Ellis argues that the unparalleled capacity of human societies to construct ecological niches at growing social and spatial scales has allowed them to alter the Earth permanently and profoundly.

This volume of Perspectives offers case studies of energy transitions within everyday environments over the last two centuries, from Europe to South Asia, to North and Latin America.

In this article, Sarah Strauss and Carrick Eggleston track the transition to renewable energy in the village of Auroville in South India.

Flora J. Roberts discusses the environmental history of the Syr Darya river in the Ferghana Valley and the consequences arising from the damming of the river.