About the exhibition

In “Another Silent Spring,” historian Donald Worster explains how human relations with other animals, wild and domestic, is at the core of a majority of epidemics.

Another Silent Spring

In this virtual exhibition, historian Donald Worster explains how human relations with other animals, wild and domestic, are at the core of a majority of epidemics. In the face of the current coronavirus crisis, he argues that an exclusive focus on human life and economy will keep neither the planet nor ourselves healthy. We must decide “whether we humans can or want to restore and protect the health, not just of ourselves, but also of the planet.”

by Donald Worster

About the author

Worster, Donald

Renmin University of China

Donald Worster is one of the founders of, and leading figures in, the field of environmental history. He is currently Distinguished Foreign Expert and senior professor in the School of History of Renmin University of China.

Browse the exhibition

Trade-offs

In “Another Silent Spring,” historian Donald Worster explains how human relations with other animals, wild and domestic, is at the core of a majority of epidemics.

Another Silent Spring

In this virtual exhibition, historian Donald Worster explains how human relations with other animals, wild and domestic, are at the core of a majority of epidemics. In the face of the current coronavirus crisis, he argues that an exclusive focus on human life and economy will keep neither the planet nor ourselves healthy. We must decide “whether we humans can or want to restore and protect the health, not just of ourselves, but also of the planet.”

by Donald Worster

About the author

Worster, Donald

Renmin University of China

Donald Worster is one of the founders of, and leading figures in, the field of environmental history. He is currently Distinguished Foreign Expert and senior professor in the School of History of Renmin University of China.

Browse the exhibition

Epidemics and ecology

In “Another Silent Spring,” historian Donald Worster explains how human relations with other animals, wild and domestic, is at the core of a majority of epidemics.

Another Silent Spring

In this virtual exhibition, historian Donald Worster explains how human relations with other animals, wild and domestic, are at the core of a majority of epidemics. In the face of the current coronavirus crisis, he argues that an exclusive focus on human life and economy will keep neither the planet nor ourselves healthy. We must decide “whether we humans can or want to restore and protect the health, not just of ourselves, but also of the planet.”

by Donald Worster

About the author

Worster, Donald

Renmin University of China

Donald Worster is one of the founders of, and leading figures in, the field of environmental history. He is currently Distinguished Foreign Expert and senior professor in the School of History of Renmin University of China.

Browse the exhibition

“The people had done it themselves”

In “Another Silent Spring,” historian Donald Worster explains how human relations with other animals, wild and domestic, is at the core of a majority of epidemics.

Another Silent Spring

In this virtual exhibition, historian Donald Worster explains how human relations with other animals, wild and domestic, are at the core of a majority of epidemics. In the face of the current coronavirus crisis, he argues that an exclusive focus on human life and economy will keep neither the planet nor ourselves healthy. We must decide “whether we humans can or want to restore and protect the health, not just of ourselves, but also of the planet.”

by Donald Worster

About the author

Worster, Donald

Renmin University of China

Donald Worster is one of the founders of, and leading figures in, the field of environmental history. He is currently Distinguished Foreign Expert and senior professor in the School of History of Renmin University of China.

Browse the exhibition

Copyright information

In “Another Silent Spring,” historian Donald Worster explains how human relations with other animals, wild and domestic, is at the core of a majority of epidemics.

Another Silent Spring

In this virtual exhibition, historian Donald Worster explains how human relations with other animals, wild and domestic, are at the core of a majority of epidemics. In the face of the current coronavirus crisis, he argues that an exclusive focus on human life and economy will keep neither the planet nor ourselves healthy. We must decide “whether we humans can or want to restore and protect the health, not just of ourselves, but also of the planet.”

by Donald Worster

About the author

Worster, Donald

Renmin University of China

Donald Worster is one of the founders of, and leading figures in, the field of environmental history. He is currently Distinguished Foreign Expert and senior professor in the School of History of Renmin University of China.

Browse the exhibition

Pandemics in Context

What can we learn from human responses to epidemics and pandemics in history? What insights can ecological and environmental humanities perspectives provide? This new and growing collection of annotated links to open-access media (analyses, primary sources, and digital resources) helps put pandemics in context.

Read more about Pandemics in Context

Earth First! 26, no. 2

Earth First! 26, no. 2 focuses on articles that discuss the human causes of bird flu pandemic, feautre urban farming and ecology issues, and discuss the indian movement’s new old problems.

Read more about Earth First! 26, no. 2

Review of Situating Environmental History, edited by Ranjan Chakrabarti

Debojyoti Das’s review of an environmental history reader containing essays by Karl Jacoby, Alok Kumar Ghosh, Arun Bandopadhyay, Archana Prasad, Vinita Damodaran, Ritajyoti Bandhopadhyay, Kaushik Roy, Arabinda Samanta, Amal Das, Sahara Ahmed, Jagdish N. Sinha, Sumit Guha, Rita Pemberton, Lawrence G. Gundersen, and Tridib Chakraborty.