Exploring the Nexus Between Social Work and the Environment

Bibliographic Data

ID11957785
AuthorsJennifer Mckinnon (0000-0002-4455-7674, Charles Sturt University, corresponding author)
Year2008
Volume61
Issue3
Pages256-268
Publication date2008-08-06
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAustralian Social Work (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0312-407X • E-ISSN: 1447-0748
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/03124070802178275
OpenAlexW1983864995
LanguageEN
Citations received53
References cited11

Within social work discourse, “the environment” seems inevitably to refer to the sociocultural environment. Such a focus reflects the domain that social work has defined for itself through various codes of ethics, as well as the theory and practice focus of social workers. Over a long period of time, doubt has gradually been dispelled about the effect that humankind has had on the environment, and it is now largely accepted that global warming has an anthropogenic basis. The present paper examines the place of social work in a world that is trying to come to terms with various ecological disasters, not the least of which is climate change. Social work is cast as a profession that needs to become more aware of the ways in which society is embedded in the natural world and our physical environment as a whole. The issue of social sustainability is explored as a focus for the relevance of social work knowledge and practice in this time of environmental crisis

Nexus (standard · Political science · Sociology · Work (physics · Climate Change and Health Impacts · Computer Science · Engineering · Health disparities and outcomes · Health, psychology, and well-being · Social Work