Exploring Environmental History

T. C. Smout came to the subject of environmental history after a lifetime's work on the economic and social history of Scotland, believing that environmental problems are historical problems and can only be properly understood from an historical perspective. This volume brings together the best of T. C. Smout's recent articles and contributions to books and journals on the topic of environmental history. Many of the chapters focus on post-1600 Scotland; all have a wider relevance. What is environmental history and how has it been studied in Britain? How have we regarded wild nature in the past? How has our exploitation of environmental resources impacted on biodiversity? How could so many people subsist in the past in the wildest parts of the British Isles? Why are we so upset about alien species? T. C. Smout tackles all of these questions as well as considering the meaning of 'environmental consciousness' and asking what changes in our mindset it will take to avert disaster.