Which Function(s) of the Environment Do We Study? A Comparison of Environmental and Natural Resource Sociology

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Abstract
Natural resource sociology and environmental sociology have different historical roots, organizational identities, institutional bases of support, and scholarly orientations, yet both share a common concern with understanding the environmental bases of human societies. Differences as well as similarities between the research foci of the two fields are illustrated by distinguishing between three fundamental functions that ecosystems serve for human societies: supply depot, waste repository, and living space. While natural resource sociologists pay relatively greater attention to the supply depot function (ecosystems as the source of natural resources), their work inevitably touches on the other two functions as well and therefore is not necessarily narrower in focus than that of environmental sociologists. Yet, despite their common concerns, the differing bases of support, orientations, and clienteles for the two fields suggest that there is good reason for both to retain their separate identities.