Environmentalism and Technology

The environment movement often targets technology. It switches between enthusiasm for some technologies (like wind energy) and resistance to others (like nuclear power). And yet theory regarding the way social movements engage with technology is little developed. Environment groups are simply assumed to contribute to the 'selection pressures' under which technologies evolve. This paper seeks to develop theory by bridging a gap between social movement research and the sociology of technology. It will move between the two literatures and use examples to illustrate how the environment movement's enthusiasm and resistance to technologies penetrate their networks of development.