Environment & Society Portal

Former Carson Fellow José Augusto Pádua is editor to a new open-access publication on land use in the handbook series 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘔𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘊𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘴: 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘓𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢.

The publication is now also in our Multimedia Library on the Portal under "Books & Profiles."

Happy reading!

The newest 𝘈𝘳𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘢 entry looks at environmental conservation practices of the Bishnoi religious community in the Thar Desert, India—written by Amir Sohel and Farhat Naz.

"Bishnoi is a religious community of the Great Indian Desert or Thar Desert, who have a centuries-long legacy of practicing sustainable environmental conservation and wildlife protection through traditional knowledge. This article explores how Bishnoi religious beliefs played a pivotal role in organizing India’s first environmental movement as well as present-day forest conservation and wildlife-protection strategies in the Thar Desert."

Read the full article at https://www.environmentandsociety.org/node/9846

The Bishnoi: Revisiting Religious Environmentalism and Traditional Forest and Wildlife Management in the Thar Desert This article traces how Bishnoi religious beliefs have informed environmental activism as well as present-day forest conservation and wildlife-protection strategies in the Thar Desert, India.

The first article of the 2024 𝘈𝘳𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘢 summer volume has just arrived! Taylin Nelson explores the connections between climate disaster, ecoanxiety, and the creation of Mary Shelley's 𝘍𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘪𝘯 in the context of Mount Tambora's eruption.

"Mount Tambora’s most well-known impact has been its claim to influencing one of the most revered literary works in the English canon: Mary Shelley’s 𝘍𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘪𝘯; 𝘰𝘳, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘶𝘴 (1818). In this short article, I ask readers to take seriously the feeling of ecoanxiety and its relevance in 𝘍𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘪𝘯’s creation. Tambora’s eruption, while not directly influencing Shelley, offers an entrance into ecological readings of 𝘍𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘪𝘯 and its apocalyptic genesis. Ecoanxiety in 𝘍𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘪𝘯 signals our ability to create art in reaction to environmental disaster in increasingly unstable planetary futures."

Read the full article for free at https://www.environmentandsociety.org/node/9842

Climate Disaster, Ecoanxiety, and Frankenstein: Mount Tambora and Its Aftereffects Ecoanxiety in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein signals our ability to create art in reaction to environmental disaster in increasingly unstable planetary futures.

The 2024 𝘈𝘳𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘢 spring volume is now complete! Diane Smith writes about a short-lived Forest Service framework for landscape-based land management and wildland fire management in the Sierra Nevada.

"In the 1990s, the US Forest Service in California had the opportunity, backed by sound science, greater public awareness, and political support, to potentially avoid the wildfire disasters of the early 2020s. The new guidelines—the Sierra Nevada Framework—were approved in January 2001 and called for landscape-scale land management of old-growth forests, riparian areas, and other ecosystems, as well as a more integrated approach to fire and fuels management across the state’s national forests. But as the history of the framework demonstrates, when politics, economics, and science collide, too often politics and economics prevail, and the framework was soon overturned."

Read the full article for free at https://www.environmentandsociety.org/node/9838

The Sierra Nevada Still in Peril Introduces a short-lived Forest Service framework for landscape-based land management and wildland fire management in California’s Sierra Nevada from the 1990s.

The thought-provoking documentary 𝘋𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘫𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 (2024), directed by former Rachel Carson Center Fellow Siddhartha Krishnan, is now available on the Portal: https://www.environmentandsociety.org/mml/decent-work-darjeeling

Decent Work in Darjeeling This documentary tells the story of the porters in the Eastern Himalayas.

Hot from the press! Rachel Carson Center alumnae Milica Prokić and Pavla Šimková’s (eds.) 𝘌𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘐𝘵𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧? 𝘛𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘌𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘏𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘐𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 (The White Horse Press, 2024) just came out and is available for download on the Portal.

Entire of Itself? Towards an Environmental History of Islands Full text of Entire of Itself? Towards an Environmental History of Islands, edited by Rachel Carson Center almunae Milica Prokić and Pavla Šimková,

We are so excited to announce the release of the virtual exhibition “Petra Kelly: Life and Legacy of a Transnational Green Activist,” curated by Rachel Carson Center researchers Stephen Milder and Andreas Jünger.

