Description
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewOur relationship with nature goes far beyond resources, amenity, or the scientific idea of an archive we learn to read. There are, as
The Environment shows, ethical complexities in how we use and abuse the planet—and in how we frame its improbable riches.
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NatureDespite the importance in recent decades of environmentalism, environmental protection, environmental science, and so on, there has been strikingly little discussion of what exactly the environment is. Paul Warde, Libby Robin, and Sverker Sörlin examine the history of the concept as it has developed since the end of the Second World War, when they argue it took on its modern significance. The book is strongest in tracing the ways that changes in scientific institutions helped develop the modern idea of environment, as well as in its discussion of the ways that idea entered the popular imagination through works by Rachel Carson and others.
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Environmental HistoryThis engaging and accessible book should be required reading for anyone concerned with the development of 'the environment' as a conceptual lodestone of both science and politics in the mid- to late-twentieth century. Moreover, it will be richly rewarding for anyone wishing to teach, research, or simply better understand the path dependencies and political dynamics of environmental issues today.
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Local EnvironmentDemonstrates the power of history to speak into the present. A wonderfully succinct, compelling, and revealing piece of writing.
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Australian Book ReviewThis is a highly recommended book that agricultural and rural historians will appreciate the significance of in tracing the history of the environment. It will be of interest to a wide academic readership, including historians of the environment, ideas, politics, science and technology. More importantly, this book deserves to be read by the wider public as it explains how perceptions of the environment have evolved relative to the history of the twentieth century. Understanding this history can inform contemporary responses to present and future environmental issues.
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Agricultural History ReviewTable of ContentsAcknowledgments
Prologue
Chapter 1. Road to Survival
Chapter 2. Expertise for the Future
Chapter 3. Resources for Freedom
Chapter 4. Ecology on the March
Chapter 5. Climate Enters the Environment
Chapter 6. "The Earth Is One but the World Is Not
Chapter 7. Seeking a Safe Future
Notes
Bibliographic Essay
Index
