Human Health: The IPCC and the World Health Organization (WHO) have catalogued a wide-range of
vulnerabilities and threats to human health from changing weather and climate patterns. Poorer populations in the
U.S. and abroad who lack access to adequate health care systems are especially at risk for the spread of air and
water-borne infectious diseases whose emergence, frequency, and location are projected to shift under different
climate change scenarios. Natural science and public health researchers have begun to note variations in seasonal
diseases, like the flu, and the geographic spread of malaria and diarrheal diseases resulting from ill-equipped
sanitation services and a lack of access to clean, fresh water. Medical sociologists, WHO researchers, and the
IPCC note an increasing likelihood of deaths related to malnutrition, heat waves, and the spread of infectious
diseases to populations that lack natural immunity and adequate health care. The extent to which changes in
mortality are linked to the impacts of climate change is an important area for sociological research, as is the extent
to which these impacts may be compounded by mass migrations resulting from climate-related natural disasters,
the disruption of agricultural production, or loss of access to fresh water. Opportunities exist for sociologists to
study the health impacts of global climate change: How are pre-existing social and health inequalities affected
by medical systems’ ability to accommodate at-risk, aging, or ill populations impacted by the physical, economic,
and social consequences of climate change? What is the relationship among human migration, disease, and the
capacity of poor communities to cope with the influx of seasonal, water-borne, or infectious diseases that are
projected to increase and spread in tropical and subtropical environments? Research on health behaviors offers
sociologists an opportunity to draw from methodological and conceptual approaches currently used by researchers
in public health, disaster, and hazard research studies.^24
Security and Conflict: The effects of global climate change on water resources, agricultural production, weather,
land use, and human health and social life have geopolitical implications. Sociological research on the shape and
operation of the global economic and political system provides a strong foundation for launching studies of the
implications of climate change on national and transnational mobilizations and conflicts associated with resource
scarcity, resource allocation, and environmental decision making. Research on internal and international migration
can be focused on the demography of climate change and the phenomenon of “environmental refugees.” The
IPCC noted the potential for conflict arising from the unequal economic, social, and health consequences of
climate change, and the U.S. military has taken notice of the implications of climate change for “security,”
especially in light of the likely international race to secure limited and alternative sources of energy.^25 These
impacts underline the importance of research on the ways that climate changes may change political relationships,
and reshape alliances and national-security apparatuses as states seek to safeguard and obtain additional sources
of energy. Sociological research on climate change drawing on globalization, world system, and political economy
models have the potential to offer insights into questions of conflict and security, and the impacts on civil society
of militarized responses to climate change.^26
Social Demography and Population Research: Understanding the scale of the demographic dimensions
and likely outcomes of global climate change is one of the most important and promising opportunities for
sociologists to contribute to climate change research and policy. Demographic studies of migration, fertility
patterns, and health outcomes are directly applicable to studying the impacts of climate change. Demographic
research on the relationships among population trends, economic growth, and patterns of human consumption
have important implications for understanding various climate change impacts and policy responses. A crucial
(^24) See Bullard, Entwisle, Tierney, and Wright papers in Appendix 3.
(^25) Carol Pumphrey (ed.). Global Climate Change: National Security Implications (Strategic Studies Institute, United States Army War
College, 2008).
(^26) See Bullard, Nagel, Slocum, Tierney, and Wright papers in Appendix 3.
Part II: Sociological Perspectives of the Impacts
of Global Climate Change