Michael Redclift is Professor of International Environmental Policy in the Department of Geography, at King’s College, University of London. His research interests include sustainable development, global environmental change, environmental security and the modern food system. Between 1973 and 1997 he was at Imperial College at Wye, ultimately as Professor of Environmental Sociology. In 1987 his book Sustainable Development: exploring the contradictions was published by Routledge. He was the first Director of the Global Environmental Change programme of the ESRC between 1990 and 1995, and has coordinated research grants for the European Commission (FM IV and V), and for the TERM programme of the European Science Foundation. He has also held grants from the ESRC/AHRC (2003-2005) and, in 2007, began research on a three year study (with Mark Pelling and David Manuel ) of coastal urbanisation and adaptation to climate change and environmental risks in the Mexican Caribbean. In 2006 he was the first recipient of the ‘Frederick Buttel Award’, from the International Sociological Association (RC 24). Recent books include: Chewing Gum: the fortunes of taste, (2004, Taylor and Francis, New York) and in 2006 completed a major comparative study for MIT Press: Frontiers: histories of civil societies and nature.