environmental history research paper topics

Environmental History Research Paper Topics

This page presents an extensive resource on environmental history research paper topics , catering to students navigating the fascinating and ever-evolving field of environmental history. Environmental history encompasses the study of human interaction with the environment over time, and it has emerged as an essential discipline, mirroring our growing understanding of our relationship with the natural world. These research topics, divided into multiple categories, range from early agricultural practices and their impact on societies to the analysis of modern environmental policies and their global implications. This invaluable compilation serves as a starting point for students aiming to delve into detailed research in this vital area of historical study. The page also provides guidelines for choosing appropriate topics and crafting well-written papers, while outlining the unique services offered by iResearchNet, including custom research papers written by subject-matter experts. Students are thus provided with comprehensive support throughout their academic journey in environmental history.

100 Environmental History Research Paper Topics

Environmental history encompasses a wide range of topics that explore the complex relationship between human societies and the natural environment throughout history. This comprehensive list of environmental history research paper topics is designed to provide students with a diverse array of options to choose from. Divided into 10 categories, each with 10 topics, this list aims to inspire and guide students in their exploration of environmental history research. From examining environmental impacts to analyzing conservation efforts, these topics offer rich opportunities for investigation and critical analysis.

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Environmental Impacts:

• The Industrial Revolution and its Environmental Consequences
• The Impact of Mining Activities on Local Environments
• Deforestation and its Effects on Ecosystems
• Urbanization and the Transformation of Natural Landscapes
• Environmental Consequences of Colonial Expansion
• Agricultural Practices and their Environmental Implications
• Pollution and the Rise of Industrialized Societies
• The Effects of Dam Construction on River Ecosystems
• The Ecological Impact of Nuclear Energy Development
• Climate Change and its Historical Context

Conservation and Preservation:

• The Origins of National Parks and their Significance
• The Role of Environmental Activism in Shaping Conservation Policies
• Preservation of Indigenous Lands and Cultural Heritage
• The Evolution of Wildlife Conservation Efforts
• The Impact of the Green Revolution on Agricultural Sustainability
• Natural Resource Management and Sustainable Development
• Environmental Ethics and the Preservation of Biodiversity
• Case Studies in Successful Environmental Conservation Projects
• Historical Perspectives on Wilderness Protection
• The Role of Government Policies in Environmental Preservation

Environmental Justice:

• Environmental Racism and Inequality in Resource Distribution
• Indigenous Perspectives on Land Rights and Environmental Justice
• Environmental Movements and Grassroots Activism
• Environmental Justice and Urban Planning
• Historical Disparities in Access to Clean Water and Sanitation
• Environmental Justice in the Context of Colonialism
• Gender and Environmental Justice
• Environmental Justice and the Labor Movement
• Environmental Health and Social Inequalities
• Environmental Justice and Climate Change Vulnerability

Technological Advancements:

• The Impact of the Industrial Revolution on Technology and the Environment
• The Development of Renewable Energy Sources
• Technological Innovations in Waste Management
• Transportation and its Environmental Impacts
• Agricultural Innovations and Environmental Sustainability
• The Role of Technology in Water Resource Management
• Technological Advances in Environmental Monitoring and Assessment
• The Relationship between Technology and Pollution Control
• Historical Perspectives on Technological Disasters and Environmental Consequences
• Technological Solutions to Environmental Challenges

Environmental Thought and Philosophy:

• Historical Perspectives on Human-Nature Relationships
• Environmentalism in Literature and the Arts
• Ecological Wisdom in Indigenous Cultures
• The Influence of Romanticism on Environmental Thought
• Environmental Philosophy and Ethics
• Deep Ecology and its Historical Origins
• Historical Perspectives on Conservation Ideologies
• Nature Writing and its Impact on Environmental Consciousness
• The Role of Religion and Spirituality in Shaping Environmental Values
• Environmental Education and Awareness Campaigns

Environmental Policy and Governance:

• Historical Development of Environmental Legislation
• International Agreements and Environmental Cooperation
• The Role of Government Agencies in Environmental Protection
• The Influence of Lobbying and Interest Groups on Environmental Policy
• Environmental Impact Assessment and its Historical Evolution
• Historical Case Studies in Environmental Policy Successes and Failures
• Local Environmental Governance and Community Participation
• Environmental Diplomacy and Negotiations
• The Relationship between Science and Environmental Policy
• Historical Perspectives on Environmental Regulation in Different Countries

Historical Perspectives on Natural Disasters:

• Case Studies in Historical Natural Disasters and their Impacts
• The Role of Human Activity in Natural Disaster Occurrences
• Historical Responses to Natural Disasters
• Natural Disasters and Societal Resilience
• The Influence of Climate Change on Natural Disasters
• Historical Perspectives on Pandemics and their Environmental Consequences
• Natural Disasters and Economic Consequences
• The Impact of Natural Disasters on Indigenous Communities
• Environmental Adaptation and Mitigation Strategies
• Lessons from History: Preparedness and Response to Natural Disasters

Urbanization and the Environment:

• The Rise of Industrial Cities and their Environmental Challenges
• Historical Perspectives on Urban Planning and Environmental Sustainability
• Urbanization and Public Health
• The Impact of Urbanization on Natural Ecosystems
• Historical Case Studies in Urban Environmental Revitalization
• Urban Waste Management and Pollution Control
• Historical Perspectives on Urban Transportation and its Environmental Effects
• Urban Agriculture and Sustainable Food Systems
• Urban Heat Islands and the Effects of Urbanization on Climate
• Historical Analysis of Urban Environmental Movements

Historical Perspectives on Resource Extraction:

• The History of Mining and its Environmental Consequences
• Logging and the Transformation of Forest Landscapes
• Historical Perspectives on Water Resource Management
• The Environmental Impact of Fossil Fuel Extraction
• Historical Analysis of Fisheries and Marine Resource Exploitation
• Agriculture and the Transformation of Landscapes
• Historical Perspectives on Land Enclosure and Agricultural Intensification
• The Impact of Colonial Resource Extraction on Local Environments
• Historical Case Studies on the Exploitation of Natural Resources
• Conservation and Sustainable Resource Management

Global Environmental History:

• Environmental Consequences of Global Trade and Colonialism
• The Historical Evolution of Environmental Globalization
• Historical Perspectives on Transboundary Pollution
• Climate Change and its Global Implications
• Global Environmental Governance and Cooperation
• Historical Perspectives on International Environmental Conferences
• Historical Analysis of Environmental Migration and Displacement
• Global Environmental Movements and Activism
• Historical Perspectives on Environmental Inequalities between Nations
• The Role of Global Institutions in Addressing Environmental Challenges

This comprehensive list of environmental history research paper topics provides students with a wealth of options to explore and investigate. From examining environmental impacts to analyzing conservation efforts and studying historical perspectives on natural disasters, these topics offer a diverse range of opportunities for research and analysis. Whether students are interested in the ecological consequences of industrialization, environmental justice issues, or the development of environmental policy, this list offers a solid foundation for selecting a research topic in the field of environmental history.

Environmental History: Exploring the Range of Research Paper Topics

Environmental history is a captivating field of study that examines the intricate relationship between human societies and the natural environment throughout time. It offers a unique lens through which to understand the impact of human actions on the environment and how these interactions have shaped historical events and shaped the world we live in today. The diverse range of research paper topics within environmental history provides students with ample opportunities to explore and analyze various aspects of human-environment relationships. In this article, we will delve into the fascinating world of environmental history and highlight the breadth of research paper topics it encompasses.

• Understanding Ecological Transformations : One prominent area of research within environmental history focuses on ecological transformations. This category explores how human activities have influenced ecosystems, altered landscapes, and impacted biodiversity. It examines the consequences of practices such as agriculture, deforestation, industrialization, and the introduction of invasive species. By studying ecological transformations, students can gain insights into the environmental impacts of human activities throughout history and understand the long-term consequences of these changes.
• Unveiling Environmental Disasters : Environmental disasters provide another critical dimension of environmental history research. These events offer valuable lessons on the consequences of human actions and the vulnerabilities of natural systems. By studying environmental disasters, students can explore topics such as major industrial accidents, natural calamities, nuclear accidents, oil spills, and the interplay between climate change and natural disasters. Analyzing these events from a historical perspective can help us learn from past mistakes and develop strategies for preventing future catastrophes.
• Exploring Environmental Movements and Activism : The study of environmental movements and activism is an integral part of environmental history. This category examines the efforts of individuals and communities to advocate for environmental conservation and social justice. It delves into the historical development of environmentalism, the role of grassroots movements, the impact of indigenous communities, and the fight against environmental racism. By exploring environmental movements and activism, students can gain a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by environmental advocates and the strategies they employ to bring about change.
• Resource Exploitation and its Consequences : The history of resource exploitation is another compelling area of study within environmental history. It investigates the social, economic, and environmental impacts of activities such as mining, fossil fuel extraction, overfishing, and water management. By examining resource exploitation, students can analyze the tensions between resource extraction and sustainability, explore the historical contexts of resource conflicts, and identify lessons for responsible resource management in the present and future.
• Environmental Thought and Philosophy : Environmental history encompasses not only the study of human actions but also the examination of environmental thought and philosophy. This category explores the cultural, religious, and intellectual dimensions of human-environment relationships. It delves into topics such as indigenous environmental philosophies, the influence of philosophical movements on environmental thought, environmental ethics, and the representation of nature in art and literature throughout history. By exploring environmental thought and philosophy, students can gain a deeper appreciation for the diverse ways in which humans have perceived and interacted with the natural world.
• Examining Urbanization and its Environmental Impacts : The rapid growth of urban areas poses significant challenges to environmental sustainability. The category of urbanization and the environment explores the historical development of urban planning, the impact of industrialization on urban pollution and public health, waste management challenges in urban environments, the effects of urbanization on local ecosystems and biodiversity, and the history of sustainable urban development practices. By studying urbanization and its environmental impacts, students can understand the complex relationship between cities and the environment and explore strategies for creating more sustainable urban spaces.
• Climate Change and Historical Perspectives : As climate change becomes an increasingly pressing global issue, studying its historical context is crucial. This category delves into the historical record of climate change, including natural causes and the role of human activities in exacerbating the phenomenon. It examines historical examples of societies adapting to climate change, analyzes the impact of climate change on agriculture, economies, and societies, and traces the evolution of climate change awareness and policy. By exploring climate change from a historical perspective, students can gain a comprehensive understanding of the long-term implications of climate change and the importance of historical knowledge in addressing this global challenge.