The exhibition follows the life story of Petra Kelly—social activist, cofounder of the West German Green Party, and recipient of the Right Livelihood Award— considering her transnationalism and the way her visions and ideas have informed green politics.

Check it out!
https://environmentandsociety.org/node/9772



Images used in on the poster below carry individual copyright licenses. For more information, visit the online exhibition.

New 𝘈𝘳𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘢 article by RCC alumnus Vipul Singh: “Ecopolitical Space in a Riverine Landscape of South Asia.” This case study of sixteenth-century Bihar, India, provides insights into the dynamic relationship between geography and political constructs.

Ecopolitical Space in a Riverine Landscape of South Asia The article shows how ecological and geographical features influence the configuration of political space within a region.

New 𝘈𝘳𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘢 entry by Yoram Carboex narrating the story of the first deep-sea-mining test, which centered around a positive vision of humankind’s impact on the ocean.

“Scientists studying the potential of deep-sea-water upwelling for aquaculture hoped that these mining operations could provide the nutritious water needed to create ‘fish farms.’ While their dreams proved futile, their efforts point to a spirit of optimism about the possibilities of engineering the ocean to suit human needs. This contrasts sharply with current discussions around deep-sea mining, which center on its potentially detrimental effects on the environment.”

Read the full article for free at: https://environmentandsociety.org/node/9785

Dreams of Optimizing the Ocean: The 1970 Deepsea Ventures Mining Test and Artificial Upwelling In contrast to today’s environmental concerns, the first deep-sea-mining environmental impact assessment, undertaken in the early 1970s, focused on the potential positive side effects.

The 2023 𝘈𝘳𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘢 autumn volume is now complete! It ends with an article by Iosif Botetzagias on the poisoning of roaming dogs in nineteenth-century Athens and its newspaper coverage.

"In spring 1886, an unprecedented debate took place in Greek newspapers concerning the (legal) poisoning of roaming dogs in Athens. Fear of rabies, sanitary concerns, the wish to improve the state of public space, respect of one’s fellow townsfolk, and political allegiances all informed the debate. In the end, a common understanding emerged, which advocated “transforming” privately owned dogs into paid for (and thus valued) personal assets, while leaving the “the masterless, the incompetent and the depraved” ones to their doom."

Read the full article for free at:
https://www.environmentandsociety.org/arcadia/society-humans-or-dogs-issue-roaming-dogs-nineteenth-century-athens

“Is This a Society of Humans or of Dogs?”: The Issue of Roaming Dogs in Nineteenth-Century Athens In Athens, 1886, an unprecedented debate took place concerning the poisoning of roaming dogs.

We are excited to announce the release of the Spanish version of our latest virtual exhibition, “De lupas a telescopios: Explorando el microcosmos y el macrocosmos en los laboratorios bioculturales de Chile.”

"Chile es una tierra dibujada al ritmo de la propia naturaleza. Es un laboratorio natural que nos invita a mirar hacia arriba, al macrocosmos, y hacia abajo, al microcosmos. En ambos extremos de este largo y angosto país, las actividades científicas tienen un gran impacto global. ..."

Read on on our Environment and Society Portal here: https://www.environmentandsociety.org/node/9663.

New 𝘈𝘳𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘢 article on Colm Tóibín’s literary responses to the coastal erosion of Ireland’s County Wexford by Claire Connolly, Ailbhe McDaid, and James L. Smith.

“Comprised of soft glacial cliffs and sandy beaches, the southeastern coastline of Ireland is dominated by unconsolidated Quaternary-aged sediments with fewer rock exposures than Ireland’s other coasts. Facing Britain across a rough sea, County Wexford has been prone to incursions from both political and environmental forces throughout history. This article explores the depictions of and responses to the porous and fragile coast of Ireland’s southeast through the writing of award-winning and bestselling Wexford native Colm Tóibín.”

Read the full article for free at https://www.environmentandsociety.org/node/9753

ww.environmentandsociety.org

Today, the one and only Jonte Palmblad successfully defended his dissertation on the philosophy of Lewis Mumford and the role of technology and ideas in human–environment interaction. Warmest congratulations!

