In his book Man and Nature; or, Physical Geography as Modified by Human Action, the American diplomat and philologist George Perkins Marsh (1801–1882) warned against the dangers of deforestation, and other human interventions in nature. The work ranges in scope from an examination of the territories of the Roman Empire to contemporary American and European agricultural practices. Marsh’s book had an enormous impact on the beginnings of the conservation movement in North America, and is still referred to by ecologists as a foundational text.
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Further Readings:
- Hall, Marcus, ed. “The Nature of G. P. Marsh: Tradition and Historical Judgement.” Special issue, Environment and History 10, no. 2 (2004).
- Lowenthal, David. George Perkins Marsh: Prophet of Conservation. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2000.
- Marsh, George Perkins. Man and Nature: Or, Physical Geography as Modified by Human Action. New York: Charles Scribner, 1864. E-book
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1864