#EnvHist Worth Reading: March 2016

"Average Dates of Last Killing Frost in Spring," William Reed Gardner, Charles Franklin Brooks, and F.J. Marschner, 1916. David Rumsey Map Collection

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Every month I carefully track the most popular and significant environmental history articles, videos, audio, and other items making their way through the online environmental history (#envhist) community. You can watch all of our #EnvHist Worth Reading videos right here. Here are my choices for items most worth reading from March 2016:

1. No, Ted Cruz, Westerners should not follow in Texas’ footsteps

Jumping into the fray of recent commentary on the American West’s public lands issues, environmental historian, Adam Sowards, reacts to comments made recently by Senator Ted Cruz. A major part of Cruz’s campaign in the West has been his promise to return federal lands to state ownership. Cruz points to his own state, Texas, which has control over its public domain, as a successful example. He argues that federal ownership of lands in the West was a “historical accident.” In this piece, Sowards provides historical background and commentary that support his argument that Cruz is “wrong: Texas itself is the real historical accident, and its history offers a cautionary tale, not a model, for Idaho and the rest of the West.”

2. 100-Year-Old Frost Maps Show How Climate Change Has Shifted the Growing Season in the United States

This post is valuable for both its information and aesthetic properties. Slate’s history writer, Rebecca Onion, features two maps that were created in 1916. The maps illustrate the average date for killing frosts across the United States. These maps were created to assist farmers with their planting schedules. Onion ties these maps into data collected by the Environmental Protection Agency that demonstrates the lengthening  of the growing season since 1895, with a distinct upswing in season length in the last thirty years.

3. Winter storm long ago: Researching my own weather history and memory. [Part I]

As academics, it is often drilled into us that we should not let our personal experiences and our research intwine. Thus, I always enjoy when individuals bipass this (un)written rule and discuss their personal connection to their field of study. This Jacob Darwin Hamblin wrote a lovely piece, which reflected on his knowledge as an environmental historian and his experience Getting Lost in the Woods. Another post that explored the personal this month was written by Sean Munger. In this piece, Munger writes that “Weather is much more than just what’s going on outside your window. It’s a companion in our lives, every day of our lives, and the backdrop against which our personal and collective histories take place. While in my academic work I write about how weather of the past affected other people, some time ago I decided to try out my skills of weather history documentation and analysis on myself.” Munger explores his memories of a particular winter storm in November 1983 and compares these memories to sources from that time.

4. The Surprisingly Long History of Animal Cams

If you have been on social media during the past month, chances are you have come into contact with the hubbub over the birth of two eaglets on the American Eagle Foundation’s bald eagle cam. In this article on Atlas Obscura, Jessie Guy-Ryan looks at the recent increase in live animal cam popularity on the internet and use of this technology for publicity for organizations such as zoos and relates this to the longer history of animal photography and videography use for scientific research. The article ends with a brief consideration of the evolutionary biology behind our fascination with animals cams.

5. Beastly Bibliography

One of my favourite streams of environmental history to read for pleasure is animal history. To jump out of form to April for a second, Dolly Jørgensen published a great recap of animal history at ASEH on her blog. In March, Jonathan Saha released his “evolving annotated bibliography of readings on animals and empire” on his blog. This “Beastly Bibliography” is an excellent resource, and I encourage everyone to check it out and explore topics ranging from basic background historiography and methods to hunting to veterinary medicine.

Remember to follow #envhist hashtag and NiCHE (@NiCHE_Canada) on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ to keep up with the latest environmental history content.

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Jessica DeWitt

is an environmental historian of Canada and the United States, editor, project manager, and digital communications strategist. She earned her PhD in History from the University of Saskatchewan in 2019. She is an executive member, editor-in-chief, and social media editor for the Network in Canadian History and Environment (NiCHE). She is the Managing Editor for the Chacruna Institute for Psychedelic Plant Medicines. She is also President of the Saskatchewan History and Folklore Society, a Girls Rock Saskatoon board member, and a Coordinating Team member of Showing Up for Racial Justice Saskatoon-Treaty Six. A passionate social justice advocate, she focuses on developing digital techniques and communications that bridge the divide between academia and the general public in order to democratize knowledge access. You can find out more about her and her freelance services at jessicamdewitt.com.

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