General introduction

The Seveso cloud containing dioxin, the Amoco Cadiz oil spill with 220,000 tons of oil discharged over 400 kilometers of coastline and 10,000 dead birds, the Love Canal area prohibited due to the disposal of 21,000 tons of toxic waste by Hooker Chemical, the nuclear accidents at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl – whose human, material and health consequences remain difficult to fully assess – the explosion of the Bhopal pesticide plant releasing 40 tons of methyl isocyanate, causing between 20,000 and 25,000 deaths, and the multiple oil spills (Exxon in Alaska, Prestige in Spain, etc.) are merely a few examples of ecological disasters that humanity has faced over the past 50 years. To this has been added a wave of global pandemics, compelling individuals, organizations and infrastructures to adapt to new, dehumanized contexts, fostering “new” awareness and a heightened sense of uncertainty, insecurity and perceived risk regarding the future of our planet for generations to come.