Study On Peasants’ Environmental Behavior Under Exogenous Pollution

As the major industrial base of non-ferrous metals in China, Baiyin City hasmade great contributions to the development of national and local economy as well asthe progress of society. However, this glorious contribution cost peasants in area ofEastern Valley dear over the years. For them, this is a “transfer” of pollution fromurban to rural areas. In the present study, this kind of “transfer” is called “exogenouspollution”.In order to grasp an Environmental Sociology sense of the “relationship betweenmankind and nature” inherent in this problem, the present research firstly focuses onthe core concepts of “environmental behavior”. Then, environmental claims forpollution from different subject——the peasants, enterprises and environmentalprotection departments are analyzed from the perspective of Constructivism. Asvictims, the Farmers’ personal experiences are the primary conditions to take notice ofthe pollution. When faced with doubt from society, enterprise as the virulence ofpollution, takes a cold shoulder. The importance of exogenous pollution in rural areashas been ignored by the environmental protection department that on behalf of theenvironmental will of government.From the listed social process, there are three kinds of weak participationfeaturing helplessness, escape, self-regulation which are reflected in environmentalbehaviors of the peasants. Hereafter, this dissertation probes into the social roots ofthese phenomena from three aspects which are environmental ethics andenvironmental laws, accompanied with social and subjective elements that affectpeasants’ environmental behaviors.There are the final conclusions: Firstly, exogenous pollution resources can not beeliminated originally under certain social economic operation model. Secondly,the farmers’ environmental behaviors are lack of initiative. Thirdly, more coordinatingmethods are rather effective in handling the exogenous pollution issues in rural area.