A brief historical overview of the "environmental issue" is outlined here, while exploring Social Sciences ontological and theoretical approaches to this issue. The main trends, themes and research possibilities that underlie the environment as a whole are discussed. Seeking to establish the relationships involved in the development of the environmental issue, the text also presents the articles that compose this dossier. This latter aims to comprise the theoretical and methodological diversity of social research on environmental issues and cover a broad range of perspectives, by combining theoretical and empirical approaches on issues related to the environmental problems manifested in contemporary societies.
Environmental sociology; Social sciences and environment; Nature