Introduction

What is the relationship between ‘nature’ and society? What kinds of impact do human groups make upon the planet? How have environmental (or ecological) limits shaped human behaviour, cultural practices and social institutions? What do developments in science and technology, economic practice and government policy tell us about the changing forms of nature–society relations? How are these changes represented through the media and popular culture? These are all key questions for environmental sociology, and for this book. These are also questions that are unlikely to become less significant in the near future.