Jack Zinda/Provided In recent years, government programs in China have resulted in walnuts being grown on thousands of acres of land, transforming the landscape. How human behavior is reshaping the world February 17, 2021 Human decisions both large and small influence environmental outcomes in profound ways. From forest regeneration in China’s Himalayan heights to flood responses in New York’s Hudson Valley, human behavior reshapes the world. But how do culture, social organization, and politics influence these changes and their impacts? As an environmental sociologist and professor of global development in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Jack Zinda analyzes global challenges surrounding relationships between human groups and environments. Zinda makes in-depth explorations of locales across the globe, from rural communities in China to metropolitan areas straddling the Hudson River in New York State. His work dives deep to assess two central research questions: How do people's actions and views in relation to the environment differ across individual households, communities and regions? How do these differences create varying social and environmental outcomes?