The convergence of social and environmental challenges is making us ever more aware of the limitations of a natural science that looks mostly at the physical environment and of a social science that looks mostly at the workings of human society. Contemporary challenges suggest the wisdom, in short, of collaboration, of seeking common ground with one another. The book contains detailed case studies, coupled with sophisticated analyses of theory and policy, focussing on the exchanges between natural and social science without diluting either perspective. This novel and well-structured textbook illustrates how different environmental issues and policies can be tackled in a collaborative way between natural and social science.

1. Introduction: The Anthropology and Physics of Sustainable Environmental Systems 2. The Virtues of Mundane Science: Studying the Everyday 3. Nature, Society, and Science in Anthropogenic Grasslands: Studying Declensionist Discourses 4. High-Modern versus Local Folk Views of Dearth and Abundance: Studying Failure vs Success in Resource Management Systems 5. Differences in Perceptions of Climate Change Between and Within Nations: Studying Science, Scientists, and Folk 6. Conclusions: Reflections on Inter-Disciplinarity, Sustainability, and Thermodynamics

Michael R. Dove is the Margaret K. Musser Professor of Social Ecology in the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Professor of Anthropology, and Curator at the Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University, USA.

Daniel M. Kammen is Distinguished Professor of Energy in the Energy and Resources Group and in the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley, USA. He has served as the Chief Technical Specialist for Renewable Energy at the World Bank, and has been a coordinating lead author for the IPCC, which shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.