This collection of interdisciplinary and multimethodological essays in the socio-economics vein calls for a policy of unprecedented proportions to protect the environment. They are approaches to protecting the environment reducing the imbalance between policies based narrowly on economic and technological instruments, toward policies based on a broader and deeper understanding of the social fabric and institutions. The analyses transcend those values that are derived only with supply and demand in the marketplace. These socio-economic views on the environment develop in two main directions: One takes into account human behavior, institutions, and collective decision-making that underlie environmental protection policies. The second direction casts some light on the existing interface between the economy and the biosphere.