The Wealth of Nature: Environmental History and the Ecological ImaginationOxford University Press, 27.10.1994 - 272 Seiten Hailed as "one of the most eminent environmental historians of the West" by Alan Brinkley in The New York Times Book Review, Donald Worster has been a leader in reshaping the study of American history. Winner of the prestigious Bancroft Prize for his book Dust Bowl, Worster has helped bring humanity's interaction with nature to the forefront of historical thinking. Now, in The Wealth of Nature, he offers a series of thoughtful, eloquent essays which lay out his views on environmental history, tying the study of the past to today's agenda for change. The Wealth of Nature captures the fruit of what Worster calls "my own intellectual turning to the land." History, he writes, represents a dialogue between humanity and nature--though it is usually reported as if it were simple dictation. Worster takes as his point of departure the approach expressed early on by Aldo Leopold, who stresses the importance of nature in determining human history; Leopold pointed out that the spread of bluegrass in Kentucky, for instance, created new pastures and fed the rush of American settlers across the Appalachians, which affected the contest between Britain, France, and the U.S. for control of the area. Worster's own work offers an even more subtly textured understanding, noting in this example, for instance, that bluegrass itself was an import from the Old World which supplanted native vegetation--a form of "environmental imperialism." He ranges across such areas as agriculture, water development, and other questions, examining them as environmental issues, showing how they have affected--and continue to affect--human settlement. Environmental history, he argues, is not simply the history of rural and wilderness areas; cities clearly have a tremendous impact on the land, on which they depend for their existence. He argues for a comprehensive approach to understanding our past as well as our present in environmental terms. "Nostalgia runs all through this society," Worster writes, "fortunately, for it may be our only hope of salvation." These reflective and engaging essays capture the fascination of environmental history--and the beauty of nature lost or endangered--underscoring the importance of intelligent action in the present. |
Inhalt
3 | |
2 Paths Across the Levee | 16 |
3 History as Natural History | 30 |
4 Transformations of the Earth | 45 |
Ecology and Agriculture | 64 |
6 A Sense of Soil | 71 |
7 Good Farming and the Public Good | 84 |
Americans and the Land | 95 |
11 An End to Ecstasy | 135 |
12 The Shaky Ground of Sustainable Development | 142 |
13 The Ecology of Order and Chaos | 156 |
14 Restoring a Natural Order | 171 |
15 John Muir and the Roots of American Environmentalism | 184 |
16 The Wealth of Nature | 203 |
Notes | 221 |
245 | |
Andere Ausgaben - Alle anzeigen
The Wealth of Nature: Environmental History and the Ecological Imagination Donald Worster Eingeschränkte Leseprobe - 1993 |
Häufige Begriffe und Wortgruppen
achieve acres Adam Smith agriculture agroecosystems Aldo Leopold Alfred Crosby American animal anthropology argued Arrington beauty become believe called capitalist century conservation crisis critical crops culture dams decade Donald Worster Dust Bowl earth ecological ecological anthropology ecologists economic economists ecosystem energy environment environmental history environmentalists erosion essay ethic Eugene Odum fact farm farmers forces forest global going historians human ideas industrial irrigation John Muir land ethic landscape Leopold living look Marvin Harris material million modern moral Mormon myth nation natural world never North Odum once organized past percent Plains plant political population production Protestantism radical religion religious revolution river ronmental rural Sand County Almanac scientific scientists social society soil species sustainable things thinking tion traditional understanding University Press wealth Wendell Berry West western York
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