Canadians and Their Natural Environment: A History - James Murton

Canadians and Their Natural Environment: A History (Paperback)

This book tells the story of the interaction between the inhabitants of the territory that is now Canada and everything non-human since the last ice age. It begins with the idea that humans' primary interest in nature is to obtain the resources necessary for survival: in other words, food and shelter. By focusing on how societies in what we now call Canada shaped access to nature to ensure their subsistence (or survival), and what resulted from this, we can understand much of the relationship between humans and nature in this place over time. The book begins with the retreat of glaciers and the formation of Canada's natural environment. It then examines the means of survival and the different impacts on the land of Indigenous peoples and pre-industrial European settler societies. Industrial capitalism in the late 19th century fostered a new order and control of nature, while science both facilitated and challenged this order and its effects. The second half of the book examines the results: a massive reengineering of nature; the development of new chemicals and materials and their presence in the environment as waste and pollution; the conservation, preservation, and environmental movements; and attempts, up to the present day and including the climate change crisis, to reconcile economic development and environmental protection.

The book is written in a lively style that will be accessible to undergraduate students.
undergraduate students. It includes a "further reading" section that will be useful to students and researchers new to the field, as well as more than 65 maps and illustrations. It is the first work of its kind to offer a comprehensive framework for understanding Canada's environmental history.