Environmental history offers a rich tapestry of research paper topics that allow students to explore the complex relationship between human societies and the natural environment. From ecological transformations and environmental disasters to environmental movements, resource exploitation, environmental thought, urbanization, and climate change, the field of environmental history provides endless avenues for investigation. By engaging with these topics, students can deepen their understanding of human-environment interactions, develop critical thinking skills, and contribute to the collective effort of addressing environmental challenges we face today. Through the lens of history, we can learn from the past to shape a more sustainable and resilient future.

Choosing Environmental History Research Paper Topics

Choosing the right research paper topic is crucial for a successful study in environmental history. It not only determines the direction and focus of your research but also plays a significant role in maintaining your interest and motivation throughout the process. In this section, we will provide expert advice on how to choose compelling and impactful environmental history research paper topics.

• Identify Your Interests : Start by identifying your specific interests within the broad field of environmental history. Consider the aspects of human-environment relationships that intrigue you the most. Are you passionate about climate change, resource exploitation, urbanization, environmental movements, or ecological transformations? By narrowing down your interests, you can focus your research on topics that truly engage and inspire you.
• Consider Timeliness and Relevance : Take into account the timeliness and relevance of your research topic. Look for emerging environmental issues or ongoing debates that require further investigation. Consider how your research can contribute to current discussions and provide valuable insights. By choosing a topic that is timely and relevant, you increase the potential impact of your research.
• Delve into Untapped Areas : Explore untapped areas within environmental history. Look for gaps in the existing literature where limited research has been conducted. By delving into unexplored territories, you have the opportunity to contribute original ideas and expand the knowledge base in environmental history. Consider niche topics or underrepresented regions that offer new perspectives and avenues for investigation.
• Balance Specificity and Scope : Strive for a balance between specificity and scope in your research topic. A topic that is too broad may lack focus, while one that is too narrow may limit your access to relevant sources and data. Find a middle ground where your topic is specific enough to provide depth and originality, but broad enough to allow for comprehensive research and analysis.
• Engage with Primary Sources : To enhance the authenticity and rigor of your research, seek topics that allow you to engage with primary sources. Primary sources provide firsthand accounts and original data that enrich your analysis and strengthen your arguments. Explore archival collections, historical documents, diaries, newspapers, and other relevant sources that can provide valuable insights into the environmental history you are studying.
• Collaborate with Scholars and Experts : Engage with scholars and experts in the field of environmental history. Attend conferences, workshops, and seminars where you can interact with professionals who can guide and support your research endeavors. Seek their advice on potential research topics and gain insights from their expertise. Collaborating with scholars not only enhances the quality of your work but also opens doors to new research opportunities.
• Consider Multi-disciplinary Approaches : Environmental history is an interdisciplinary field that draws from various disciplines such as history, ecology, geography, sociology, and more. Consider incorporating multi-disciplinary approaches into your research topic. Explore how concepts and methodologies from different fields can enrich your analysis and provide a comprehensive understanding of the environmental issues you are studying.
• Analyze Long-term Trends and Patterns : Environmental history offers the opportunity to analyze long-term trends and patterns. Consider topics that allow you to explore changes and continuities in human-environment relationships over extended periods. By examining historical trajectories, you can gain valuable insights into the complex dynamics between societies and their environments.
• Connect Local and Global Perspectives : Look for topics that bridge local and global perspectives. Environmental history encompasses a wide range of scales, from local case studies to global phenomena. Consider how local environmental issues connect to broader global contexts and vice versa. By examining the interplay between local and global perspectives, you can uncover the interconnectedness of environmental processes and their historical significance.
• Seek Guidance from Your Advisor : Lastly, seek guidance from your advisor or instructor. They can provide valuable insights, suggestions, and feedback on potential research topics. Share your interests and ideas with them, and discuss how to refine and narrow down your topic to align with your research goals and academic requirements.

Choosing a compelling and impactful environmental history research paper topic requires careful consideration and exploration. By identifying your interests, considering timeliness and relevance, delving into untapped areas, balancing specificity and scope, engaging with primary sources, collaborating with scholars, embracing multi-disciplinary approaches, analyzing long-term trends, connecting local and global perspectives, and seeking guidance from your advisor, you can select a topic that captivates your curiosity and contributes to the scholarly conversation in environmental history. Remember, the right research topic is the foundation for a successful and fulfilling research journey.

How to Write an Environmental History Research Paper

Writing an environmental history research paper requires careful planning, thorough research, and effective organization. In this section, we will provide you with a step-by-step guide on how to write a compelling and well-structured environmental history research paper.

• Define Your Research Question : Start by defining a clear and focused research question. Your research question should be specific, concise, and address an important aspect of environmental history. It will serve as the guiding framework for your research and help you stay focused throughout the writing process.
• Conduct In-Depth Research : Thoroughly research your topic by consulting a variety of sources. Utilize academic journals, books, reputable websites, primary sources, and other relevant materials. Take comprehensive notes and organize your research findings to ensure easy retrieval and proper citation later on.
• Develop an Outline : Create a detailed outline for your research paper. An outline helps you structure your ideas, establish a logical flow of information, and maintain coherence throughout your writing. Divide your paper into sections and subsections, each addressing a specific aspect of your research question.
• Craft a Strong Thesis Statement : Develop a strong and arguable thesis statement that encapsulates the main argument or perspective of your research paper. Your thesis statement should be clear, concise, and provide a roadmap for your entire paper. It will guide your analysis and help you stay focused on your main objective.
• Provide Historical Context : Situate your research within its historical context. Provide background information on the time period, geographical location, and relevant events or developments that shaped the environmental history you are studying. This contextualization will help readers understand the significance and relevance of your research.
• Analyze Primary and Secondary Sources : Engage critically with both primary and secondary sources. Primary sources provide firsthand accounts or original data related to your research topic, while secondary sources offer interpretations and analyses of primary materials. Analyze and evaluate these sources to support your arguments and provide evidence for your claims.
• Use a Variety of Methodologies : Utilize a range of methodologies in your research. Environmental history draws from various approaches, including archival research, oral history interviews, quantitative analysis, and spatial analysis. Consider the methodologies that best suit your research question and use them to enrich your analysis.
• Structure Your Paper : Organize your research paper into clear sections, including an introduction, literature review, methodology, analysis, and conclusion. Each section should flow logically and contribute to the overall argument of your research. Use appropriate headings and subheadings to guide readers through your paper.
• Engage with Existing Scholarship : Demonstrate your knowledge of the existing scholarship in environmental history. Engage with relevant theories, concepts, and debates in the field. Discuss how your research contributes to or challenges existing literature, and highlight the significance of your findings within the broader academic discourse.
• Revise and Edit : Allocate ample time for revising and editing your research paper. Review your content for clarity, coherence, and logical progression of ideas. Check for grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors. Ensure that your citations and references follow the appropriate style guide, such as APA, MLA, or Chicago.

Writing an environmental history research paper requires careful planning, diligent research, and effective communication of your findings. By defining a clear research question, conducting in-depth research, developing a strong thesis statement, providing historical context, analyzing primary and secondary sources, utilizing a variety of methodologies, structuring your paper, engaging with existing scholarship, and revising and editing thoroughly, you can produce a compelling and well-crafted environmental history research paper. Remember to stay focused, remain critical in your analysis, and let your passion for the subject shine through in your writing.

iResearchNet’s Writing Services

At iResearchNet, we understand the challenges students face when it comes to writing high-quality environmental history research papers. With our team of expert writers and comprehensive writing services, we aim to provide you with the support you need to excel in your academic endeavors. In this section, we will outline the key features and benefits of our writing services and explain why we are your ideal partner for environmental history research papers.

