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History:

Environmental History

Associations, Organizations, and Institutes Background Biographical Resources Books Discussion Lists Internet Guides Journal and Magazine Articles

Journals Maps Newspaper Articles Pictorial Resources Primary Sources Statistical Resources

Associations, Organizations and Institutes

For additional listings, see History: Associations, Organizations, and Institutes.

• American Farmland Trust
  • Farmland Information Center
    Farmland protection fact sheets, full-text literature, laws, maps, statistics, etc.

• American Rivers

• American Society for Environmental History (ASEH)

• American Water Works Association

• @sle Online (Association for the Study of Literature & Environment)
  Links to environmental writings, discussion lists, and other resources relating to literature and the environment.

• Audubon Online

• The Brownfields Center (Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh)

• The Center for Environmental Research and Conservation (Columbia University)

• Earth Council Alliance

• Forest History Society

• Institute for Environmental History (University of St. Andrews)

• International Water History Association

• The National Park Service: History and Culture

• Sierra Club
  • Sierra Club History

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Background

Sometimes you may need some information to get more familiar with your topic. Below are some materials that can provide background on topics in environmental history. Additional resources are listed at History: Background.

• Allin, Craig W., ed. Encyclopedia of Environmental Issues. 3 vols. Pasadena, Calif.: Salem Press, c2000.
  HUNT REF-1 GE10 .E52 2000
  Example

• Black, Brian and Donna Lybecker. Great Debates in American Environmental History. 2 vols. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2008.
  HUNT REF-1 GF503 .B527 2008
  Example

• Brief History of Drinking Water (American Water Works Association)

• Burt, Christopher C. Extreme Weather: a Guide & Record Book. New York: W.W. Norton, [c2004].
  HUNT REF-1 QC983 .B78 2004

• A Condensed History of American Agriculture (United States Department of Agriculture)
  Timeline of major developments in all areas of agriculture.

• Conservation History (Pennsylvania Game Commission)
  Listing of dates and events, such as the enactment of natural resources laws (including hunting license fees and hunting regulations), species re-introductions, etc.

• Crawford, Mark. Toxic Waste Sites: An Encyclopedia of Endangered America. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, c1997.
  HUNT REF-1 TD1040 .C73 1997

• Donahue, Debra L. Conservation and the Law: A Dictionary. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, c1998.
  HUNT REF-1 KF5505 .A68 D66 1998

• Douglas, Ian, Richard Huggett, and Mike Robinson. Companion Encyclopedia of Geography: The Environment and Humankind. New York: Routledge, 1996.
  HUNT REF-1 G116 .C645 1996

• Environmental History Timeline (Bill Kovarik)

• Geist, Helmut, ed. Our Earth's Changing Land: an Encyclopedia of Land-use and Land-cover Change. 2 vols. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2006.
  HUNT REF-1 GF90 .O87 2006

• Gelber, Ben. The Pennsylvania Weather Book. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, c2002.
  HUNT REF-1 QC984 .P4 G45 2002

• Grossman, Mark. The ABC-CLIO Companion to the Environmental Movement. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, c1994.
  HUNT REF-1 GE197 .G76 1994

• Krech, Shepard, J. R. McNeill, and Carolyn Merchant, eds. Encyclopedia of World Environmental History. 3 vols. New York: Routledge, 2004.
  HUNT REF-1 GE10 .E63 2004

• National Center for Environmental Health History (National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
  Timeline of the achievements of the center.

• Magill, Frank N., ed. Great Events From History II. Ecology and the Environment Series. 4 vols. Pasadena, CA: Salem Press, c1995.
  HUNT REF-1 GE150 .G72 1995
  Example

• Meltdown at Three Mile Island (American Experience, PBS)
  Timeline, maps, biographical information, etc.

• Meyers, Robert A. and Diane Kender Dittrick, eds. Encyclopedia of Environmental Pollution and Cleanup. 2 vols. New York: Wiley, c1999.
  HUNT REF-1 TD173 .E53 1999

• Miller, Char, ed. The Atlas of U.S. and Canadian Environmental History. New York: Routledge, 2003.
  HUNT REF-1 GF503 .A84 2003
  Example

• Newton, David E. Environmental Justice: A Reference Handbook. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, c1996. (Carnegie Mellon users only)

• Newton, David E. The Ozone Dilemma: A Reference Handbook. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, c1995. (Carnegie Mellon users only)

• Pillsbury, Richard and John Florin. Atlas of American Agriculture: The American Cornucopia. New York: Macmillan Library Reference, c1996.
  HUNT REF-1 G1201.J1 P5 1996

