be innovators and collaborators. On humanitarian grounds, there is another reason why sociologists need to be
involved in interdisciplinary climate change research. Effective solutions for adapting and mitigating the impacts
of climate on people are not likely to be identified by single disciplines, whether they are social or natural
sciences. Biophysical scientists have the data and methods to measure changes in earth systems, the timing, and
where changes are likely to happen. However, they do not have the training or tools to connect their science to
differential impacts on different kinds of people in different places. Their language (e.g., human drivers) and
concept of what is social (e.g., population density) obscure the many ways in which people actually interact with
the environment and with each other. People are relegated to mere abstractions, masking agency and diversity and
separating us from the environment.
It is crucial for social scientists to set part of the overall research agenda, taking responsibility for framing
interdisciplinary research questions that are important to us. Some biophysical scientists can be persuaded to
use their technical knowledge to help us create environmental studies that combine state of-the-art ecology
and climatology with social, cultural, and economic analyses of individual actions, conditions, vulnerabilities,
and adaptations to changes. This would be transformative research on environmental problems. Here are three
interdisciplinary research topics concerning the historical evolution of climate hazards, current inequities in
human vulnerability related to climate variables, and system models of future vulnerabilities based on projections
of interactions among climate, ecological, and social variables.
How have global trends in urbanization changed land use/land cover characteristics, climate variability, and
human vulnerability over time? The sociological part of this analysis is to understand the economic and
political interests that transform natural environments into built environments that are hazardous for human
habitation. Urban environments are heterogeneous and constantly changing due to human decision-making
and lifestyle choices. For example, how do heat waves and hurricanes become large-scale health disasters?
How do human settlement patterns – e.g., migrations, urban sprawl, crowding, and residential segregation by
social class and race/ethnicity – render low-income and nonwhite populations disproportionately vulnerable to
climate-related health hazards on global to local scales?
How will climate-related health vulnerabilities affect population subgroups in particular places in the
near- to long-term future based on different assumptions about climate change and feedbacks from human
adaptations? The global climate scenarios give generalizations about which areas of the world and
which types of populations are most at risk. System models, alternative futures analyses, and community
participation research at the local scale will empower people to cope with climate change in their own
communities and contribute to the connection of science with policy.
ReferencesConfalonieri U., Menne B., Akhtar R., Ebi K.L., Hauengue R.S., Kovate B., and Woodward A. (2007) Chapter 8,
Human Health. Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working
Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [M.L.
Parry, O.F. Canziani, J.P. Palutikof, P.J. van der Linden and C.E. Hanson (eds)]. Cambridge University
Press, Cambridge, UK.
Harlan S.L., Brazel A.J., Prashad L., Stefanov W.L., and Larsen L. (2006) Neighborhood microclimates and
vulnerability to heat stress. Social Science & Medicine 63:2847-2863.
Jenerette G.D., Harlan S.L., Brazel A., Jones N., Larsen L., and Stefanov W.L. (2007) Regional relationships