• Expert Degree-Holding Writers : We have a team of experienced and highly qualified writers who specialize in history and environmental studies. Our writers hold advanced degrees in their respective fields, ensuring that your research paper will be handled by professionals who possess in-depth knowledge and expertise in environmental history.
• Custom Written Works : At iResearchNet, we prioritize originality and customizability. Each research paper we deliver is tailored to your specific requirements and academic guidelines. Our writers will work closely with you to understand your research topic, objectives, and preferences, ensuring that your paper meets your unique needs.
• In-Depth Research : We understand the importance of thorough research in producing a comprehensive and well-supported environmental history research paper. Our writers are skilled researchers who will delve deep into relevant literature, primary sources, and scholarly databases to gather the necessary information and evidence to support your arguments.
• Custom Formatting : Proper formatting is crucial in academic writing, and our writers are well-versed in the various citation styles, including APA, MLA, Chicago/Turabian, and Harvard. We will format your research paper according to the required style, ensuring that your citations and references are accurate and properly formatted.
• Top Quality : Quality is our utmost priority. We guarantee that the research papers we deliver are of the highest standard. Our writers follow rigorous quality control measures to ensure that your paper is well-researched, well-structured, and free from grammatical or spelling errors. We also employ professional editors to review and polish your paper before delivery.
• Customized Solutions : We understand that every research paper is unique, and we are committed to providing customized solutions. Whether you need assistance with topic selection, literature review, methodology, analysis, or any other aspect of your research paper, our writers will tailor their support to meet your specific requirements.
• Flexible Pricing : We offer flexible pricing options to accommodate various budgetary constraints. We understand that students often have limited financial resources, and we strive to provide affordable services without compromising on quality. Our pricing is transparent, and there are no hidden costs or additional fees.
• Short Deadlines : We recognize the importance of meeting deadlines, even in urgent situations. Our writers are accustomed to working under time constraints and can handle short deadlines as tight as 3 hours. You can rely on us to deliver your research paper promptly, ensuring that you meet your submission deadline.
• Timely Delivery : Punctuality is one of our core values. We understand the significance of timely delivery, and we are committed to meeting your deadlines. Our writers work efficiently to ensure that your research paper is completed within the agreed-upon timeframe, allowing you ample time for review and revisions.
• 24/7 Support : Our customer support team is available 24/7 to address any inquiries or concerns you may have. Whether you need assistance with placing an order, communicating with your writer, or seeking updates on the progress of your research paper, our dedicated support staff is here to assist you.
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When it comes to writing exceptional environmental history research papers, iResearchNet is your trusted partner. With our team of expert degree-holding writers, custom written works, in-depth research, custom formatting, top quality, customized solutions, flexible pricing, short deadlines, timely delivery, 24/7 support, absolute privacy, easy order tracking, and money-back guarantee, we provide comprehensive writing services to meet your specific needs. Trust us to deliver a well-crafted and impactful research paper that demonstrates your knowledge and understanding of environmental history. Let us assist you in unleashing your potential and achieving academic excellence.

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With iResearchNet’s environmental history writing services, you can unleash your potential and achieve academic excellence in your research papers. Our team of expert writers, customized solutions, in-depth research, effective organization, adherence to formatting and citation styles, quality assurance, timely delivery, and dedicated customer support are here to support you every step of the way. Take advantage of our expertise and experience the difference in your environmental history research papers. Place your order today and embark on a journey of success in your academic endeavors.

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Research Topics & Ideas: Environment

100+ Environmental Science Research Topics & Ideas

Finding and choosing a strong research topic is the critical first step when it comes to crafting a high-quality dissertation, thesis or research project. Here, we’ll explore a variety research ideas and topic thought-starters related to various environmental science disciplines, including ecology, oceanography, hydrology, geology, soil science, environmental chemistry, environmental economics, and environmental ethics.

NB – This is just the start…

The topic ideation and evaluation process has multiple steps . In this post, we’ll kickstart the process by sharing some research topic ideas within the environmental sciences. This is the starting point though. To develop a well-defined research topic, you’ll need to identify a clear and convincing research gap , along with a well-justified plan of action to fill that gap.

If you’re new to the oftentimes perplexing world of research, or if this is your first time undertaking a formal academic research project, be sure to check out our free dissertation mini-course. Also be sure to also sign up for our free webinar that explores how to develop a high-quality research topic from scratch.

Overview: Environmental Topics

• Ecology /ecological science
• Atmospheric science
• Oceanography
• Soil science
• Environmental chemistry
• Environmental economics
• Environmental ethics
• Examples  of dissertations and theses

Topics & Ideas: Ecological Science

• The impact of land-use change on species diversity and ecosystem functioning in agricultural landscapes
• The role of disturbances such as fire and drought in shaping arid ecosystems
• The impact of climate change on the distribution of migratory marine species
• Investigating the role of mutualistic plant-insect relationships in maintaining ecosystem stability
• The effects of invasive plant species on ecosystem structure and function
• The impact of habitat fragmentation caused by road construction on species diversity and population dynamics in the tropics
• The role of ecosystem services in urban areas and their economic value to a developing nation
• The effectiveness of different grassland restoration techniques in degraded ecosystems
• The impact of land-use change through agriculture and urbanisation on soil microbial communities in a temperate environment
• The role of microbial diversity in ecosystem health and nutrient cycling in an African savannah

Topics & Ideas: Atmospheric Science

• The impact of climate change on atmospheric circulation patterns above tropical rainforests
• The role of atmospheric aerosols in cloud formation and precipitation above cities with high pollution levels
• The impact of agricultural land-use change on global atmospheric composition
• Investigating the role of atmospheric convection in severe weather events in the tropics
• The impact of urbanisation on regional and global atmospheric ozone levels
• The impact of sea surface temperature on atmospheric circulation and tropical cyclones
• The impact of solar flares on the Earth’s atmospheric composition
• The impact of climate change on atmospheric turbulence and air transportation safety
• The impact of stratospheric ozone depletion on atmospheric circulation and climate change
• The role of atmospheric rivers in global water supply and sea-ice formation

Topics & Ideas: Oceanography

• The impact of ocean acidification on kelp forests and biogeochemical cycles
• The role of ocean currents in distributing heat and regulating desert rain
• The impact of carbon monoxide pollution on ocean chemistry and biogeochemical cycles
• Investigating the role of ocean mixing in regulating coastal climates
• The impact of sea level rise on the resource availability of low-income coastal communities
• The impact of ocean warming on the distribution and migration patterns of marine mammals
• The impact of ocean deoxygenation on biogeochemical cycles in the arctic
• The role of ocean-atmosphere interactions in regulating rainfall in arid regions
• The impact of ocean eddies on global ocean circulation and plankton distribution
• The role of ocean-ice interactions in regulating the Earth’s climate and sea level

Tops & Ideas: Hydrology

• The impact of agricultural land-use change on water resources and hydrologic cycles in temperate regions
• The impact of agricultural groundwater availability on irrigation practices in the global south
• The impact of rising sea-surface temperatures on global precipitation patterns and water availability
• Investigating the role of wetlands in regulating water resources for riparian forests
• The impact of tropical ranches on river and stream ecosystems and water quality
• The impact of urbanisation on regional and local hydrologic cycles and water resources for agriculture
• The role of snow cover and mountain hydrology in regulating regional agricultural water resources
• The impact of drought on food security in arid and semi-arid regions
• The role of groundwater recharge in sustaining water resources in arid and semi-arid environments
• The impact of sea level rise on coastal hydrology and the quality of water resources

Topics & Ideas: Geology

• The impact of tectonic activity on the East African rift valley
• The role of mineral deposits in shaping ancient human societies
• The impact of sea-level rise on coastal geomorphology and shoreline evolution
• Investigating the role of erosion in shaping the landscape and impacting desertification
• The impact of mining on soil stability and landslide potential
• The impact of volcanic activity on incoming solar radiation and climate
• The role of geothermal energy in decarbonising the energy mix of megacities
• The impact of Earth’s magnetic field on geological processes and solar wind
• The impact of plate tectonics on the evolution of mammals
• The role of the distribution of mineral resources in shaping human societies and economies, with emphasis on sustainability

Topics & Ideas: Soil Science

• The impact of dam building on soil quality and fertility
• The role of soil organic matter in regulating nutrient cycles in agricultural land
• The impact of climate change on soil erosion and soil organic carbon storage in peatlands
• Investigating the role of above-below-ground interactions in nutrient cycling and soil health
• The impact of deforestation on soil degradation and soil fertility
• The role of soil texture and structure in regulating water and nutrient availability in boreal forests
• The impact of sustainable land management practices on soil health and soil organic matter
• The impact of wetland modification on soil structure and function
• The role of soil-atmosphere exchange and carbon sequestration in regulating regional and global climate
• The impact of salinization on soil health and crop productivity in coastal communities

