The global environment encompasses broad, worldwide environmental factors that are beyond the scope or control of any community or nation: Atomic bomb detonation; image from James Vaughan at Creative Commons. Climate change. Natural disasters. Mass conflict and violence.

The earth has entered a period of hydrological, climatological, and biological change that differs from previous episodes of global change in the extent to which it is human in origin. To explain or predict the course of the present global environmental changes, one must therefore understand the human sources, consequences, and responses, some of which can alter the course of global change. This book examines what is known about the human dimensions of global environmental change, identifies the major immediate needs for knowledge, and recommends a strategy for building that knowledge over the next 5-10 years.