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William Freudenburg Scientist

William Robert Freudenburg, (2 November 1951 – 28 December 2010) was an environmental sociologist and social theorist, best known for his work in rural sociology on the topics of risk perception, social disruption, and the causes of environmental degradation. Born in Madison, Nebraska, raised in West Point, Nebraska, he was educated at the University of Nebraska and Yale University. Freudenburg was a professor of sociology at a number of universities, most recently the Dehlsen Professor of Environmental Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He died at his home in Santa Barbara, of cholangiocarcinoma (cancer of the bile duct).Much of Freudenburg's research dealt with the relationship between society and the environment, often in rural communities. Although not opposed to forms of environmentalism which emphasize reducing one’s impact on the environment (such as recycling) Freudenburg focused less on the role of consumers and much more on the role of regulatory structure and actions of industry, emphasizing the socially structured sources of environmental impacts. He was prominent in both rural and environmental sociology, and was elected and served as President of the Rural Sociological Society in 2004-2005, and at the time of his death was President-Elect of the Association for Environmental Studies and Sciences (AESS),