Topics & Ideas: Environmental Chemistry

• The impact of cobalt mining on water quality and the fate of contaminants in the environment
• The role of atmospheric chemistry in shaping air quality and climate change
• The impact of soil chemistry on nutrient availability and plant growth in wheat monoculture
• Investigating the fate and transport of heavy metal contaminants in the environment
• The impact of climate change on biochemical cycling in tropical rainforests
• The impact of various types of land-use change on biochemical cycling
• The role of soil microbes in mediating contaminant degradation in the environment
• The impact of chemical and oil spills on freshwater and soil chemistry
• The role of atmospheric nitrogen deposition in shaping water and soil chemistry
• The impact of over-irrigation on the cycling and fate of persistent organic pollutants in the environment

Topics & Ideas: Environmental Economics

• The impact of climate change on the economies of developing nations
• The role of market-based mechanisms in promoting sustainable use of forest resources
• The impact of environmental regulations on economic growth and competitiveness
• Investigating the economic benefits and costs of ecosystem services for African countries
• The impact of renewable energy policies on regional and global energy markets
• The role of water markets in promoting sustainable water use in southern Africa
• The impact of land-use change in rural areas on regional and global economies
• The impact of environmental disasters on local and national economies
• The role of green technologies and innovation in shaping the zero-carbon transition and the knock-on effects for local economies
• The impact of environmental and natural resource policies on income distribution and poverty of rural communities

Topics & Ideas: Environmental Ethics

• The ethical foundations of environmentalism and the environmental movement regarding renewable energy
• The role of values and ethics in shaping environmental policy and decision-making in the mining industry
• The impact of cultural and religious beliefs on environmental attitudes and behaviours in first world countries
• Investigating the ethics of biodiversity conservation and the protection of endangered species in palm oil plantations
• The ethical implications of sea-level rise for future generations and vulnerable coastal populations
• The role of ethical considerations in shaping sustainable use of natural forest resources
• The impact of environmental justice on marginalized communities and environmental policies in Asia
• The ethical implications of environmental risks and decision-making under uncertainty
• The role of ethics in shaping the transition to a low-carbon, sustainable future for the construction industry
• The impact of environmental values on consumer behaviour and the marketplace: a case study of the ‘bring your own shopping bag’ policy

Examples: Real Dissertation & Thesis Topics

While the ideas we’ve presented above are a decent starting point for finding a research topic, they are fairly generic and non-specific. So, it helps to look at actual dissertations and theses to see how this all comes together.

Below, we’ve included a selection of research projects from various environmental science-related degree programs to help refine your thinking. These are actual dissertations and theses, written as part of Master’s and PhD-level programs, so they can provide some useful insight as to what a research topic looks like in practice.

• The physiology of microorganisms in enhanced biological phosphorous removal (Saunders, 2014)
• The influence of the coastal front on heavy rainfall events along the east coast (Henson, 2019)
• Forage production and diversification for climate-smart tropical and temperate silvopastures (Dibala, 2019)
• Advancing spectral induced polarization for near surface geophysical characterization (Wang, 2021)
• Assessment of Chromophoric Dissolved Organic Matter and Thamnocephalus platyurus as Tools to Monitor Cyanobacterial Bloom Development and Toxicity (Hipsher, 2019)
• Evaluating the Removal of Microcystin Variants with Powdered Activated Carbon (Juang, 2020)
• The effect of hydrological restoration on nutrient concentrations, macroinvertebrate communities, and amphibian populations in Lake Erie coastal wetlands (Berg, 2019)
• Utilizing hydrologic soil grouping to estimate corn nitrogen rate recommendations (Bean, 2019)
• Fungal Function in House Dust and Dust from the International Space Station (Bope, 2021)
• Assessing Vulnerability and the Potential for Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) in Sudan’s Blue Nile Basin (Mohamed, 2022)
• A Microbial Water Quality Analysis of the Recreational Zones in the Los Angeles River of Elysian Valley, CA (Nguyen, 2019)
• Dry Season Water Quality Study on Three Recreational Sites in the San Gabriel Mountains (Vallejo, 2019)
• Wastewater Treatment Plan for Unix Packaging Adjustment of the Potential Hydrogen (PH) Evaluation of Enzymatic Activity After the Addition of Cycle Disgestase Enzyme (Miessi, 2020)
• Laying the Genetic Foundation for the Conservation of Longhorn Fairy Shrimp (Kyle, 2021).

Looking at these titles, you can probably pick up that the research topics here are quite specific and narrowly-focused , compared to the generic ones presented earlier. To create a top-notch research topic, you will need to be precise and target a specific context with specific variables of interest . In other words, you’ll need to identify a clear, well-justified research gap.

Need more help?

If you’re still feeling a bit unsure about how to find a research topic for your environmental science dissertation or research project, be sure to check out our private coaching services below, as well as our Research Topic Kickstarter .

Need a helping hand?

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Introduction: A New Environmental History

Andrew C. Isenberg is Professor of History at Temple University. He is the author of The Destruction of the Bison: An Environmental History, 1750–1920 (2000); Mining California:An Ecological History (2005); Wyatt Earp: A Vigilante Life (2013); and the editor of The Nature of Cities: Culture, Landscape, and Urban Space (2006).

• Published: 02 October 2014
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The introduction explains that this book focuses on the integration of the insights of environmental history with a host of other subfields of history, such as race, class, gender, ethnicity, labor, law, consumption, borderlands, and the history of science. More specifically, it explores the historiographies of these established subfields without deviating from the methodology of environmental history. The introduction provides a summary of each part of the book. Part I addresses the environmental context of historical change by analyzing issues associated with climate, disease, fauna, and regional environments. Part II examines the changing understanding of scientific knowledge and the need for environmental historians to confront a more complex, dynamic idea of ecology than that faced by their predecessors. Part III considers the link between environmental history and economic change, whereas Part IV looks at the intersection of environmental history with the history of politics and the nation-state.

The Emergence of a New Field

When the historian William H. McNeill’s Rise of the West was published in 1963, it received widespread praise for its striking argument for the importance of cultural diffusion in world history. As McNeill himself recalled in 1991, the book challenged inward-looking historical orthodoxy by positing that “the principal factor promoting historically significant social change is contact with strangers possessing new and unfamiliar skills.” Rise of the West won the National Book Award and firmly established McNeill’s scholarly reputation. Yet McNeill, who thirteen years after writing Rise of the West wrote one of the founding texts of environmental history, Plagues and Peoples , later rued that in the writing of Rise of the West a number of subjects had “largely escaped my attention.” By 1991, he had come to believe that in addition to inter-cultural encounters, historians also needed to take account of “our encounters and collisions with all the other organisms that make up the Earth’s ecosystem.” He pointed to the devasting plague of the fourteenth century (commonly known as the Black Death) and the transmission of diseases from Europe to the Americas after 1492 as important examples of such “collisions.” 1

When Rise of the West was first published, few historians would have seen the omission of “the Earth’s ecosystem” in a historical study as worthy of regret. As recently as thirty years ago, textbooks in American, European, and world history contained little of what we would now call environmental history. Textbook authors, such as the historian R. R. Palmer, whose History of the Modern World went through ten editions between 1950 and 2006, sometimes included a few words at the outset that established a geographical setting for the narrative to follow. In the foreword to the 1983 edition of History of the Modern World , Palmer and his coauthor Joel Colton hinted that the environment could be understood historically, writing that “climate itself can change. The Roman ruins in the interior of Morocco and Tunisia remind us that the climate there was once more favorable.” 2 But the narrative following that short geographical and climatological introduction paid little attention to the environmental context of human history, and still less to the environment as an agent in history.

Indeed, few historians of McNeill’s generation came to embrace environmental history as fully as he did. Nonetheless, textbook authors writing in the decades after McNeill’s original study increasingly integrated the perspectives of environmental history into their narratives. In 1981, a leading textbook, Western Civilization: A Concise History , dealt with the famine that attended fourteenth-century Europe in a way typical of textbooks at the time. The authors attributed the famine to a number of factors, foremost among which was ignorance, including “limited knowledge of fertilizer.” Among the other factors, none of which were deemed particularly important, was bad weather, particularly “intermittent bouts of prolonged heavy rains and frosts.” 3 But twenty years later, climate had become an important explanatory factor. In 2001, Ronnie Hsia wrote in The Making of the West that “a cooling of the European climate also contributed to the crisis in the food supply. Modern studies of tree rings indicate that fourteenth-century Europe entered a colder period, with a succession of severe winters beginning in 1315. The extreme cold upset an ecological system already overtaxed by human civilization.” 4

Likewise, the authors of American history textbooks have done much to incorporate environmental history into their synthetic narratives. In the first edition of America: A Narrative History , published in 1984, the historian George Tindall wrote dismissively of Native Americans: “When the whites came, even the most developed Indian societies were ill-equipped to resist these dynamic European cultures. There were large and fatal gaps in their knowledge and technology.” 5 By the eighth edition, published in 2010, Tindall and coauthor David Shi had revised their view to reflect scholarship in environmental history on the complexities of native land-use practices. “Over the centuries the Native Americans of North America had adapted to changing climates and changing environments. Their resilience was remarkable.” 6

