This book tells the story of Canadians and nature over the last 20,000 years, from the Ice Age to Greenpeace to Parks Canada, from Catherine Parr Traill to Farley Mowat to Umeek (Richard Atleo). More than that, it explains why Canadians have in the last two hundred years or so done such damage to the environment, and why they have found it hard to stop.

As the Earth veers toward a biological tipping point, as resources like water, fish, oil and natural gas become scarcer and as climate change threatens our survival, how is Canada responding? What kind of future can Canadians expect? What changes need to be made?

"In Canadian historiography, there has been an increasing attention on the 1960s. Studies have focused mainly on the radical politics of the period but tended to downplay the extent to which much of the intellectual and social ferment continued into the 1970s and 1980s. This present collection, Canadian Countercultures and the Environment, makes an important contribution to a number of fields. As most of the papers deal with the 1970s and 1980s, they will add to our knowledge of this understudied period. Furthermore, the phenomenon of the counterculture has been the subject of very little academic focus to date. Most importantly, this collection will contribute a sustained analysis of the beginning of key environment debates in the 1970s and 1980s. Papers examine a range of issues related to broad environmental concerns, topics which emerged as key concerns in the context of Cold War military investments and experiments, the oil crisis of the 1970s, debates over gendered roles, and the increasing attention to urban pollution and pesticide use. No other publication dealing with this time period covers the range of environmental topics (activism, midwifery, organic farming, recycling, urban cycling, and communal living) included in this collection. Geographically, this collection covers a range of case studies from the Yukon to Atlantic Canada--it includes two urban examples, and, not surprisingly, places a good deal of emphasis on activities in British Columbia. From the most cursory glance at the history of those who moved "back-to-the-land, " it is clear that they engaged with environmental issues in ways that have had a long-term impact on Canadian society."--

Canadian Environmental Philosophy is the first collection of essays to take up theoretical and practical issues in environmental philosophy today, from a Canadian perspective. The essays cover various subjects, including ecological nationalism, the legacy of Grey Owl, the meaning of “outside” to Canadians, the paradigm shift from mechanism to ecology in our understanding of nature, the meaning and significance of the Anthropocene, the challenges of biodiversity protection in Canada, the conservation status of crossbred species in the age of climate change, and the moral status of ecosystems. This wide range of topics is as diverse and challenging as the Canadian landscape itself. Given the extent of humanity's current impact on the biosphere – especially evident with anthropogenic climate change and the ongoing mass extinction – it has never been more urgent for us to confront these environmental challenges as Canadian citizens and citizens of the world. Canadian Environmental Philosophy galvanizes this conversation from the perspective of this place.

“This is the roadmap out of climate crisis that Canadians have been waiting for.” — Naomi Klein, activist and New York Times bestselling author of This Changes Everything and The Shock Doctrine • One of Canada’s top policy analysts provides the first full-scale blueprint for meeting our climate change commitments • Contains the results of a national poll on Canadians’ attitudes to the climate crisis • Shows that radical transformative climate action can be done, while producing jobs and reducing inequality as we retool how we live and work. • Deeply researched and targeted specifically to Canada and Canadians while providing a model that other countries could follow Canada needs to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 50% to prevent a catastrophic 1.5 degree increase in the earth’s average temperature — assumed by many scientists to be a critical “danger line” for the planet and human life as we know it. It’s 2020, and Canada is not on track to meet our targets. To do so, we’ll need radical systemic change to how we live and work—and fast. How can we ever achieve this? Top policy analyst and author Seth Klein reveals we can do it now because we’ve done it before. During the Second World War, Canadian citizens and government remade the economy by retooling factories, transforming their workforce, and making the war effort a common cause for all Canadians to contribute to. Klein demonstrates how wartime thinking and community efforts can be repurposed today for Canada’s own Green New Deal. He shares how we can create jobs and reduce inequality while tackling our climate obligations for a climate neutral—or even climate zero—future. From enlisting broad public support for new economic models, to job creation through investment in green infrastructure, Klein shows us a bold, practical policy plan for Canada’s sustainable future. More than this: A Good War offers a remarkably hopeful message for how we can meet the defining challenge of our lives. COVID-19 has brought a previously unthinkable pace of change to the world—one which demonstrates our ability to adapt rapidly when we’re at risk. Many recent changes are what Klein proposes in these very pages. The world can, actually, turn on a dime if necessary. This is the blueprint for how to do it.

Traces how Canada’s colonial and national development contributed to modern environmental problems such as urban sprawl, the collapse of fisheries, and climate change Includes over 200 photographs, maps, figures, and sidebar discussions on key figures, concepts, and cases Offers concise definitions of environmental concepts Ties Canadian history to issues relevant to contemporary society Introduces students to a new, dynamic approach to the past Throughout history most people have associated northern North America with wilderness – with abundant fish and game, snow-capped mountains, and endless forest and prairie. Canada’s contemporary picture gallery, however, contains more disturbing images – deforested mountains, empty fisheries, and melting ice caps. Adopting both a chronological and thematic approach, Laurel MacDowell examines human interactions with the land, and the origins of our current environmental crisis, from first peoples to the Kyoto Protocol. This richly illustrated exploration of the past from an environmental perspective will change the way Canadians and others around the world think about – and look at – Canada.

A timely work, this book showcases articles by leading Canadian and international historians interested in environmental action and policy, including Colin M. Coates, Ramsay Cooke, Ken Cruikshank, and Donald Worster.

"The book has two aims. First, it demonstrates the common ground between the fast-growing fields of environmental history and mobility studies in terms of subject matter, theoretical approaches, and methodology. Second, it shows how mobility--the movements of people, things, and ideas, as well as their associated cultural meanings--has been a key factor in shaping Canadians' perceptions of and interactions with their country. Approaching the burgeoning field of environmental history in Canada through the lens of mobility reveals some of the distinctive ways in which Canadians have come to terms with the country's climate and landscape. The collection seeks to accomplish these aims with a broad scope: a series of case studies that span Canada's diverse regions, from the closing of the age of sail in the late nineteenth century to post-World War II automobile culture. Chapters examine a wide range of topics, from the impact of seasonal climactic conditions on different transportation modes, to the environmental consequences of building mobility corridors and pathways, and the relationship between changing forms of mobility with tourism and other recreational activities. The contributors employ a number of methodologies, including the use of traditional archival sources (correspondence, government reports, business ledgers, publicity materials) as well as historical geographic information systems (HGIS), qualitative and quantitative analysis, and critical theory."--

Canadians and the Natural Environment to the Twenty-First Century provides an ideal foundation for undergraduates and general readers on the history of Canada's complex environmental issues. Through clear, easy-to-understand case studies, Neil Forkey integrates the ongoing interplay of humans and the natural world into national, continental, and global contexts. Forkey's engaging survey addresses significant episodes from across the country over the past four hundred years: the classification of Canada's environments by its earliest inhabitants, the relationship between science and sentiment in the Victorian era, the shift towards conservation and preservation of resources in the early twentieth century, and the rise of environmentalism and issues involving First Nations at the end of the century. Canadians and the Natural Environment to the Twenty-First Century provides an accessible synthesis of the most important recent work in the field, making it a truly state-of-the-art contribution to Canadian environmental history.