Lori M. Hunter

``Locusts are now our beef'': Adult mortality and household dietary use of local environmental resources in rural South Africa1

There is currently a lack of research on the association between demographic dynamics and household use of natural resources in rural Africa. Such work is important because in rural Africa natural resources buffer households against shocks, offering both sustenance and income-generating potential. Aims: The article focuses on adult mortality as a household shock, examining use of local environmental resources as related to household dietary needs. Methods: The authors analyze two sources of data collected during May—December 2004 in the MRC/Wits Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt) in rural South Africa. Quantitative analyses use survey data from 240 households, stratified by adult mortality experience. Qualitative data are based on 31 interviews with members of households having recently experienced adult mortality. Results: The interviews provide insight into a variety of household-level mortality impacts and also suggest the importance of proximate resources in the maintenance of food security following the loss of an adult household member. Quantitatively, there are significant differences, both in patterns of usage of the natural environment and in levels of food security, between households that have lost an adult and those that have not. The association between mortality and household use of local environmental resources is further shaped by the gender of the deceased and the time elapsed since the death. Conclusions: Adult mortality, particularly the death of a male wage-earner, affects household food security. Time allocation is affected as resource collection responsibilities shift, and wild foods may substitute for previously purchased goods.

The Association Between Environmental Perspective and Knowledge and Concern With Species Diversity

As communities continue to engage in debate surrounding land use and preservation, insight into stakeholder knowledge and concern with local species becomes increasingly important. This project explores the association between individual knowledge/concern with species diversity as related to environmental perspective, measured through the New Ecological Paradigm scale. We aim to understand whether concern with local species diversity is associated with species-specific knowledge and/or ecocentric outlooks more generally. Results from a mail survey in Boulder, CO reveal that individuals with ecocentric perspectives place greater priority on species preservation relative to those with anthropocentric perspectives, regardless of species knowledge. These results imply that to engage local publics in issues of biodiversity, outreach should not simply provide background specific to local species, but also demonstrate the significance of ecological integrity and biological diversity more broadly.

Religion and attitudes toward the environment: a comparison of Mormons and the general U.S. population.

Abstract Religion has been shown to influence attitudes toward an array of social issues. This manuscript focuses specifically on environmental issues, with empirical examination of the distinctiveness of contemporary Mormon environmental perspectives as contrasted with the general U.S. population. A belief in the importance of dominion over the environment is noted, by some, to be reflected in anti-environmental stance characterizing Mormon Culture Region political leaders and church members [Foltz, R. C. (2000). Mormon values and the Utah environment. Worldviews: Environment, Culture, Religion, 4, 1–19]. Yet, a set of highly regarded essays by a diverse group of Mormons, including some in church leadership positions, expresses strong personal commitments to environmental causes and point to Mormon teachings and doctrines promoting environmentalism (Williams, Smith, and Gibbs, 1998). We examine variation in environmental concern as expressed by Mormons in a local community survey undertaken in Logan, Utah, as contrasted with the nationally-representative General Social Survey (1993). We find substantial differences between Mormons and the national sample; While Mormons tended to express greater levels of environmental concern, they were less likely to have undertaken specific behaviors reflective of such concern.

A comparison of the environmental attitudes, concern, and behaviors of native-born and foreign-born U.S. Residents

This research offers an examination of environmental attitudes, concern, and behaviors among individuals presently living within the context producing contemporary American environmental awareness, but who originated from contexts socially, environmentally, and economically distinct. More specifically, data from the 1993 environmental module of the General Social Survey are used to examine variations in environmental awareness across native-and foreign-born individuals. Results suggest that immigrants living in the U.S. do, indeed, express similarattitudes toward environmental issues as compared to native-born residents. However, shorter-term immigrants (those residing abroad at age 16) in particular express significantly higher levels ofconcern with regard to environmental problems as compared to native-born residents. In addition, shorter-term immigrants are more likely to engage in “environmentally friendly” behaviors as compared to native-born residents, although they appear less likely to have signed an environmentally oriented petition.