The work of the environmental historian Alfred Crosby has been particularly influential. In 1984, Tindall mentioned disease as a contributing but relatively minor factor in the colonists’ displacement of natives; he put far more emphasis on the colonists’ violent conquest. 7 By 2010, however, Tindall and Shi attached more importance and causal weight to disease. “By far the most significant aspect of the biological exchange,” they wrote, “was the transmission of infectious diseases from Europe and Africa to the Americas. European colonists and enslaved Africans brought with them deadly pathogens that Native Americans had never experienced…The results were catastrophic. Far more Indians—tens of millions—died from contagions than from combat. Major diseases such as typhus and smallpox produced pandemics in the New World on a scale never witnessed in history.” 8

Tindall devoted but a few sentences to the “dust bowl” of the North American Great Plains in his 1984 edition—and then only to note, in a waggish aside, that by destroying wheat, drought helped the goal of the Agricultural Adjustment Act, which was to stem the overproduction of staple crops. “In 1933, widespread drought in the wheat belt reduced production and removed any need to plow up growing wheat.” 9 In 2010, by contrast, Tindall and Shi wrote that “a decade-long drought during the 1930s spawned an environmental and human catastrophe known as the dust bowl.” 10

The authors of A People and a Nation: A History of the United States had little to say about the environmental movement in their 1986 edition. In a section devoted primarily to a discussion of the social welfare legislation passed during the administration of Richard Nixon, the text’s discussion of the environmental movement and the legislation it helped to create amounted to one sentence noting three bills that became law in 1970: “Congress responded to the growing environmental movement by passing the Clean Air Act [ sic ; in 1970 Congress passed an extension of the Act], the Water Quality Improvement Act, and the Resource Recovery Act.” 11 The 2012 edition of the textbook, with a different group of authors responsible for writing the twentieth-century section, discussed the environment, pollution, and the environmental movement extensively. The authors noted not only Rachel Carson’s 1962 book Silent Spring and the first Earth Day in 1970, but also the work of the environmentalist Barry Commoner, two infamous environmental disasters in 1969 (an oil spill in Santa Barbara, California, and the burning of the polluted Cuyahoga River in Cleveland Ohio), the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania in 1979, and the revelation of toxic pollution at Love Canal in New York in 1980. The revised text noted that Nixon’s executive order creating the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970 was followed by the passage of eighteen major environmental laws during the 1970s. 12

In short, since the early 1980s, the recognition of environmental history within the mainstream of academic history has been widespread. The work of what one might call the founding generation of environmental historians—William Cronon, Alfred Crosby, Thomas Dunlap, Samuel Hays, J. Donald Hughes, Carolyn Merchant, Martin Melosi, Arthur McEvoy, William McNeill, Roderick Nash, John Opie, Stephen Pyne, Hal Rothman, Susan Schrepfer, Joel Tarr, Richard White, and Donald Worster among them—had a profound impact on the practice of academic history. 13 By the beginning of the twenty-first century, most writers of broadly synthetic texts shared McNeill’s view that neglecting the environment meant missing something important.

What Is Environmental History?

Mainstream historians, rushing to incorporate the insights of environmental history into their synthetic work, tended to think of the field as a novelty. “When early works in this new field first began to appear in the 1970s and 1980s,” Cronon wrote in 2003, “the initial reaction from scholarly and lay readers alike was that these books represented something entirely new, a bold departure from traditional history.” 14 Because of the sudden visibility of environmental history, many historians, including some environmental historians, emphasized both the field’s novelty and its connection to the environmental movement. As Cronon argued in 1993, “like the several other ‘new’ histories born or reenergized in the wake of the 1960s—women’s history, African-American history, Chicano history, gay and lesbian history, and the new social history generally—environmental history has always had an undeniable relation to the political movement that helped spawn it.” 15

Yet environmental history was neither entirely new nor entirely drawn from political environmentalism. While the environmental movement lent visibility and a sense of purpose to the field, the intellectual roots of environmental history can be traced well back into the nineteenth century. Those roots can be found in the work of writers such as George Perkins Marsh, the polymath who argued in Man and Nature (1864) that nature “avenges herself” on societies that degrade the environment. 16 The American historian Frederick Jackson Turner argued in 1893, in a widely influential essay, that “American development” could be explained by the progressive transformation of the “wilderness” to “civilization.” 17 While Marsh and Turner had focused on people’s transformations of the environment, the historian Walter Prescott Webb emphasized the limitations that nature placed on human endeavors. In his 1931 study, The Great Plains , Webb declared aridity to be the determining characteristic of the North American grasslands. 18 In France, Webb’s contemporaries Marc Bloch and Lucien Febvre—the founders, in 1929, of the journal Annales d’histoire économique et sociale —rejected event-oriented history in favor of what Febvre’s student Fernand Braudel called la longue durée : “man in his relationship to the environment, a history in which all change is slow, a history of constant repetition, ever-recurring cycles.” 19 All of these scholars articulated, in one way or another, histories of human societies’ interactions with nature.

Though different in many ways, Marsh, Turner, Webb, and the Annalistes all shared important similarities which they bequeathed to environmental history. All were expansively interdisciplinary in their analyses: Turner was one of the first historians to urge his fellow historians to adopt the methodologies and perspectives of emerging social sciences such as economics and sociology; the Annalistes , meanwhile, were deeply influenced by geography. Long before the emergence of social history that looked at the past from the bottom up, they all regarded history that merely recited the deeds of great men with skepticism. Their work was carried on in the middle of the twentieth century by scholars such as Clarence Glacken, James Malin, Karl Wittfogel, and Carl Sauer, all of whom contributed to the massive 1956 tome, Man’s Role in Changing the Face of the Earth . 20 In short, environmental history was not simply an outgrowth of the environmental movement of the late twentieth century. Nor did it emerge in the 1970s among the founding generation of environmental historians sui generis . Rather, it had deep intellectual roots. 21

In the 1980s, the founding generation’s definition of environmental history reflected the field’s interdisciplinary heritage. In 1988, in the preface to The Ends of the Earth: Perspectives in Modern Environmental History , Donald Worster summed up his scholarly generation’s definition of environmental history as “the interactions people have had with nature in past times.” 22 Reflecting environmental history’s interdisciplinary origins, the definition made no real disciplinary distinctions: cultural geographers, human ecologists, and historians were invited to operate under its catholic definition. Indeed, contributors to The Ends of the Earth included an economist, an ecologist, and a geographer. In various permutations, Worster’s pairing of the interactions of “people” with “nature” was the operative one for most environmental historians in the 1980s. In 1983, William Cronon defined the relationship between human society and the environment as “dialectical.” 23   Richard White, writing in 1985 , preferred the term “reciprocal.” 24 At a time when environmental historians found their closest intellectual allies not in history departments but in departments of anthropology, geography, or biology, this simple binary between people and nature was a serviceable, umbrella-like definition for a field that integrated the material insights of the environmental sciences with an analysis of human societies and cultures.

Yet since 1988 there has been a burgeoning of subfields of environmental studies, each with its own methodologies and disciplinary perspectives. What once recommended Worster’s definition—its intentional lack of disciplinary precision—now makes it seem vague. Absent the prepositional phrase “in past times,” the definition does nothing to distinguish environmental history from fields, many of which did not exist in 1988, such as environmental philosophy, environmental sociology, environmental anthropology, environmental economics, geography, human ecology, political ecology, or ecocriticism. Because the past is not the exclusive province of historians—everything that anthropologists, sociologists, geographers, ecocritics and other scholars study happened in the past, after all—even the modifier “in past times” does little to define what disciplinary perspective or methodology historians bring to the study of human interactions with the environment.

