Discussion of `Global Warming and Sociology'

Lever-Tracy has hit the nail on the head when she points to the reluctance of sociologists to consider the social implications of global warming. Meanwhile the discussion of these issues in other disciplines grows apace. Ecological modernizers see the environmental crisis as a stimulus to capitalist societies, providing new opportunities for growth from re-tooling. Yet, sections of the environmentalist movement envisage necessary social change as much more profound. A key to this debate is the likely costs of re-tooling. This technological and financial question is a prerequisite for understanding the social implications. If the costs of re-tooling are huge, as can be argued, some drastic social changes are quite likely.