This article examines the development of North American environmental history as a field on the edges of the historical profession to an increasing application of environmental history to the central events of mainstream North American history.
The passenger pigeon, once one of the most abundant birds in the world, is pushed to extinction in 1914 by deforestation and the commercial consumption of its meat.
Society’s approach to environmental protection has so far relied on certain prevailing, but perhaps specious, beliefs—that we cannot impact the environment positively, or that environmental protection is incompatible with economic growth. Braungart explores how, rather than making ineffective changes to an already broken system, it would be more beneficial to rethink that system entirely.
National parks are one of the most important and successful institutions in global environmentalism. Shifting the focus from the usual emphasis on national parks in the United States, Civilizing Nature adopts an historical and transnational perspective on the global geography of protected areas and its changes over time.
Managing the Unknown offers essays that show that deficient knowledge is a far more pervasive challenge in resource history than conventional readings suggest. Furthermore, environmental ignorance does not inevitably shrink with the march of scientific progress. This volume combines insights from different continents as well as the seas in between and thus sketches outlines of an emerging global resource history.
This reflection on unruliness refers to all papers in the volume, demonstrating how the concept of unruly environments provides a perspective of human-nature relationships from the vantage point of humans.
Looking at coasts, this paper reveals the extent to which unruliness occurs when the human need for stability negotiates with nature’s dynamism, highlighting how we will be forced to renegotiate our relationship with the sea.
In literature and the arts, scarcity has often been given a positive interpretation as something to be cherished not shunned, actively endorsed and idealized rather than dismissed as an obstacle to artistic success.
Although simply reducing food miles does not guarantee a more sustainable diet, choosing to participate in alternative local food systems instead of the conventional food system is a sure way to increase your access to environmentally friendly food and to support more ecologically sustainable agricultural practices.
Reflects on how one best selects a research question in environmental history. Three Ps are offered as guidance: personal interests, practical matters, procedural concerns, professional considerations, and public issues.
