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Sustainability through the Lens of Environmental Sociology: An Introduction

Author

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  • Md Saidul Islam

    (Division of Sociology, Nanyang Technological University Singapore, 14 Nanyang Drive, Singapore 637332, Singapore)

Abstract

Our planet is undergoing radical environmental and social changes. Sustainability has now been put into question by, for example, our consumption patterns, loss of biodiversity, depletion of resources, and exploitative power relations. With apparent ecological and social limits to globalization and development, current levels of consumption are known to be unsustainable, inequitable, and inaccessible to the majority of humans. Understanding and achieving sustainability is a crucial matter at a time when our planet is in peril—environmentally, economically, socially, and politically. Since its official inception in the 1970s, environmental sociology has provided a powerful lens to understanding the challenges, possibilities, and modes of sustainability. This editorial, accompanying the Special Issue on “sustainability through the Lens of Environmental Sociology”, first highlights the evolution of environmental sociology as a distinct field of inquiry, focusing on how it addresses the environmental challenges of our time. It then adumbrates the rich theoretical traditions of environmental sociology, and finally examines sustainability through the lens of environmental sociology, referring to various case studies and empirical analyses.

Suggested Citation

  • Md Saidul Islam, 2017. "Sustainability through the Lens of Environmental Sociology: An Introduction," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(3), pages 1-11, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:9:y:2017:i:3:p:474-:d:93727
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Stefano B. Longo & Brett Clark & Thomas E. Shriver & Rebecca Clausen, 2016. "Sustainability and Environmental Sociology: Putting the Economy in its Place and Moving Toward an Integrative Socio-Ecology," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(5), pages 1-17, May.
    2. Julius Alexander McGee & Camila Alvarez, 2016. "Sustaining without Changing: The Metabolic Rift of Certified Organic Farming," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(2), pages 1-12, January.
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    5. Hui-Ting Tang & Yuh-Ming Lee, 2016. "The Making of Sustainable Urban Development: A Synthesis Framework," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(5), pages 1-28, May.
    6. Sing C. Chew & Daniel Sarabia, 2016. "Nature–Culture Relations: Early Globalization, Climate Changes, and System Crisis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(1), pages 1-29, January.
    7. Anya M. Galli & Dana R. Fisher, 2016. "Hybrid Arrangements as a Form of Ecological Modernization: The Case of the US Energy Efficiency Conservation Block Grants," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(1), pages 1-19, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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