Tag Archives: environmental history

More Voices, New Sources: Using Historical Documents to Diversify a Survey Syllabus

By Dr. Bathsheba Demuth I came to teach environmental history circuitously: trained as a Russian and American historian, the field was not part of my comprehensive exams. I was never a teaching assistant for an environmental history course—as close as I came was grading for a summer class on the history of energy. I read and wrote my way into… Read more »

More: Energy History and Energy Futures

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This is the sixth post in a collaborative series titled “Environmental Historians Debate: Can Nuclear Power Solve Climate Change?”. It is hosted by the Network in Canadian History & Environment, the Climate History Network, and ActiveHistory.ca. By Sean Kheraj If nuclear power is to be used as a stop-gap or transitional technology for the de-carbonization of industrial economies, what comes next? Energy… Read more »

The Nuclear Renaissance in a World of Nuclear Apartheid

This is the fifth post in a collaborative series titled “Environmental Historians Debate: Can Nuclear Power Solve Climate Change?”. It is hosted by the Network in Canadian History & Environment, the Climate History Network, and ActiveHistory.ca. Toshihiro Higuchi Nuclear power is back, riding on the growing fears of a catastrophic climate change that lurks around the corner. The looming climate… Read more »

The Cold War Constraints on the Nuclear Energy Option

This is the fourth post in a collaborative series titled “Environmental Historians Debate: Can Nuclear Power Solve Climate Change?”. It is hosted by the Network in Canadian History & Environment, the Climate History Network, and ActiveHistory.ca. By Robynne Mellor Shortly before uranium miner Gus Frobel died of lung cancer in 1978 he said, “This is reality. If we want energy, coal or… Read more »

Only Dramatic Reductions in Energy Use Will Save The World From Climate Catastrophe: A Prophecy

This is the third post in a collaborative series titled “Environmental Historians Debate: Can Nuclear Power Solve Climate Change?“. It is hosted by the Network in Canadian History & Environment, the Climate History Network, and ActiveHistory.ca. By Andrew Watson There is no longer any debate. Humanity sits at the precipice of catastrophic climate change caused by anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Recent reports… Read more »

Next Generation Nuclear?

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This is the second post in a collaborative series titled “Environmental Historians Debate: Can Nuclear Power Solve Climate Change?“. It is hosted by the Network in Canadian History & Environment, the Climate History Network, and ActiveHistory.ca. By Kate Brown Climate change is here to stay. So too for the next several millennia is radioactive fallout from nuclear accidents such as… Read more »

Closing Nuclear Plants Will Increase Climate Risks

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By Nancy Langston This is the first post in a collaborative series titled “Environmental Historians Debate: Can Nuclear Power Solve Climate Change?” hosted by the Network in Canadian History & Environment, the Historical Climatology and ActiveHistory.ca. On March 28, 1979, I woke up late and rushed to catch the bus to my suburban high school in Rockville MD. So it… Read more »

Activehistory.ca Repost – Cold Comfort: Firewood, Ice Storms, and Hypothermia in Canada

ActiveHistory.ca is on a hiatus for the winter break, and will return to daily posts in early January.  During the hiatus, we’re featuring some of our favourite holiday and winter themed posts. Thank you to all our contributors, guest editors, and readers for making 2018 a very successful year. Happy holidays to all and we look forward to continuing our work… Read more »

Activehistory.ca Repost – An (Ice) Bridge to the Past: Niagara Falls has Frozen

ActiveHistory.ca is on a hiatus for the winter break, and will return to daily posts in early January.  During the hiatus, we’re featuring some of our favourite holiday and winter themed posts. Thank you to all our contributors, guest editors, and readers for making 2018 a very successful year. Happy holidays to all and we look forward to continuing our work… Read more »

The Dark Side of Disarmament: Ocean Pollution, Peace, and the World Wars

Alex Souchen On 11 November 2018 the world paused for a moment of silence to commemorate the end of the First World War. The solemn occasion offered people around the world an opportunity to honour the dead and pay homage to peace, freedom, and reconciliation. The theme of peace will likely continue as a prominent feature at future Remembrance Day… Read more »