The global environment has been in a state of change since the height of
the last glacial maximum of the Pleistocene. Examining this state of
flux of both the natural environment and the living organisms that
inhabit it, I. G. Simmons's Global Environmental History ranges from
10,000 BCE to the modern day to present an incredibly rich and deep time
overview of how we have come to our current state of ecological crisis.
A far-reaching approach that considers the truly global picture and
recognizes the contributions of many disciplines--including the natural
sciences, the social sciences, and increasingly, the humanities--Global
Environmental History focuses not only on the material world but also
on humans' ideas about the planet and their place on it. Taking as his
starting point the major phases of human technological evolution of the
last 12,000 years, Simmons considers how these changes have affected the
natural world and goes on to assess the response to conditions such as
climate change. By putting today's environmental preoccupations into a
long-term perspective, Simmons reveals the history of some current
anxieties.
A timely examination of the interrelation of history and nature,
Simmons's book will be welcomed by any concerned reader interested in
the origins of the modern environmental crisis.