• Robbins, Paul, ed. Encyclopedia of Environment and Society. 5 vols. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, c2007.
  HUNT REF-1 HM856 .E53 2007

• Rodes, Barbara K. and Rice Odell, compilers. Dictionary of Environmental Quotations. New York: Simon & Schuster, c1992.
  HUNT REF-1 PN6084 .N2 D53 1992

• Rothman, Hal K. and Sara Dant Ewert. Encyclopedia of American National Parks. 2 vols. Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe, c2004.
  HUNT REF-1 E160 .R54 2004

• Schlager, Neil, ed. When Technology Fails: Significant Technological Disasters, Accidents, and Failures of the Twentieth Century. Detroit: Gale Research, c1994.
  HUNT REF-1 and ENGR&SCI Reference TA169.5 .W44 1994

• Surviving the Dust Bowl (American Experience, PBS)
  Timeline, maps, biographical information, etc.

• Taylor, Bron Raymond, ed. The Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature. 2 vols. New York: Thoemmes Continuum, 2005.
  HUNT REF-1 BL31 .E465 2005

• Wells, Edward R. and Alan M. Schwartz. Historical Dictionary of North American Environmentalism. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press, 1997.
  HUNT REF-1 GE10 .W45 1997

• Wishart, David J., ed. Encyclopedia of the Great Plains. Lincoln, Neb.: University of Nebraska Press, c2004.
  HUNT REF-1 F591 .E4856 2004

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Biographical Resources

See also History: Biographical Resources

• Axelrod, Alan and Charles Phillips. The Environmentalists: A Biographical Dictionary from the 17th Century to the Present. New York: Facts on File, c1993.
  HUNT REF-1 S926 .A2 A94 1993

• Becher, Anne, with Kyle McClure, Rachel White Scheuering, and Julia Willis. American Environmental Leaders: From Colonial Times to the Present. 2 vols. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, c2000.
  HUNT REF-1 GE55 .B43 2000

• Elder, John, ed. American Nature Writers. 2 vols. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, c1996.
  HUNT REF-1 PS163 .A6 1996

• Sterling, Keir B., et al., eds. Biographical Dictionary of American and Canadian Naturalists and Environmentalists. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1997.
  HUNT REF-1 QH26 .B535 1997

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Books

• Cameo
  Search to find books in the Carnegie Mellon University Libraries.

• Worldcat (Carnegie Mellon users only)
  Search to find books in libraries throughout the world. For materials that are not available in the Carnegie Mellon Libraries, you can use ILLiad or EZborrow.

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Discussion Lists

For additional resources, see History: Discussion Lists.

• H-Environment

• H-Water

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Internet Guides

• Environmental History of Latin America: Bibliography (Stanford University)
  Bibliography of articles, books, videos, and Web pages.

• Environmental History on the Internet (Carolyn Merchant, University of California, Berkeley)

• Information Center for the Environment (University of California, Davis)

• Environmental Information Services on the Net (Friends of the Earth)

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Journal and Magazine Articles

Below are some databases and print indexes that you can use to find articles on environmental history topics. For a more complete listing of those relevant to History, see History: Databases and Indexes. If you need help in selecting or using a database or index for your research, please contact the Hunt Library reference desk.

If full text links for journal articles are not provided, click on to see retrieval options. This is only for journal article citations, and may not be available in all databases. Otherwise, use Cameo and the Find Online Journals list to see if materials are available via the Carnegie Mellon University Libraries. If they aren't, you can use Illiad to obtain the material.

• Academic OneFile (Carnegie Mellon users only)
  ca. 1980s-present. Citations and abstracts of journal articles, many with full text.

• Agricola (National Agricultural Library)
  Citations to books and journals. "Production of these records in electronic form began in 1970, but the database covers materials in all formats, including printed works from the 15th century."

• America: History and Life (Carnegie Mellon users only)
  1954-present (updated monthly).
  Citations and some abstracts to journal articles, dissertations, and book and media reviews on United States and Canadian history from prehistory to the present. Covers all historical topics, including foreign policy, and a variety of disciplines including popular culture, gender studies, anthropology, literature and folklore, etc. Also has a non-US history counterpart Historical Abstracts. You can also search America: History and Life and Historical Abstracts simultaneously.

• Applied Science and Business Periodicals Retrospective (Carnegie Mellon Users only)
  1913-1983
  Search and display citations from the Industrial Arts Index (1913-1957), and its successors, the Applied Science and Technology Index (1957-1983), and the Business Periodicals Index (1957-1983).
  Continued by:
  Applied Science and Technology Index (Carnegie Mellon users only)
  1983-present (updated monthly).

