Man and Nature
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Man and Nature is a book written by George Perkins Marsh in 1864.
One of the first works to document the effects of human action on the environment and helped to launched the modern conservation movement. Marsh argued that ancient Mediterranean civilizations collapsed through environmental degradation. Deforestation led to eroded soils that led to decreased in soil productivity. Additionally, the same trends could be found occuring in the United States. The book was instrumental in the creation of Adirondack Park in New York and the the United States National Forest. Gifford Pinchot, first Chief of the United States Forest Service, called it "epoch making" and Stewart Udall wrote that it was "the beginning of land wisdom in this country."
The book is divided into six chapters.
- Introductory
- Transfer, Modification, and Extripartion of Vegatable and of Animal Species
- The Woods
- The Waters
- The Sands
- Projected or Possible Geographical Changes by Man