M. Briguglio/Societies Without Borders 7:4 (2012) 470-477 ~470~ © Sociologists Without Borders/Sociólogos Sin Fronteras, 2012 Nature, Society and Social Change Michael Briguglio University of Malta Received October 2012; Accepted December 2012 ______________________________________________________ Abstract Environmental destruction has become an everyday reality in the contemporary world. Major concerns are being put forward regarding the dangers to the environment in general and to human societies in particular, with strong focus currently being put on climate change. Sociology has an important role to play in the analysis of environmental problems. The interaction between nature and society can be analysed through the concept of overdetermination. At the same time, the social construction on environmental problems is imperative for environmental issues to reach the agenda. An active environmental sociology which is as much concerned with analysis as it is with social change, should clearly highlight that claimsmaking and political strategy is imperative in the tackling of environmental issues within the public sphere. Keywords Environmental Sociology; Environmental Politics; Nature-Social Interaction; Social Construction Environmental destruction has become an everyday reality in the contemporary world. Major concerns are being put forward regarding the dangers to the environment in general and to human societies in particular, with strong focus currently being put on climate change. There is a lot of scientific backing in this regard, with scientists pointing out that increased temperatures could cause problems such as rising sea levels, melting of glaciers, intensification of storms and droughts, and human mass migration. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which was set up in 1988 by the United Nations Environment Programme and the World Meteorological Organization to provide governments with scientific advice about climate change, unequivocally states that ‘most of the observed increase in global average temperatures since the mid-