An excerpt from Jared D. Margulies’ wonderful new book 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘴 𝘏𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 (University of Minnesota Press, 2023) is now available on the Portal!

https://environmentandsociety.org/mml/cactus-hunters-desire-and-extinction-illicit-succulent-trade

The Cactus Hunters: Desire and Extinction in the Illicit Succulent Trade A book exploring the world of succulent collecting.

Interesting new book, edited by Viktor Pál, Tuomas Räsänen, and Mikko Saikku, on the reputed “greenness” of Finland is now available for download on the Portal!

https://www.environmentandsociety.org/mml/green-development-greenwashing-environmental-humanities-finland

Green Development of Greenwashing? Environmental Humanities of Finland An edited volume examining and challenging the reputed “greenness” of Finland.

New 𝘈𝘳𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘢 article by Caroline Abbott on gendered evolutions of European lupine folklore and settler conceptions of the boundaries between the human and nonhuman.

“Nineteenth-century US print media is rife with interactions between white settlers and the wolves (and other wild canids) they slaughtered. Print played host to the evolutions of folkloric villains, heroes, and gender norms in ways that directly impacted national identity and settler conceptions of the so-called “American” frontier. North American frontiers provided an opportunity for settler women to embody gender roles different from those handed down to them in European folklore. What would we learn about these ideas by approaching the settler women with blood on their hands?”

Read the full article for free at https://www.environmentandsociety.org/arcadia/axes-ground-wolves-and-women-north-american-frontier

Axes on the Ground: Wolves and Women on the North American Frontier How did gendered evolutions of European lupine folklore impact settler conceptions of boundaries between the human and nonhuman?

Call for Sumissions | 𝘈𝘳𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘢: 𝘌𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘌𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘏𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺

𝘈𝘳𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘢 is an open-access, peer-reviewed journal for short, engaging environmental histories.

Full call: https://www.environmentandsociety.org/arcadia/contribution



Rachel Carson Center
European Society for Environmental History - ESEH

In this week’s 𝘈𝘳𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘢 entry, Teresa Lappe-Osthege and Jovana Dicović foreground memoryscapes embedded in Kosovo’s postconflict landscape that amplify divisional narratives.

“The construction of postconflict memoryscapes links past and present to legitimize contemporary politics. Memoryscapes serve a particular purpose in territorial conflicts where claims to territorial ownership and sovereignty are based on specific readings of history. This is the case in Kosovo, which is at once a physical place defined by a conflict, and an immaterial space of situated memory. Using the 1690 Great Migration and the historic grave sites in the Sharr Mountains as examples, we demonstrate that memoryscapes anchored in Kosovo’s postconflict landscape amplify divisional narratives and marginalize memories of coexistence. Such silencing of alternative memoryscapes of coexistence impedes the transition from conflict to peace.”

Read the full article here: https://www.environmentandsociety.org/arcadia/constructing-postconflict-memoryscapes-narratives-division-coexistence

Constructing Postconflict Memoryscapes: From Narratives of Division to Coexistence The process of defining Kosovo’s postconflict landscape amplifies narratives of division and marginalizes memories of cooperation.

Browse through our Earth First! collection—we’ve just added an essay by Bron Taylor about the late conservationist Dave Foreman.

https://www.environmentandsociety.org/mml/dave-foreman-wise-guy

“Dave Foreman: Wise Guy” An essay by Bron Taylor on Dave Foreman first published in the edited volume Wildeor: The Wild Life and Living Legacy of Dave Foreman (Essex Editions, 2023).

New 𝘈𝘳𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘢 entry by James Morris on the history and the possibilities, benefits, and costs of the (hydro)electrification of the Ashio Copper Mine, Japan.

Read the full article for free at https://www.environmentandsociety.org/arcadia/hydroelectric-power-and-ashio-copper-mine

Hydroelectric Power and the Ashio Copper Mine This article explores the history and effects of the (hydro)electrification of the Ashio Copper Mine.

Fantastic new project of the Boston University Institute for Global Sustainability: an open-access platform that aims to increase actionable knowledge about a sustainable and just energy transition!

https://environmentandsociety.org/mml/visualizing-energy

Visualizing Energy Visualizing Energy is an open-access, interdisciplinary science-communication project that aims to increase actionable knowledge about a sustainable and just energy transition.

