A fascinating look at how the deciduous forests of the northern hemisphere have developed across time and space, providing the insights we need to preserve them today Deciduous forests have been remarkably resilient throughout their history, recovering from major shifts in climate and surviving periods of massive deforestation.
This collection pulls together key documents from the scientific and political history of climate change, including congressional testimony, scientific papers, newspaper editorials, court cases, and international declarations.
Over the past century American agriculture has shifted dramatically with small, commercial farms finding it increasingly difficult to compete with large-scale (mostly indoor) animal feeding operations (AFOs).
An informed and heartfelt tribute to commonly unappreciated plants, insects, and other tiny creatures that reconsiders humanity’s relationship to nature Fruit flies, silverfish, dandelions, and crabgrass are the bane of many people and the target of numerous chemical and physical eradication efforts.
A captivating analysis of the past, present, and future of northeastern forests and the forces that have shaped them The northeastern United States is one of the most densely forested regions in the country, yet its history of growth, destruction, and renewal are for the most part poorly understood—even by specialists.
An examination of the struggle to conserve biodiversity in urban regions, told through the story of the threatened coastal California gnatcatcherThe story of the rare coastal California gnatcatcher is a parable for understanding the larger ongoing struggle to conserve biodiversity in regions confronted with intensifying urban development.
In the decades after World War II, the American economy entered a period of prolonged growth that created unprecedented affluencebut these developments came at the cost of a host of new environmental problems.
A radical new approach to tackling the growing threat of water scarcity Water is essential to life, yet humankind’s relationship with water is complex.
Critics of environmental laws complain that such rules often burden people unequally, restrict individual liberty, and undercut private property rights.
An urgent and timely story of the contentious politics of incorporating environmental justice into global climate change policy Although the science of climate change is clear, policy decisions about how to respond to its effects remain contentious.
Winner of the 2014 Albert Corey Prize from the American Historical AssociationWinner of the 2013 Hal Rothman Award from the Western History AssociationWinner of the 2013 John Lyman Book Award in the Naval and Maritime Science and Technology category from the North American Society for Oceanic HistoryFor centuries, borders have been central to salmon management customs on the Salish Sea, but how those borders were drawn has had very different effects on the Northwest salmon fishery.
From green-lifestyle mavens who endorse products on social media to natural health activists sponsored by organic food companies, the marketplace for advice about how to live life naturally is better stocked than ever.
Offers a new interpretation of the history of colonial India and a critical contribution to the understanding of environmental history and the tropical world.
For thousands of years, Pacific Northwest Indians fished, bartered, socialized, and honored their ancestors at Celilo Falls, part of a nine-mile stretch of the Long Narrows on the Columbia River.
For James Barilla and his family, the dream of transforming their Columbia, South Carolina, backyard into a haven for wildlife evoked images of kids catching grasshoppers by day and fireflies at night, of digging up potatoes and picking strawberries.
As scientific and observational evidence on global warming piles up every day, questions of economic policy in this central environmental topic have taken center stage.
In his engaging book Windshield Wilderness, David Louter explores the relationship between automobiles and national parks, and how together they have shaped our ideas of wilderness.
A thoughtful exploration of how humans have endangered the Earth but can pull it back from the brink, as told by a renowned conservationistThis personal and thoughtful book by renowned Kenya conservationist David Western traces our global conquest from Maasai herders battling droughts in Africa to the technological frontiers of California.
A wide-ranging and original introduction to the Anthropocene that offers fresh, theoretical insights bridging the sciences and the humanitiesFrom noted environmental historian Carolyn Merchant, this book focuses on the original concept of the Anthropocene first proposed by Paul Crutzen and Eugene Stoermer in their foundational 2000 paper.
Our day-to-day experiences over the past decade have taught us that there must be limits to our tremendous appetite for energy, natural resources, and consumer goods.
Winner of the 2019 Turku Book Award from the European Society for Environmental HistoryThe Albufera Natural Park, an area ten kilometers south of Valencia that is widely regarded as the birthplace of paella, has long been prized by residents and visitors alike.
An innovative anthology that offers a global perspective on how people think about predicting the future of life on Earth This anthology provides an historical overview of the scientific ideas behind environmental prediction and how, as predictions about environmental change have been taken more seriously and widely, they have affected politics, policy, and public perception.
An engaging call to understand and protect groundwater, the primary source of drinking water for almost half of the world's populationGroundwater is essential for drinking water and food security.
Congress empowered the Environmental Protection Agency on the theory that only a national agency that is insulated from accountability to voters could produce the scientifically grounded pollution rules needed to save a careless public from its own filth.
An engaging history of the founding of one of the world’s most popular environmental organizations, the Audubon Society In 1887, a year after founding the Audubon Society, explorer and conservationist George Bird Grinnell launched Audubon Magazine.
A stunning combination of landscape photography and thematic essays exploring how the concept of wilderness has evolved over time Our ideas of wilderness have evolved dramatically over the past one hundred and fifty years, from a view of wild country as an inviolable "e;place apart"e; to one that exists only within the matrix of human activity.
A leading environmental thinker takes a hard look at the obstacles and possibilities on the long road to sustainabilityThis gripping, deeply thoughtful book considers future of civilization in the light of what we know about climate change and related threats.
Since the 1950s, the housing developments in the West that historian Lincoln Bramwell calls wilderburbs have offered residents both the pleasures of living in nature and the creature comforts of the suburbs.
How small, innovative grassroots groups are discovering a new kind of economy and a richer quality of life Many of today’s most troubling environmental and economic issues have come to seem insoluble: carbon emissions, overshoot, inequality, joblessness, and a dysfunctional food system.
An appreciation of the beautiful, iconic, and endangered Eastern Hemlock and what it means to nature and societyThe Eastern Hemlock, massive and majestic, has played a unique role in structuring northeastern forest environments, from Nova Scotia to Wisconsin and through the Appalachian Mountains to North Carolina, Tennessee, and Alabama.
A uniquely collaborative analysis of human adaptation to the Polynesian islands, told through oral histories, biophysical evidence, and historical records Humans began to settle the area we know as Polynesia between 3,000 and 800 years ago, bringing with them material culture, including plants and animals, and ideas about societal organization, and then adapting to the specific biophysical features of the islands they discovered.
Nuclear Reactions explores the nuclear consensus that emerged in postWorld War II America, characterized by widespread support for a diplomatic and military strategy based on nuclear weapons and a vision of economic growth that welcomed nuclear energy both for the generation of electricity and for other peaceful and industrial uses.