• EI Compendex (Carnegie Mellon users only)
  1884-present.
  Citations and abstracts to journals in all areas of engineering.

• EIS: Digests of Environmental Impact Statements (Carnegie Mellon users only)

• The Environment Index.
  Print: v.1 1971-v. 15, 1985.
  ENGR&SCI REF-ABS

• Environmental Sciences & Pollution Management (Carnegie Mellon users only)
  Citations and abstracts from over 1500 scientific journals and thousands of other sources including conference proceedings, reports, monographs, books and government publications.
  Subfiles include:
  • ASFA 3: Aquatic Pollution & Environmental Quality, 1990-present.
  • Bacteriology Abstracts (Microbiology B), 1982-present
  • Ecology Abstracts, 1982-present.
  • Environmental Engineering Abstracts, 1990-present.
  • Health & Safety Sciences Abstracts, 1981-present.
  • Human Population & Natural Resource Management, 1995-present.
  • Industrial & Applied Microbiology Abstracts (Microbiology A), 1982-present.
  • Pollution Abstracts, 1981-present.
  • Risk Abstracts, 1990-present.
  • Sustainability Science Abstracts, 2003-present.
  • Toxicology Abstracts, 1981-present.
  • Water Resources Abstracts, 1967-present.

• Forest History Society: Databases
  Search various publications of the Forest History Society:
  • Forest History Society Image Database
  • Environmental History Bibliography Dataabase
  • Guide to Environmental History Archives Collections Database
  • U. S. Forest Service History Collection Database
  • Forests in Fiction Collection Catalog
  • Environment of South and Southeast Asia Bibliographic Database

• Historical Abstracts (Carnegie Mellon users only)
  1954-present (Updated monthly).
  Citations and some abstracts of journal articles, books, and dissertations on world history from 1450 to the present (excluding the United States and Canada). It covers all historical topics, including foreign policy, and a variety of disciplines including religion, gender studies, anthropology, political science, etc. Also has a U. S. and and Canadian history counterpart, America: History and Life. You can also search America: History and Life and Historical Abstracts simultaneously.

• Industrial Arts Index.
  Print: 1914-1957.
  HUNT REF-1 INDEX
  continued by:
  • Business Periodicals Index.
    Print: 1958-1996.
    HUNT REF-1 INDEX
  • Applied Science and Technology Index.
    Print: 1958-1992.
    ENGR&SCI REF-ABS
    For online versions, see the Applied Science and Business Periodicals Retrospective above.

• Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe (Carnegie Mellon users only)
  Full text service with News, Business, and Legal Research components, all of which may good sources of environmental information. Dates of coverage will vary in all these areas and with the publications themselves.

• National Library for the Environment
  A free, non-advocacy online environmental information service managed by the Committee for the National Institute for the Environment (CNIE), a non-profit organization. CNIE's mission is to improve the scientific basis for making decisions on environmental issues through the successful operation of a National Institute for the Environment (NIE). The service provides daily news coverage on environmental issues; access to congressional reports and briefing books, laws and treaties, educational resources; information about jobs & careers, meetings; over 300 links to journals (some full text), virtual topic libraries, reference materials; and much more.

• NTIS (Carnegie Mellon users only)
  1964-present.
  Government sponsored research reports.

• Pollution Abstracts (Carnegie Mellon users only)
  1981-present.
  Print: v. 1, 1970-v. 28, 1997.
  ENGR&SCI REF-ABS
  

• TOXLINE (Carnegie Mellon users only)
  Records from the last 5 years plus the current year.
  

• Tris Online
  1960-present.
  Citations and some abstracts or full text to research articles, reports, books, etc. relating to the planning, development, operation, and performance of transportation systems and their components. Includes all modes of transportation and all disciplines, including environmental issues.

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Journals

Below are major journals in environmental history. Use Cameo and the Find Online Journals list to search for other journal titles in the Carnegie Mellon University Libraries. To find journal articles on particular topics, use the databases and indexes listed above in Environmental History: Journal and Magazine Articles. For additional journal titles, see History: Journals.

• Agricultural History (Carnegie Mellon users only)
  Full text: v. 75, 2001-present.
  Agricultural History (Carnegie Mellon users only)
  Full text: v. 1, 1927-ca. v. 77, 2003.
  Print: v.1, 1927-present.
  HUNT JOUR-3

• Environment and History (Carnegie Mellon users only)
  Full text: v. 1, 1995-present.

• Environmental Ethics
  Print: v.4, 1982-present.
  Hunt JOUR-3
  Environmental Ethics
  Contents and Indexes: v. 1, 1979-present.

