Environment and Society: A Critical Introduction

There is a good reason why global climate change, atmospheric pollution, deforestation, and the rapid decline of biodiversity are such hotbed issues. Interactions between human society and the environment have never been more complex – or more critical to our survival – than now. Environment and Society: A Critical Introduction presents readers with a concise overview of the diverse conceptual tools and traditions available for thinking about, explaining, and addressing the crucial environmental challenges we face today. The authors vividly demonstrate how theory can illuminate pressing environmental problems in the world around us by applying the most recent theoretical concepts to a variety of real-world objects – from French fries and wolves to bottled water and carbon dioxide. At the same time, they stress the ways that different, and often conflicting, conclusions about environmental issues can be reached, depending on varying perspectives, starting positions, and assumptions.

Accessible and insightful, this book provides an essential foundation for shaping our understanding of one of the most important issues of our times.

Paul Robbins is a Professor in the School of Geography and Development at the University of Arizona, Tucson. His current research centers on the relationships between individuals, environmental actors, and the institutions that connect them. Robbins is also the author of Political Ecology: A Critical Introduction (2004) and Lawn People: How Grasses Weeds and Chemicals Make us Who We Are (2007).

John Hintz is Assistant Professor of Geography and Geosciences at the Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania. His current research focuses on land use conflicts, environmental policy, and the US environmental movement. He has most recently published in the journals Capitalism Nature Socialism and Ethics, Place and Environment.

Sarah A. Moore is Assistant Professor in the School of Geography and Development at the University of Arizona, Tucson. Her research focuses on urban development politics, urban environmental issues, and environmental justice in the United States and Latin America. Her publications include articles in the Professional Geographer and Society and Natural Resources.