Read an excerpt from John Alexander Williams’s 𝘛𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘕𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘎𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 on the Portal!

https://www.environmentandsociety.org/mml/turning-nature-germany-hiking-nudism-and-conservation-1900-1940

Turning to Nature in Germany: Hiking, Nudism, and Conservation, 1900-1940 Book excerpt from Turning to Nature in Germany by John Alexander Williams.

This week in 𝘈𝘳𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘢, Victoria Myznikova argues that the current usage of the “noosphere” has shifted away from Vernadsky’s materialistic and universalistic approach towards a more esoteric and particularist definition.

Read it here: https://environmentandsociety.org/node/9658



Photograph by Thierry Ehrmann.

Different Ways of Thinking Globally: The Unlikely Return of the Noosphere in Russian Environmental Discourses What role Vernadsky's concept of noosphere plays in contemporary Russian environmental legislation and green economy discourses?

New 𝘈𝘳𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘢 entry! This week, Matteo Sartori and Julia Prakofjewa explore the circulation of environmental ignorance on 𝘋𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘺𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪 in European written sources from 1578-1776.

Read it here: https://www.environmentandsociety.org/node/9655

Image © Diego Alarcón, Herbarium of Concepción, Chile. Used by permission.

Drimys winteri: Circulation of Environmental Ignorance in European Written Sources (1578-1776) The article explores the circulation of environmental ignorance on Drimys winteri in European written sources in 1578-1776.

An interactive story map on urban ecologies in Latina, Italy, by RCC Landhaus Fellow Paolo Gruppuso is now available on the Portal.

Check it out!

https://www.environmentandsociety.org/mml/exploring-city-wetlands-small-resilient-unruly-story-map

Exploring City Wetlands: Small Resilient Unruly (Story Map) Interactive story map by Paolo Gruppuso on urban ecologies in Latina, Italy.

The newest 𝘈𝘳𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘢 article is here!

This week, Petros Perrakis Kollias examines how, with the drying of its sister lake for purposes of agricultural development, Lake Pamvotis is suffering accelerating degradation.

Read it here: https://www.environmentandsociety.org/node/9652



Image © Christos Anastasiou. All rights reserved. Courtesy of the Konstantinos G. Karamalis Foundation.

Development and Degradation in the Lakes of Lapsista and Ioannina from the 1950s to the Present With the drying of its sister lake for purposes of agricultural development, Pamvotis is suffering accelerating degradation.

In today’s 𝘈𝘳𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘢 article, Eduardo Relly tells us about a potential replacement of sugar—𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘣𝘢𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘢—which has led to an ongoing rush to file patents and caused the lobbying of governmental agencies. Relly highlights the Indigenous Guaraní peoples’ fight for financial reimbursement, claims to territory, and recognition of their knowledge as part of their effort to end biopiracy of the stevia plant in the Paraná River region.

Read it here for free: https://www.environmentandsociety.org/node/9649

Stevia as a Genetic Resource: Intellectual Property and Guaraní Strategies for Access-and-Benefit Sharing in Paraguay and Brazil The Guaraní accused global corporations such as Coca Cola and Cargill of using their traditional knowledge associated with the stevia plant and filed for an access-and-benefit sharing agreement.

You can now download the third issue of 𝘚𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘭 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘊𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘙𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 from the Portal!

https://www.environmentandsociety.org/mml/collection/16228

Rachel Carson Center

In this week's 𝘈𝘳𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘢 article, Inês Gomes discusses the intimate connection between seeds and landscapes through networks of non-corporate farmers, experts, politicians, and agricultural companies.

Read it here: https://environmentandsociety.org/node/9628

© Inês Gomes. Used by permission.

Capital Seeds and Hybrid Landscapes: Between Varied Landraces and Monotonous Technological Objects This article discusses the intimate connection of seeds and landscapes through networks of non-corporate farmers, experts, politicians, and agricultural companies.

The second issue of 𝘚𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴—the Rachel Carson Center’s new online publication—is now available for download in our Periodicals collection.

Check it out!

https://environmentandsociety.org/mml/collection/16228