Lessons from the Past
Growing up, may of us were told we study history to learn from the past. The goal is to not repeat the same mistakes twice. However, when considering the relationship between the environment and society it seems like these mistakes are being replayed one time after another. It is time for the mistakes to stop, for the learning to actually happen and for change to start. Therefore it is very important to dissect what has gone wrong, in hope of a sustainable future.
Using concepts from Changes in the Land by William Cronon and from Resilience Thinking: Sustaining Ecosystems and People in a Changing World by Brian Walker and David Salt and some additional sources the past of pre-colonial to colonial New England was explored.
With information from The Shadows of Consumption by Peter Dauvergne and additional sources the story of leaded gasoline was studied.