What disciplinary perspectives do historians bring to the environmental humanities? Primarily, they offer a close attention to change, causation, contingency, and context. 25 Historians, including environmental historians, are drawn to explanations of change: explaining how, for instance, Old World fauna such as sheep and rabbits established themselves in Australia; or how New England colonists of the seventeenth century transformed the forested environment in which they settled into a landscape of farms and villages. 26 Beyond explanations of the causes of change, however, the perspective that perhaps most distinguishes history from other disciplines is the notion of historical context. Context presumes that every age has its own idioms, worldviews, meanings (and for environmental historians, climates, disease pools, and views of nature) that are specific to that time. Contexts are neither static nor uncontested; rather, they are, like everything else, subject to change. Change, in turn, is contingent upon context, but not bound by it. Thus, while historians believe that context shapes people, events, and interpretations, at the same time context does not determine history; individuals can transcend their contexts to exercise a decisive agency and thus influence historical change. As Karl Marx wrote in 1852, “Men make their own history, but they do not make it as they please; they do not make it under self-selected circumstances, but under circumstances existing already, given and transmitted from the past.” 27 Since Marx’s time, the complex relationship between context and agency has been an ongoing subject of inquiry and debate in historical methodology. 28

Because a deep understanding of historical context in all its complexity, taking into account its influences and its limitations, is fundamental to understanding the meaning of the past, an understanding of context is both a tool of historical analysis and one of its goals. Historians’ regard for the importance of context distinguishes them from, for instance, poststructural ecocritics who focus on the aesthetics of a text itself apart from its historical context, or political ecologists who make comparisons between societies that belong to different historical contexts. By contrast, the cultural historian Robert Darnton has pointed to the importance of historical context as well as the continued importance of the historian’s task of analyzing evidence, in describing his method as “working back and forth between texts and contexts.” 29

When Darnton wrote those words, professional historians had already begun to expand their evidentiary base from traditional primary sources—wills, journals, letters, sermons—to include oral tradition, popular culture, and material culture (one of Darnton’s own notable contributions was an analysis of early modern folklore). Environmental historians have pushed that inclusiveness in another direction, drawing non-human nature into historical analysis as both text and context. As text, historians “read” the environment for evidence about the past: an exotic plant or animal species found far from its place of origin, a stand of second-growth trees, or a toxic waste dump are each, in their own way, a text that provides insight into the past. At the same time, environmental historians believe that non-human nature is part of the context of historical change: climate, disease, and natural disasters influence human history. To put it succinctly, a definition of environmental history now, when the environmental humanities are so crowded, might read as follows: environmental history understands the environment in a historical context, while at the same time understanding human history in an environmental context.

The environmental historian Arthur McEvoy outlined a model for such reciprocally constituted contextualization in 1988, in the same volume in which Worster defined environmental history as “the interactions people have had with nature in past times.” McEvoy argued that ecology, economy, and culture were equally important as interacting agents of change in environmental history. “Any explanation of environmental change should account for the inter-embeddedness and reciprocal constitution of ecology, production, and cognition,” McEvoy wrote. “All three elements, ecology, production, and cognition, evolve in tandem, each partly according to its own particular logic and partly in response to changes in the other two. To externalize any of the three elements…is to miss the crucial fact that human life and thought are embedded in each other and together in the nonhuman world.” 30 McEvoy’s formulation anticipated in some ways the “actor-network theory” of the historian of science Bruno Latour, who has argued for the agency of nonhumans within a network in which human beings are bound to their natural and technological environments. 31 No consideration of historical context, McEvoy and Latour argued, could neglect the natural environment.

Numerous historians have adopted that insight. Just as environmental history has been integrated into widely read textbooks, historians specializing in other fields have used the methodologies of environmental history to inform their own work. Historians of medieval Europe such as William Jordan have integrated environmental history into an analysis of the subsistence crisis of the fourteenth century. 32 Scholars of early American history such as James Merrell have placed epidemic disease within a broader understanding of the encounter between colonists and natives in North America. 33 David Blackbourn, a historian of modern Germany, integrated a history of water engineering over two centuries with the history of the formation of the German state. 34 As a result of works such as these, which integrate the environment with the concerns of social, cultural, and political history, environmental history has come to look less like the sort of work that ecological anthropologists, human ecologists, and geographers do, and more like what other historians do. Yet as the field has become less novel and increasingly mainstream, it has struggled to define itself in a way that both reflects its acceptance within academic history yet maintains its old revisionist brashness.

The struggle over how to define a field once seen as revisionist and now suddenly mainstream came to the fore in 1990. That year, some of the field’s founders—Worster, Crosby, Cronon, Merchant, White, and Pyne—engaged in a roundtable discussion in the pages of the Journal of American History in an attempt to chart a direction for the field. The discussion, however animated and replete with useful insights, produced more disagreement than consensus. Indeed, the exchange left the field deeply divided between materialist and idealist approaches. Worster, initiating the roundtable, offered a straightforwardly materialist agenda for environmental historians. He suggested that environmental history works on three levels: first, “the discovery of the structure and distribution of natural environments in the past”; second, a focus on “productive technology as it interacts with the environment”; and third, a “purely mental type of encounter in which perceptions, ideologies, ethics, laws, and myths have become part of an individual’s or a group’s dialogue with nature.” Superficially, Worster’s attention to ecology, economy, and culture seemed to echo McEvoy’s model of ecology, production, and cognition as deeply intertwined. Yet, while McEvoy saw each of these three factors as equally important, Worster’s view was hierarchical, with the environment as the base below a cultural superstructure. With this three-tiered approach in mind, he called for environmental historians to focus on “agroecological” history, that is, the shift from subsistence farming to “the capitalistic agroecosystem.” The capitalist mode of production, Worster argued, not only organized human labor but transformed the environment. “The capitalist era in production introduced a new, distinctive relation of people to the natural world,” Worster argued. “The reorganization of nature , not merely of society, is what we must uncover.” 35

Two of the respondents—White and Cronon—were particularly opposed to Worster’s call for the field to devote itself to the study of agroecology. Cronon objected to Worster’s “potentially excessive materialism” as an approach that was “needlessly closing doors to approaches different from his own.” He critiqued Worster’s argument as one that labeled “as capitalist or modern all forces for ecosystemic change, and as traditional or natural all forces for stability. The tautology of such an approach is too self-evident.” 36 Like Cronon, White recoiled from the materialism that underscored Worster’s perspective. He argued that Worster’s emphasis on modes of production and the transition to capitalism, as well as his hierarchical “blueprint” grounded in an ecological-economic base, relegated culture to the superstructural periphery “in the old vulgar Marxist sense.” Worster’s model, White argued, failed “to recognize the role of value judgments and beliefs.” 37

The disputants had dug in their heels—and in doing so, not only neglected the work of their contemporaries such as McEvoy and Carolyn Merchant, who had suggested ways of integrating materialist and idealist approaches, but indeed ignored some of the insights of their own work, which had combined both perspectives. Worster, in his response to the critiques by Cronon and White, staked out a definition of environmental history that was—if possible—more materialist than his original call for a focus on agroecology. Cronon, he wrote, “would redefine environment as cultural landscape,” a shift that would leave environmental history “on the same downward spiral that social history has taken toward fragmentation and a paralyzing fear of all generalization.” As if in confirmation of the first part of this charge, over the next several years, Cronon issued a series of essays in which he indeed defined environment primarily as cultural landscape: of particular note, a 1996 essay argued that wilderness, “far from being the one place on earth that stands apart from humanity, is a profoundly human creation.” In 2005, he lauded an essay entitled “Ideas of Nature” by the literary critic Raymond Williams as “the densest, richest, most suggestive 19 pages I know.” 38 Worster was yet more strident in his rebuttal to White, whose refusal to “permit anything smacking of cultural materialism,” he wrote, left him “in a confused, relativistic morass” that permits no “clear demonstration of causality.” 39 In a 2004 essay, White dismissed such critiques of cultural history as “hysterical” and urged environmental historians to take the “cultural turn,” or in other words, to follow the lead of cultural theorists who argued that in a postmodern world, all history is cultural history. 40

And there the debate stagnated. The field, which had burst onto the scene of academic history with such promise in the 1980s, was by the end of that decade divided between materialist and idealist approaches. On one side was Worster, advocating a kind of base-superstructure Marxist-historical analysis that had gone out of fashion among most academic historians by the mid-1960s, when E. P. Thompson argued, in The Making of the English Working Class , that working-class consciousness was not simply a superstructural consequence of a capitalist mode of production, but a cultural construction created by workers themselves. 41 On the other side were Cronon and White, advocating a kind of cultural history of the environment that was in its own way just as dated as Worster’s materialism; it had more than a passing resemblance to the work of 1950s and 1960s American Studies scholars such as Henry Nash Smith and Leo Marx, which pondered ideas of nature contained in the writings of literary luminaries such as Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Henry David Thoreau. 42 What had made environmental history innovative in the 1980s was its integration of materialist and idealist approaches. Indeed, the discussants in the 1990s roundtable had, in their books, integrated both approaches, however much they emphasized one approach in their historiographical essays. Pulling the field apart into separate approaches in the 1990 roundtable merely emphasized that each perspective, on its own, had relatively little to offer that was new.

The materialist-idealist debate took on other dimensions as well: it became one between Worster’s idea of environmental history operating on a grand scale, as a form of the Annales school’s histoire totale , and Cronon and White’s idea that works in the field should not only be more focused, but that the field should be a hyphenated history, in which environmental historians would also be, variously, cultural, social, labor, or gender historians. 43 It contrasted Worster—strongly supported by his colleague Alfred Crosby—who believed that in the final analysis the environment is in control and that human dominance of nature is illusory, with White and Cronon, who insisted that people are not simply buffeted by large forces beyond their control but rather exercise agency in historical change (here the ongoing problem about the boundary between context and agency, with which all historians must wrestle, came to the fore). 44 Most importantly, Worster wanted environmental history to retain its lively revisionism, to remain outside of mainstream history. Cronon and White, by contrast, did not want environmental history to be left behind as professional historians took the cultural turn. (Alas, however eager they were for environmental historians to embrace the cultural turn, cultural historians have not been, as of yet, nearly as enthusiastic about environmental history. A recent volume on the cultural turn in United States history, for instance, has almost nothing to say on the subject of environmental history. 45 ) For environmental historians, there were virtues to each side in these disputes; most environmental historians found themselves agreeing, at least in part, with both sides.

