Introduzione

The relationship between environment and social theory is addressed by outlining the emergence of environmental sociology and its main theoretical perspectives, and by highlighting the latter’s connections with environmental mobilizations and the evolution of the character and awareness of, and societal replies to, ecological problems and threats. The contributions included in the journal issue provide a cross-section of an ongoing theoretical elaboration. They can be grouped in four themes: topicality of the theoretical heritage of the discipline; space and energy as key variables of the society-planet relationship; cross-fertilizations between natural and social sciences; emerging challenges vis-à-vis technoscience advancement and changing views of human knowledge and world ontology