Biography and Scientific Endeavour
This article looks at how environmental life histories have been used for particular purposes.
This article looks at how environmental life histories have been used for particular purposes.
Bringing together scholarship from across the globe, this volume of RCC Perspectives aims to shed light and stimulate discussion on the past, present, and future of the “unruly” environments that frustrate efforts at social and environmental control.
DeWitt explores tensions between national parks, private sector tourism, and environmentalism. Although private business owners feel connected to nature and play a role in park guardianship, a longstanding mistrust of private sector activity in and around national parks means their voices are often overlooked. The article calls for greater attention to the significance of gateway communities.
Trim’s article focuses on “countercultural environmentalists” and an alternative development program in Prince Edward Island, Canada. The project’s history raises questions about the consequences of treating environmental issues as technical problems to be solved with innovation and new technology. This approach both depoliticizes environmental issues and embeds them into new political structures.
This article traces the development of environmentalism in Portugal, and particularly the role of environmental NGOs as producers of expert knowledge to be used in policy making. The Portuguese environmental movement has professionalized rather than formalizing as green political parties. Portuguese environmentalism has adapted and evolved under authoritarian regimes, neoliberalism, European integration, and the financial crisis.
Piper argues that coal has played an important role in Alberta’s history, although it receives less attention than the oil sands. Coal has been essential to Alberta’s economy and the industry has benefited from government support, although from the 1970s this came into conflict with growing grassroots environmentalism. Whether the coal industry can withstand recent political and economic changes, however, remains to be seen.
Erik Loomis discusses the production of working-class masculinity in the US Pacific Northwest, highlighting environmental history’s need to reinstate working people in its studies.
Jody Chan and Joe Curnow analyze the different gender and race dynamics in the student climate movement, asking why White men’s participation is constructed as being more valuable.
The authors of this volume explore the potential value and challenges of the Rights of Nature concept by examining legal theory, politics, and recent case studies.
Nir Barak explores the limits of techno-managerial approaches towards creating greener cities.