• Environmental History (Carnegie Mellon users only)
  Full text: 2003-present.
  Environmental History
  Print: v. 1, 1996-present.
  HUNT JOUR-3
  Formed by the merger of:
  Forest and Conservation History
  Print: v.35-39, 1991-1995.
  UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH, HILLMAN LIBRARY 4th Fl.
  and
  Environmental History Review
  Print: v. 19, 1995.
  HUNT BND-JOUR-3
  Print: v. 14, 1990-v. 19, 1995.
  UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH, HILLMAN LIBRARY 4th Fl.
  Continues:
  Environmental Review
  Print: v. 3, 1977-v. 13, 1989.
  UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH, HILLMAN LIBRARY 4th Fl.
  

• Forest History Newsletter
  Print: vol. 1, 1957-1958.
  HIBD SERIALS P F715

• Journal of Forest History
  Print: vol. 22-25, 1978-1981.
  HIBD SERIALS P F715
  Continues:
  Forest History
  Print: vol. 2-17, 1958-1973.
  HIBD SERIALS P F715
  

• Journal of Industrial Ecology (Carnegie Mellon users only)
  Full text: v. 1, 1997-present.
  Journal of Industrial Ecology (Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies)
  Contents, indexes, news, links to other sites, etc. Some special issues available in PDF.
  Journal of Industrial Ecology
  Print: v. 1, 1997-present.
  HUNT JOUR-3
  

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Maps

See also the map resources listed at History: Maps

• Atlantic Tropical Storm Tracking by Year (Unisys)
  Maps with the paths of hurricanes, 1886-present, with individual storm summary data.

• Committee for the World Atlas of Agriculture, eds. World Atlas of Agriculture; Under the Aegis of the International Association of Agricultural Economists. Monographs Edited by the Committee for the World Atlas of Agriculture International Association of Agricultural Economists. Novara: Istituto Geografico De Agostini, [1969- ].
  HUNT OVRSZQ-2 G1046 .J1 W6 v. 1-4
  HUNT FOLIOS-2 G1046 .J1 W6 supp. 1, 2, 4

• David Rumsey Collection
  Primarily cartography of the Americas from the 18th and 19th centuries which can reveal the rise and fall of towns, mining excavations, the growth of the railroads, and exploration of the American West, etc.

• Homeowner's Guide to Mine Subsidence: Allegheny County (Pennsylvania): Municipality Mapping List (Department of Environmental Protection)

• Map Collections: 1544-1999 (American Memory, Library of Congress)
  Search or browse through several map collections including:
  • Cities and Towns
  • Conservation and Environment
  • Cultural Landscapes
  • Discovery and Exploration
  • Mapping the National Parks
  • Transportation and Communication

• Pillsbury, Richard and John Florin. Atlas of American Agriculture: The American Cornucopia. New York: Macmillan Library Reference, c1996.
  HUNT REF-1 338.10973 P64A

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Newspaper Articles

• Historical New York Times (Carnegie Mellon users only)
  Full text: 1851-2003.

• LexisNexis Academic (Carnegie Mellon users only)
  Full text: Dates vary from title to title, ca. 1990s-present.

• Proquest Direct (Carnegie Mellon users only)
  Full text: Dates vary from title to title, ranging from mid-1980s to the present.

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Pictorial Resources

See also the resources listed in History: Pictorial Resources.

• American Environmental Photographs, 1891-1936: Images from the University of Chicago Library (American Memory, Library of Congress)

• Eastman's Originals Collection (University of California, Davis)
  Search and display photographs of California from the 1940's to 1950s's, taken by Jervie Henry Eastman and Mirl Simmons of Eastman Studios, Susanville, California.

• NOAA Photo Library
  Browse or search through over 10,000 photographs and images, from all periods, covering space, weather, fisheries and fishing methods, aquatic animals, ships, maps, tides and tidal charts, etc.

• Touring Turn-of-the-Century America: Photographs from the Detroit Publishing Company, 1880-1920. (American Memory, Library of Congress)

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Statistical Resources

See also the resources listed at History: Statistical Resources.

• Data and Statistics (USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service)
  Statistics on crops, grain stocks, etc. Dates vary.

• United States Agricultural Census Publications

• United States. Department of Agriculture. Agricultural Statistics. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1936-present.
  Pre 1936, statistics were printed in the Yearbook of Agriculture.
  Print: 1945-present.
  HUNT REF-1 HD1751 .A43
  Print: 1937-1964, 1966-1989, 1991-1999.
  UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH, HILLMAN LIBRARY, Gov Docs (Ground Floor-Compact Shelves) A 1.47:
  Full text: 1994-present.
  Available: Agricultural Statistics

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                 See also: History and Policy
                           Urban History