Arcadia

Arcadia, 2013, no. 16

Warriors of the Rainbow: The Birth of an Environmental Mythology

Frank Zelko

Greenpeace pioneer Bob Hunter was heavily influenced by Native American mythology and thus created the image of Greenpeace activists as “Rainbow Warriors.”

Arcadia, 2013, no. 15

Resources and Revolution: Mexico’s Iztaccíhuatl and Popocatépetl National Park

Emily Wakild

On 8 November 1935, Mexico’s president, Lázaro Cárdenas (1934–1940), established the Iztaccíhuatl and Popocatépetl National Park, the first of nearly forty national parks he would create within the next few years. By 1940, Mexico had more parks than any other country in the world.

Arcadia, 2013, no. 14

Karabash: The City of Pollution

Anna Semenenko

Karabash is one of the largest copper-smelting centers in Russia and open-pit copper extraction has been conducted there since 1837. In 1996, Karabash and its surrounding area were declared an ecological disaster zone. The city is still considered to be one of the most polluted places in the world.

Arcadia, 2013, no. 13

The Triglav National Park: A Century-Long Project

Carolin Roeder

The Triglav National Park in the Julian Alps is a sanctuary for alpine flora and fauna; it is also important for the national narratives of the young Republic of Slovenia. Conflicts over land use and preservation reach back to the times of the Yugoslav monarchy.

Arcadia, 2013, no. 12

South African Eden – The Kruger National Park

Jane Carruthers

Striving to create a “South African Eden,” the Kruger National Park was established in 1926 under the leadership of warden James Stevenson-Hamilton. Since this time, the park has developed into one the greatest and most renowned game reserves in the world.

Arcadia, 2013, no. 11

Losing the Unruly Stream: Kondopoga and the Kivach Waterfall

Grigory Suzi

In 1929, the Kondopoga hydroelectric power station was built and resulted in the damming of Lake Girvas and the diversion of the Suna River. This transformation of landscape resulted in the near loss of one of Russia’s foremost nature sites: the Kivach waterfall.

Arcadia, 2013, no. 10

St. Petersburg and Its Backbone: The Neva River as Gateway to Europe and the Sword of Damocles

Alexei Kraikovski

Since its foundation in 1703, the history of St. Petersburg is closely linked to the Neva River. The Neva is the biggest and the most important river in the Eastern Baltic. The citizens of St. Petersburg constructed complex technologies of river control that enabled them to live cheek by jowl with the mighty and self-willed stream.

Arcadia, 2013, no. 9

The St. Petersburg Cholera Riot of 1831: Water Pollution and Social Tension

Alexei Kraikovski

The 1831 cholera riot in St. Petersburg was an extreme result of the city’s immense water pollution problem and led to social conflict between the educated classes and the poor people.

Arcadia, 2013, no. 8

Petra Kelly and the Transnational Roots of Green Politics

Stephen Milder

During the 1970s and 1980s, Petra Kelly traveled the globe, visiting local sites of anti-nuclear protest. Intent on bringing the energy of disparate grassroots anti-nuclear protests into parliamentary politics, Kelly helped found the West German Greens in 1980.

Arcadia, 2013, no. 7

The Swiss National Park: A Model of Nature Conservation for Scientific Research

Patrick Kupper

Established in 1914, the Swiss National Park was one of Europe’s very first national parks. Scientific research became its hallmark and it became an important model for the establishment of protected areas around the world.

About Arcadia

Arcadia: Explorations in Environmental History is an open-access, peer-reviewed publication platform for short, illustrated, and engaging environmental histories. Embedded in a particular time and place, each story focuses on a site, event, person, organization, or species as it relates to nature and human society. By publishing digitally on the Environment & Society Portal, Arcadia promotes accessibility and visibility of original research in global environmental history and cognate disciplines.

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