Rainfall Patterns and U.S. Migration from Rural Mexico

In many rural regions of developing countries, natural resource dependency means changes in climate patterns hold tremendous potential to impact livelihoods. When environmentally-based livelihood options are constrained, migration can become an important adaptive strategy. Using data from the Mexican Migration Project, we model U.S. emigration from rural communities as related to community, household and climate factors. The results suggest that households subjected to very recent drought conditions are less likely to send a U.S. migrant, but in communities with drought two years prior and with strong migration histories, emigration is much more likely. In regions lacking such social networks, rainfall deficits actually reduce migration propensities, perhaps reflecting constraints in the ability to engage in migration as a coping strategy. Policy implications emphasize diversification of rural Mexican livelihoods in the face of contemporary climate change.

COHORT CHANGE, DIFFUSION, AND SUPPORT FOR ENVIRONMENTAL SPENDING IN THE UNITED STATES.

Long-standing debates over the effect of socioeconomic status (SES) on environmental concern contrast postmaterialist and affluence arguments, suggesting a positive relationship in high-income nations, with counterarguments for a negative or near zero relationship. A diffusion-of-innovations approach adapts parts of both arguments and predicts initial adoption of proenvironmental views by high-SES groups; however, environmentalism diffuses over time to other SES groups, weakening the association. This argument is tested with General Social Survey data (1973–2008) across 83 cohorts, whose attitudes before, during, and after the emergence of environmentalism identify long-term changes in environmental concern. Multilevel age, period, and cohort models support diffusion arguments by demonstrating that the effects across cohorts of education, income, and occupational prestige first strengthen, then weaken. This finding suggests that diffusion of environmental concern first produces positive relationships consistent with postmaterialism arguments and later produces null or negative relationships consistent with global environmentalism arguments.

Adult Mortality and Natural Resource Use in Rural South Africa: Evidence From the Agincourt Health and Demographic Surveillance Site.

There is little empirical evidence on the association between household experience with HIV/AIDS and shifts in the use of natural resources in developing countries, where residents of rural regions remain highly dependent on often-declining local supplies of natural resources. This study examines household strategies with regard to fuelwood and water among impoverished rural South African households having experienced a recent adult mortality and those without such mortality experience. Quantitative survey data reveal higher levels of natural resource dependence among mortality-affected households, as well as differences in collection strategies. Qualitative interview data provide insight into subtle and complex adjustments at the household level, revealing that impacts vary by the role of the deceased within the household economy. Resource management and public health implications are explored.

The bush is no more: insights on institutional change and natural resource availability in rural South Africa.

The past decade has brought substantial transition to South Africa. The introduction of democracy in 1994 has yielded important political and socioeconomic transformations affecting millions of people. Here, we explore the impact of institutional and structural changes on the availability and management of fuelwood, a key natural resource in rural South Africa. As in other developing regions, many households depend on natural resources for both sustenance and energy needs. Drawing on qualitative data from 32 interviews, our objective is to describe, from the perspective of the respondents, (1) resource scarcity, (2) the underlying causes of resource scarcity, (3) the role of traditional authority in managing resources, and (4) strategies used by community members in the face of resource scarcity. The results have important implications for the well-being of both social and natural systems in many transitional, rural developing societies.

Brief Comment: Qualitative Insight into Public Knowledge of, and Concern with, Biodiversity

While social research continues to document high levels of public con-cern with environmental issues, substantial evidence also continues to accu-mulateastothelowlevelsofpublicenvironmentalknowledge.Asexamples,research has revealed public misunderstanding as to the details of naturalecological processes (e.g., Jacobson and Marynowski, 1997), global warm-ing (e.g., Bord, O’Connor, and Fisher, 2000; Stamm

The Spatial Association between U.S. Immigrant Residential Concentration and Environmental Hazards

Several studies undertaken over the past decade suggest that minority and lower-income communities are disproportionately exposed to environmental hazards relative to the rest of the U.S. population, resulting in an issue of “environmental equity.” This research examines the equity issue in relation to the foreign born in the United States, making use of a county-level, nationwide, dataset reflecting sociodemographic characteristics and the presence of several environmental risk factors (toxic releases, hazardous waste generators, and Superfund sites). The results suggest that counties with higher proportions of immigrants and non-English speaking households are characterized by greater numbers of large quantity hazardous waste generators and proposed Superfund sites, two of the three incorporated measures of environmental risk. The later measure demonstrates the strongest relationship with immigrant presence.