"An Environmental History of the World is a concise history, from ancient to modern times, of the interactions between human societies and the other forms of life that inhabit our planet. Throughout their evolutionary history, humans have affected the natural environment, sometimes with a promise of sustainable balance, but also in a destructive manner. This book investigates the ways in which environmental changes, often the result of human actions, have caused historical trends in human societies. This process has happened in every historical period and in every part of the inhabited earth. The eight main chapters follow a chronological path through the history of mankind, in relationship to ecosystems around the world. Each chapter concentrates on a general period in human history which has been characterized by large scale changes in the relationship of human societies to the biosphere and gives three case studies that illustrate the significant patterns occurring at that time. The chapters covering the twentieth century discuss the physical impact of the huge growth in population and technology, and the human responses to these problems. Our moral obligations to nature and how we can achieve a sustainable balance between technology and the environment are also considered. This is an original work that reaches further than other environmental histories. Rather than looking at humans and the environment as separate entities, this book places humans within the community of life. The relationship between environmental thought and actions, and their evolution, is discussed throughout. Little environmental or historical knowledge is assumed from the reader in this introduction to environmental history"--Provided by publisher.
1. Introduction: history and ecology -- Environmental history -- The community of life -- Community ecology and history -- Ecological process -- 2. Primal harmony -- The Serengeti: kinship of humans with other forms of life -- Kakadu, Australia: the primal tradition -- Hopi, Arizona: agriculture in the spirit of the land -- 3. The great divorce of culture and nature -- The Uruk Wall: Gilgamesh and urban origins -- The Nile Valley: ancient Egypt and sustainability -- Tikal: the collapse of classic Maya culture -- 4. Ideas and impacts -- Athens: mind and practice -- Xian: Chinese environmental problems and solutions -- Rome: environmental reasons for the decline and fall -- 5. The Middle Ages -- Florence and the European scene: the barriers to growth -- Tahiti, Hawai'i, New Zealand: Polynesian impacts on island ecosystems -- Cuzco: conservation in the empire of the Incas -- 6. The transformation of the biosphere -- Tenochitlan: the European biotic invasion -- London: city, country, and empire in the Industrial Age -- The Galapagos Islands: Darwin's vision of evolution -- 7. Exploitation and conservation -- The Western Ghats: tradition and change -- Grand Canyon: preservation or enjoyment? -- Aswan: the dams and their effects -- 8. Modern environmental problems -- Bali: a green revolution? -- Willamette National Forest: now that the big trees are down -- Bryansk: the aftermath of Chernobyl -- 9. Present and future -- Denver: a sense of place -- Amazon: the threats to biodiversity -- Nairobi and the world: the United Nations Environment Program -- 10. A general conclusion -- Bibliographical essay: writing on global environmental history.
Routledge studies in physical geography and environment ;