ABSTRACT
'The environment' has rapidly reached a mature status as an indispensable social, cultural and political lever, whose operation crucially influences the generation and handling of many forms of power in capitalist democracies. The price for eliminating environmental uncertainty is the surge in danger awareness both at an individual and a collective level. The 'environment' is a world of purity and stability threatened by pollution and risk, the sum of all life that should be sustained, or an asset to be optimally managed; to different parts of society, it can be an almost mystical entity, a source of health and beauty. The socio-political replaced the metaphysical, and responsibility lies on the shoulders of human societies and their voluntary priorities. Social interaction is becoming a matter of mediation and negotiation towards the end of supervising a harmony between all participants of the natural world.
