Environmentalism is, in the social sciences, any theory that concerns the importance of environmental factors in the development of culture and society. The theory of environmental determinism states that the physical milieu of a people, including natural resources, climate, and geography, is the major determining factor in the formation of their culture. Determinism thereby rejects history and tradition, social and economic factors, and other aspects of culture as explanations of social development. Contemporary environmentalists recognize that physical surroundings are only part of a total environment that includes social and economic factors cultural tradition, and reciprocal influences between societies and their environment.
在社会科学中，环境保护论是指任何有关环境因素在文化和社会发展中的重要性的理论。环境决定论认为，人类的自然环境，包括自然资源、气候和地理，是其文化形成的主要决定因素。因此环境决定论拒绝将历史和传统、社会和经济因素以及文化的其他方面作为社会发展的解释。当代环境学家认识到，自然环境只是包括社会和经济因素、文化传统以及社会与其环境之间相互影响在内的整个环境的一部分。