Divergent beliefs about humanity's relationship to nature collide as the second millenium ends. One belief emphasizes that a distinctive characteristic of humans?reason?enables them to reshape and master nature. Another insists that nature is not so plastic, hence humans must adapt to nature and render development sustainable, or even limit growth.
This book analyzes the culture of nature, that is, the ways humans view nature and their relationship to it. It examines the material side of the relationship between social action and the processes of nature, and develops a sociology of environmental degradation.
