Overview
The volume opens with a narrative overview which develops the major environmental themes discussed in the chapters and documents that follow. Each chapter leads with a comprehensive narrative that provides background information necessary for understanding the significance of the primary documents. The wide-ranging document collections include over 150 full and excerpted speeches, writings by conservationists, federal and state legislation, court opinions, testimonies, policy briefs, and more. The documents are preceded by context-setting headnotes which provide information on the key players and events. Included are population growth and territorial expansion, toxins and waste disposal, air pollution and climate change, wilderness and species protection, energy production, conservation and environmental justice, land and water use, urban development and public health, and mining and logging. A timeline listing major events from the colonial era to the present provides an overview of U.S. environmental history, while illustrations and an index further supplement this title. This work is well-suited for collections at academic, community college, and public libraries.
