The Environment

The environment poses and contains some of the most pressing problems and challenges of our age. But how do we respond to it? Is it something which requires a scientific solution? Do we need to generate more knowledge about the natural world, and develop technologies which enable us to respond to changes in the earth’s climate? Or is it something which requires a social, economic or political response, such as that provided through the markets or through the actions of states? How important are governments and regulation in tackling this phenomenon? What role does that leave us as citizens as we go about our everyday lives? To what extent are we connected to the global natural system as well as the social systems (such as the economic and political ones)? How can we live within what the natural resources of the earth can provide? What happens when we start to live beyond our natural means? What might this mean not only for our generation, but also for future generations? In a way like no other topic, analyzing the environment can represent an explicit integration across disciplines, of both natural and social science. It can be conceived of as an economic issue; a political issue; a technological or scientific issue. It can require solutions from all of these approaches, singularly or as an integrated response.