Some scholars in the field were untroubled by the divergent understandings of the discipline. All historical subfields—active ones, at least—change as new scholarship redefines boundaries and categories of analysis. It is rare for a healthy field to arrive at a universally agreed-upon definition of itself—and the creative disagreement that results from divergence can be constructive. Others were encouraged enough by the remarkable growth of environmental history since the late 1970s to shrug off the dispute within the discipline; so long as the field seems to be thriving, why worry about it? Divergent understandings of the field did not dissuade several environmental historians from writing historiographical essays attempting to define and thus reconcile the field. The authors of these essays have variously emphasized culture, power, a transnational perspective, and evolutionary science, among other things. 46 Insights into the field abound in these essays—but the field remains too large, and is moving in too many directions simultaneously, to be bound easily by a single definition.

Toward a New Environmental History

The profusion of essays over the last decade and a half attempting to define environmental history have indicated that environmental historians now face an entirely different challenge than the one that faced Cronon, Crosby, Merchant, White, Worster, and others at the time of the roundtable in 1990. The founding generation had to break into the textbooks—and they did so, brilliantly. The generation that has succeeded them—those engaged in a new environmental history—have had to integrate the insights of environmental history into a host of other subfields that are equally as complex as environmental history, including class, race, ethnicity, gender, consumption, borderlands, labor, law, and the history of science. 47 For the current generation of environmental historians, these other subfields—each with its own literature, questions, and debates about historical context—are as important as the environment in understanding environmental history. These subfields are some of the very subjects that are addressed in the chapters in this volume. Indeed, this volume is organized with the challenge of integrating environmental history with other subfields, methodologies, and historical contexts foremost in mind. In integrating environmental history with other, established subfields of history, the essayists in this volume have had to do justice to the historiographies of consumerism, or borderlands, or gender, while at the same time remaining faithful to the methodology of environmental history.

The essays in Part I , “Dynamic Environments and Cultures,” though they branch out in many directions, share a root concern for the problem of environmental context. They thus address one of the biggest hurdles environmental historians face in integrating their methods with other historical fields: the problem and perception of environmental determinism. The perception that environmental history emphasizes determinism can be traced in large part to the influential 1986 book, Ecological Imperialism , in which Alfred Crosby recast the story of European imperialism as a tale of ecological accidents in which European colonists benefited from the microbes and weeds they inadvertently transported overseas. 48 Crosby argued that the Europeans who colonized the Americas, Australia, and New Zealand (places he blithely termed “Neo-Europes”), “were seldom masters of the biological changes they triggered….They benefited from the great majority of these changes, but benefit or not, their role was less often a matter of judgment and choice than of being downstream of a bursting dam.” 49 A minimizing of “judgment and choice” likewise characterized the work of the physiologist-turned-historian Jared Diamond, who argued in 1997 in his Pulitzer Prize-winning world history, Guns, Germs, and Steel , that the ecological advantages enjoyed by Europeans (such as easily cultivable plants including wheat and easily domesticable animals such as sheep and cattle) “were determined by geography, which sets ground rules for the biology of all plant and animal species, including our own. In the long run, and on a broad scale, where we lives makes us who we are.” 50

Rather than seeing environmental forces as wholly overpowering, most environmental historians now take an approach similar to that of J. R. McNeill, who emphasized in Mosquito Empires , his 2010 study of mosquito-borne illnesses in the colonial Caribbean, the adaptations of people to disease environments. 51 The essays in Part I of this book, which address the topics of climate, disease, fauna, and regional environments, make clear that few environmental historians nowadays subscribe to the environmental determinism of Crosby or Diamond. Certainly, ecological forces can have a profound influence on human societies. At moments of plague, volcanic eruption, earthquake, or tsunami, such forces can be, for a time, determining. Yet, as Mark Carey (in his essay on climate) and Linda Nash (in her essay on disease) show, human perception is as important a determining factor as ecological change in the response to climate or disease. Likewise, as Diana Davis and Mark Sutter argue, deserts or tropics can seem like determinative environments—until one considers the cultural contexts of such human perceptions. Moreover, environments and human societies are not only entangled in complex ways, but also both adaptable. The essays by Brett Walker (on animals), Andrew Isenberg (on grasslands), and Emily Brock (on forests) emphasize human and ecological adaptive processes. Together, these essays argue that adaptation provides a more satisfying narrative of historical change than ecological determination or despoliation.

The essays in Part II , “Knowing Nature,” confront a problem with which current environmental historians must wrestle in their efforts to integrate their field with other approaches: namely, a changing understanding of scientific knowledge. Environmental historians must now address a more complex, dynamic idea of ecology than was accepted when the founding generation of environmental historians entered the scene. In his 1980 book Land Use, Environment, and Social Change: The Shaping of Island County, Washington , Richard White employed the concept of ecological “succession” leading toward a stable “climax” community to describe the environment of the Puget Sound region. In the years since that book appeared, environmental science has come to question the climax model, preferring to conceive of environments as prone to instability and change. When his book was reissued in 1992, White regretted that “I used ecological concepts like community, succession, climax, and ecosystem unproblematically even though within the profession those ideas had already come under attack.” 52

Among ecological scientists, a new science of nonlinear dynamics has complicated the older concepts of succession and climax. Environments, according to nonlinear dynamics, do not transcend historical change; rather, they change unpredictably, much as societies change over the course of time. 53 Most environmental historians have taken to the concept of dynamic, changeable environments eagerly, in part because it posits a historical understanding of environments. Indeed, a number of the essays in this volume—on climate, deserts, forests, and grasslands—treat these subjects in light of recent environmental science that emphasizes the dynamism in the non-human natural world.

Yet the science of nonlinear dynamics, like older models of the natural world, reflects its cultural context. While most environmental historians accept nonlinear dynamics in ecology, Worster has dismissed the concept as the scientific profession’s reflection of the “chaos, uncertainty, and disintegration we find in our institutions and communities.” 54 In at least one respect, Worster is correct: environmental science is merely one among many cultural representations of the natural world. As the essays in Part II by Michael Lewis, Sara Pritchard, and Nancy Langston demonstrate, environmental historians have adopted the methodology and perspective of historians of science, who place scientific inquiry in its historical context. Likewise, as the essays by Jay Turner, Marcus Hall, and Thomas Lekan and Thomas Zeller show, when wilderness advocates, conservation biologists, nature restorationists, and landscape designers create parks or wilderness areas or attempt to restore past environments, they are deeply and unavoidably implicated in contemporary culture and politics.

The essays in Part III , “Working and Owning,” address the intersection of environmental history and economic change—one of the central concerns of environmental historians. Perhaps the most well-known study of this type is Cronon’s Nature’s Metropolis , his 1991 Bancroft Prize-winning book about the ways in which nineteenth-century Chicago drew in natural resources—lumber, grain, and cattle—from its hinterlands and transformed those resources into marketable commodities. Nature’s Metropolis is a brilliant exposition of the commodification of nature, commodity flows, and the often-obscure relations between city and countryside. Critics, however, noted that the book had relatively little to say about power relations in Chicago. The geography journal Antipode devoted part of an issue in 1994 to critiques of Nature’s Metropolis , and many of the critics focused on Cronon’s disregard for ethnicity, class, labor, and other common concerns of urban studies scholars. Cronon’s response to these criticisms was, in part, that he deemphasized these concepts out of the fear that they would overwhelm the environment as a category of analysis. He wrote that class, labor, and ethnicity were well-established, and “so dominant that they trump all other analytical categories.” 55 Faced with the problem of integrating the methodology of environmental history with longer-established fields of ethnicity, labor, and class, Cronon chose to minimize those other, established fields. 56

In 1991, when environmental history was not nearly so firmly established as it is now, and when some of its practitioners feared that it might go the way of other once-popular methodologies born in the 1970s such as psychohistory or cliometrics, Cronon’s choice was understandable. While Cronon’s decision made sense for a member of the founding generation of environmental historians writing two decades ago, it is impossible to imagine a member of the new generation of environmental historians choosing to disregard important subfields in the way that Cronon did. Indeed, only four years after the publication of Nature’s Metropolis , Andrew Hurley’s exemplary study of industrial pollution in Gary, Indiana, Environmental Inequalities , made class and race central—yet no one could suggest that they trumped the environment as a category of analysis. 57

The essayists in Part III follow Hurley’s example as, from different perspectives, they integrate the environment with the study of labor, class, consumerism, and production. The material world matters, as the essays by Steven Stoll (on capitalism) and Thomas Andrews (on labor) strenuously remind us; the gritty details of material history—notably, the ways in which resource capitalism has inscribed changes on the land and on human bodies—transform our understanding of the rise of the state and wage labor. Environmental history further complicates our understanding of the history of capitalism by revealing that the path to resource capitalism was hardly linear. During the transition to capitalism, the privatization of natural resources, as Louis Warren argues, emerged alongside various forms of common property, including national parks. Similarly, the law, as Kathleen Brosnan argues, facilitated both the exploitation and protection of the environment. The essays by Matthew Klingle and Lawrence Culver carefully merge cultural and material history. Cities, as Culver points out, were not merely collection points where natural resources could be transformed into commodities; in places such as Los Angeles, cultural desires for leisure dictated the urban form. Likewise, consumers, as Klingle argues, were forces not only for wastefulness but for environmental politics.

