article Notes Funding This research was part-funded by the Social Science and Humanities Research Council (Grant on migration, security, and democracy and peripheries in Europe). © The Author(s) 2016 New Earth Politics: Essays from the Anthropocene - Simon Nicholson, Sikina Jinnah Planetary boundaries - Wikipedia Limits not to be exceeded if humanity wants to survive in a safe ecosystem Planetary boundaries are a framework to describe limits to the impacts of human activities on the Earth system. Beyond these limits, the environment may not be able to self-regulate anymore. This would mean the Earth system would leave the period of stability of the Holocene, in which human society developed.[2][3][4] The framework is based on scientific evidence that human actions, especially those of industrialized societies since the Industrial Revolution, have become the main driver of global environmental change. According to the framework, "transgressing one or more planetary boundaries may be deleterious or even catastrophic due to the risk of crossing thresholds that will trigger non-linear, abrupt environmental change within continental-scale to planetary-scale systems The concept has since become influential in the international community (e.g. Framework overview and principles[edit] Authors[edit] [edit]

Anthropocene Proposed geologic epoch for present time The Anthropocene Working Group (AWG) of the Subcommission on Quaternary Stratigraphy (SQS) of the ICS voted in April 2016 to proceed towards a formal golden spike (GSSP) proposal to define the "Anthropocene epoch" in the geologic time scale. The group presented the proposal to the International Geological Congress in August 2016.[10] In May 2019, the AWG voted in favour of submitting a formal proposal to the ICS by 2021.[11] The proposal located potential stratigraphic markers to the mid-20th century.[12][11][13] This time period coincides with the start of the Great Acceleration, a post-World War II time period during which global population growth, pollution and exploitation of natural resources have all increased at a dramatic rate.[14] The Atomic Age also started around the mid-20th century, when the risks of nuclear wars, nuclear terrorism and nuclear accidents increased. Development of the concept [edit] Ecologist Eugene F. Anthropocene markers

Outline of Earth sciences - Wikipedia The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Earth science: Earth science is a branch of the physical sciences which is a part of the natural sciences. It in turn has many branches. Earth's spheres[edit] Branches of Earth science[edit] Atmospheric science[edit] Atmospheric sciences Environmental science[edit] Environmental science – an integrated, quantitative, and interdisciplinary approach to the study of environmental systems. Ecology – scientific study of the distribution and abundance of living organisms and how the distribution and abundance are affected by interactions between the organisms and their environment. Geology[edit] Geography[edit] Geography Geoinformatics[edit] Geoinformatics Glaciology[edit] Glaciology Oceanography[edit] Oceanography Soil science[edit] Soil science History of Earth science[edit] History of Earth science – history of the all-embracing sciences related to the planet Earth. Earth science programs[edit] NASA Earth Science See also[edit]

Anthroposphere - Wikipedia From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Part of the environment that is affected by humans The anthroposphere (sometimes also referred as the technosphere) is that part of the environment that is made or modified by humans for use in human activities and human habitats. The anthroposphere can be viewed as a human-generated equivalent to the biosphere, which is why some authorities consider it synonymous with the noosphere. Aspects of the anthroposphere include: mines from which minerals are obtained; automated agriculture which produces the food consumed by 7+ billion Sapiens; oil and gas fields; computer-based systems including the Internet; educational systems; landfills; factories; atmospheric pollution; artificial satellites in space, both active satellites and space junk; forestry and deforestation; urban development; transportation systems including roads, highways, and subways; nuclear installations; warfare. Technofossils are another interesting aspect of the anthroposphere.

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