Introduction to the Special Section

Human Ecology Review, Vol. 16, No. 1, 2009 © Society for Human Ecology The collection of articles for this special section is primarily the result of a symposium organized by Dr. Tom Dietz that took place at the XIV International Conference of the Society for Human Ecology. The symposium as well as this collection of papers represents a unique cross-section of scholars at various stages in their careers who integrate human-ecological and political-economic approaches to conduct rigorous macro-comparative research on human/environment relationships. While their methods and topics are diverse, these scholars share a commitment to advancing this overall area of inquiry in the scientific community in general, and strengthening its presence within the human ecology community in particular. As guest co-editors, we decided to limit our introduction as a means of providing additional space for the contributors. We are confident that readers will identify both the commonality of the articles in this collection as well as their unique contributions to expanding our collective understanding of the social foundations of environmental change and sustainability. We would like to thank the authors, Linda Kalof (Editor of HER), Lori Baralt (Assistant Editor of HER), and the anonymous reviewers for their significant contributions to and overall support of this special section. We would also like to acknowledge Tom Dietz, who organized the symposium and encouraged us to pursue this project. Special Section on Human/Environment Relationships