@article{456166,
      recid = {456166},
      author = {Uekötter, Frank,},
      title = {The turning points of environmental history /},
      publisher = {University of Pittsburgh Press :},
      address = {Pittsburgh, Pa. :},
      pages = {ix, 206 p. :},
      year = {2010},
      abstract = {From the time when humans first learned to harness fire,  cultivate crops, and domesticate livestock, they have  altered their environment as a means of survival. In the  modern era, however, natural resources have been devoured  and defiled in the wake of a consumerism that goes beyond  mere subsistence. In this volume, an international group of  environmental historians documents the significant ways in  which humans have impacted their surroundings throughout  history.  The author introduces the collection with an  overarching account of the history of human environmental  impact. Other contributors explore the use and abuse of the  Earth's land in the development of agriculture, commercial  forestry, and in the battle against desertification in arid  and semi-arid regions. Cities, which first appeared some  5,500 years ago, have posed their own unique environmental  challenges, including dilemmas of solid waste disposal,  sewerage, disease, pollution, and sustainable food and  water supplies.  The rise of nation-states brought  environmental legislation, which often meant "selling off"  natural resources through eminent domain. Perhaps the most  damaging environmental event in history resulted from a  "perfect storm" of effects: cheap fossil fuels (especially  petroleum) and the rapid rise of personal incomes during  the 1950s brought an exponential increase in energy  consumption and unforseen levels of greenhouse gasses to  the Earth's atmosphere. By the 1970s, the deterioration of  air, land, and water due to industrialization, population  growth, and consumerism led to the birth of the  environmental and ecological movements.  Overall, the  volume points to the ability and responsibility of humans  to reverse the course of detrimental trends and to achieve  environmental sustainability for existing and future  populations.},
      url = {http://library.usi.edu/record/456166},
}