Environmental humanities and sustainable development: Reimagining human-nature relations in the Anthropocene

Abstract

In recent years, with climate change, the loss of biodiversity, the intensification of desertification and the increasing frequency of extreme weather events, environmental issues are no longer confined to the realm of natural science research; they now encompass a comprehensive range of historical, cultural, ethical, social, economic and political concerns. The emergence of the Environmental Humanities has provided a new interdisciplinary perspective from which to reinterpret the environmental crisis. This paper examines the historical evolution of the relationship between humans and nature and concludes that, whilst people have traditionally relied on natural resources to sustain their livelihoods, the advent of modern civilisation—with coal, steam power and, subsequently, oil, electricity and modern industrial technology—has freed them from the direct constraints of organic energy sources. With the emergence of the energy crisis, the concept of sustainable development has attracted widespread attention within the academic community.