Global Warming and Sociology

Abstract

Escalating climate change, partly induced by human activity, has made its way into public awareness, yet most sociologists, outside the specialism of environmental sociology, have had surprisingly little to say about the possible future social trajectories it may portend. Wary of accepting the truth claims of natural science, but aware of our own inability to judge the validity of their claims, we have generally preferred to look the other way, although these developments can affect the very core of our discipline's concerns. We need a cooperative multidisciplinarity of social and natural scientists working together.