Different groups in society think and talk about the environment in different and potentially contentious ways. In a society undergoing rapid economic, social and environmental change, these differences and conflicts tend to be heightened. Recognising and understanding these discourses can contribute to more equitable, just and democratic environmental policymaking and achievable outcomes.
The aim of the sociological research reported in this book is to contribute to this understanding. The research findings presented explore the ways in which different social groups think and talk about the environment and the social and cultural contexts that influence them. Environmental Debates and the Public in Ireland is unique in the range of environmental questions it raises and the social research methods it uses to explore them.
Author
Mary Kelly is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Sociology, University College Dublin. She undertook undergraduate and masters degree work in sociology in University College Dublin, and doctoral work in Clare Hall, Cambridge. She has authored and edited a number of books, as well as a considerable number of chapters and journal articles, related to sociology and to the media, in both Ireland and the EU. Turning her research attention to the environment in the late 1990s, she was lead researcher on an Environmental Protection Agency funded research project on Environmental Attitudes, Values and Behaviour in Ireland.