From Jack-O’-Lantern to Pumpkin Pie: The Surprising History of a Favorite Fall Icon
Historian Cindy Ott explains the unique political, economic, and symbolic roles the pumpkin has played in American culture.
Tagged: History
Spitball Bearings: Baseball and the Unruly World
A starting lineup of moments in the environmental history of baseball.
Building Beaches: Beach Nourishment in the United States
A hard look at the soft engineering that goes into our beaches.
“Nature led the way”: The legacy of city planner John Nolen
A new biography of one of the founders of city planning in the US connects urban reform efforts from the early twentieth century with today’s environmental issues.
Green Conservatives: A Conversation with Brian Drake
Advocates of small government have a long and uncharted history within US environmentalism, argues Brian Drake in an interview about his recent book.
Tapping the Past for California’s Water Future
California’s current drought offers an occasion for rethinking how our relationship to the past can help us confront crisis.
Why Our Students Should Debate Climate Change
Teaching the history of science in an age of climate denialism produces surprising questions about nature, knowledge, and democracy.
Coke and Capitalism: A Conversation with Bart Elmore
Bart Elmore discusses how Coke came to shape landscapes and bodies the world over, and what that suggests for the future of corporate sustainability.
Look to the Land: Visualizing Change in Agriculture
Recent trends in data visualization suggest powerful new ways of exploring environmental change over time.
Help, I’ve Got GAS!
GAS, or “Gear Acquisition Syndrome,” affects even environmentalists. Is it a noble disease or a base symptom of consumerism?