Power is the central concern of the essays in Part IV , “Entangling Alliances.” Several of the essayists in this final part of the volume tackle the intersection of environmental history with the history of the nation-state, one of the most powerful and well-established historical fields. The concept of the nation has long influenced historical practice. The historical profession emerged in the nineteenth century along with the rise nation-states; for most of its existence, academic history has taken the nation as its proper category of analysis. 58 Environmental history poses a profound challenge to national histories, both because environments transcend borders—environmental history lends itself in a unique way to transnational history—and because environmental historians, in their attention to non-human nature, force us to reconsider national identities and policies. As William Deverell demonstrates, American nationalists placed heavy demands on the environment; it was both a place where, through the exploitation of resources, the nation might become modern, and the place where the nation might seek anti-modern refuge, heal the divisions of the Civil War, and restore its national identity. Andrew Graybill finds, in the histories of borderland regions, national competition for resources, and yet in some cases the emergence of transnational ecological spaces that belong wholly to no single nation. Kurk Dorsey finds, likewise, that several decades of environmental diplomacy has left a variegated history: namely, examples of international cooperation amid a longer history of states pursuing their own competitive interests. It has often been left, as Frank Zelko shows, to non-governmental organizations to press for environmental regulations on the international stage. Connie Chiang and Nancy Unger analyze how the environment and environmental inequalities have manifested themselves in the history of race, ethnicity, and gender. All of these essays show how the history of the environment is deeply implicated in relations of power.

Altogether, the integration of environmental history with established fields distinguishes the work of the current generation of environmental historians represented in this volume. In the last two decades, environmental historians have increasingly incorporated the environment into the concerns of mainstream history. The essays in this volume, taken together, suggest that the environment is inextricably entangled in the human experience, just as our societies, cultures, and economies are embedded in the environment. Our laws, politics, markets, and property are bound to the environment; so, too, are our science, technology, and our conception of nations. The new environmental history must integrate both materialist and idealist perspectives with the ongoing work of the historical profession at large. The field has a long-standing intellectual vision, grounded in its interdisciplinary roots, that posits an interactive relationship between complex, changing human societies and an equally complex and dynamic environment. The founding generation of environmental historians demonstrated to their colleagues not only that such an interactive relationship existed, but that it mattered. The current generation represented in this volume, in continuing the intellectual project of environmental history, must (on one side of the old binomial definition of environmental history) integrate the environment into a host of complex subfields such as gender, labor, and borderlands. At the same time (on the other side of the old binary), they must understand the environment as neither a deterministic force nor as (absent human influence) inherently stable.

At the heart of environmental history’s critical apparatus is a vision of the environment and human societies as inter-connected—a vision that McEvoy eloquently articulated in the late 1980s. That vision is inclusive—neither simply idealist nor only materialist, but always necessarily both. As the field moves increasingly into the mainstream of professional history, it is important to emphasize that environmental historians do not simply tack nature onto studies of gender, cities, or colonialism (among other subjects). Rather, they ask how the environment is implicated in these and other subjects as cause and context. The study of the environment in history is not an accessory to more familiar subjects of historical inquiry. Nor does the agency of the environment transcend social, cultural, or economic agency. Rather, it is bound to them, just as they are implicated in environmental change.

1. William H. McNeill , The Rise of the West: A History of the Human Community (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1991 [1963]), xvi, xxix . McNeill , Plagues and Peoples (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1976) .

2. R. R. Palmer and Joel Colton , A History of the Modern World , 6th ed. (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1983), 8 .

3. Marvin Perry et al., Western Civilization: A Concise History (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1981), 247 .

4. Lynn Hunt et al., The Making of the West: Peoples and Cultures (Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin’s Press, 2001), 468 .

5. George Brown Tindall , America: A Narrative Histor y, 1st ed. (New York: W. W. Norton, 1984), 10 .

6. Tindall and David Emory Shi , America: A Narrative History , 8th ed. (New York: W. W. Norton, 2010), 14 .

7. Tindall, America , 1st ed., 21. Tindall drew on Alfred W. Crosby, Jr. , The Columbian Exchange: Biological and Cultural Consequences of 1492 (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1972) .

8. Tindall and Shi, America , 8th ed., 23–24. By this edition, Tindall and Shi were likely familiar with Crosby , Ecological Imperialism: The Biological Expansion of Europe, 900–1900 (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1986) .

Tindall, America , 1st ed., 1072.

10. Tindall and Shi, America , 8th ed., 1096. The revised accounting of the event seems to have been influenced by Donald Worster , Dust Bowl: The Southern Plains in the 1930s (New York: Oxford University Press, 1979) .

11. Mary Beth Norton et al., A People and a Nation: A History of the United States , 2d ed. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1986), 965 .

12. Norton et al., A People and a Nation: A History of the United States , 9th ed. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2012), 819–820, 878–879 .

13. The work of the first generation of environmental historians includes William Cronon , Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England (New York: Hill and Wang, 1983) ; Thomas Dunlap , DDT: Scientists, Citizens, and Public Policy (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1981) ; Dunlap, Saving America’s Wildlife (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1988) ; Samuel Hays , Conservation and the Gospel of Efficiency: The Progressive Conservation Movement, 1890–1920 (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1959) ; Hays, Beauty, Health, and Permanence: Environmental Politics in the United States, 1955–1985 (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1989) ; Arthur F. McEvoy , The Fisherman’s Problem: Ecology and Law in the California Fisheries, 1850–1980 (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1986) ; Carolyn Merchant , Ecological Revolutions: Nature, Gender, and Science in New England (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1989) ; Roderick Nash , Wilderness and the American Mind (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1967) ; John Opie , The Law of the Land: Two Hundred Years of American Farmland Policy (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1987) ; Susan Schrepfer , The Fight to Save the Redwoods: A History of Environmental Reform, 1917–1978 (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1983) ; Richard White , Land Use, Environment, and Social Change: The Shaping of Island County, Washington (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1980) ; White, The Roots of Dependency: Subsistence, Environment, and Social Change among the Choctaws, Pawnees, and Navajos (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1983) ; Worster, Rivers of Empire: Water, Aridity, and the Growth of the American West (New York: Pantheon, 1985) ; Worster, ed., The Ends of the Earth: Perspectives in Modern Environmental History (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1988) .

14. Cronon , “Afterword,” in Changes in the Land (2003), 172–173 .

15. Cronon, “The Uses of Environmental History,” Environmental History Review 17 (Fall 1993): 2 .

16. George Perkins Marsh , Man and Nature; or, Physical Geography as Modified by Human Action , ed. David Lowenthal (Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press, 1965), 42–43 .

17. Frederick Jackson Turner , “The Significance of the Frontier in American History,” American Historical Association Annual Report (1893): 199–227 .

18. Walter Prescott Webb , The Great Plains (Boston: Ginn, 1931) . In 1957, Webb extended upon that insight, arguing that “the heart of the West is a desert, unqualified and absolute.” Aridity determined that the American West would be an “oasis society” of defeated expectations. Webb, “The American West: Perpetual Mirage,” Harper’s Magazine 214 (1957): 25–31 .

19. Fernand Braudel , The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II , vol. 1 (New York: Harper and Row, 1972 [1966]), 20 . For the Annalistes , see Lucien Febvre , A Geographical Introduction to History (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1925 [1922]), 46 ; Marc Bloch , French Rural History: An Essay on its Basic Characteristics (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1966 [1931]) .

20. See David Lowenthal , George Perkins Marsh: Versatile Vermonter (New York: Columbia University Press, 1958)   Cronon, “Revisiting the Vanishing Frontier: The Legacy of Frederick Jackson Turner,” Western Historical Quarterly 18 (1987): 157–176 ; Worster, “Doing Environmental History,” in The Ends of the Earth: Perspectives on Modern Environmental History , ed. Worster (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1988), 289 ; William L. Thomas, Jr. , ed., Man’s Role in Changing the Face of the Earth (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1956) .

21. Andrew C. Isenberg , “Historicizing Natural Environments: The Deep Roots of Environmental History,” in Companion to Western Historical Thought , ed. Lloyd Kramer and Sara Maza (Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2002), 372–389 .

22. Worster, ed., The Ends of the Earth: Perspectives in Modern Environmental History (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1988), vii .

Cronon, Changes in the Land , 13.

24. White, “American Environmental History: The Development of a New Historical Field,” Pacific Historical Review 54 (August 1985): 297–335 . White’s definition of the field, which he articulated on the first page of his essay, was much like Worster’s: “the historical relationship between society and the natural environment.”

25. See Thomas Andrews and Flannery Burke , “What Does It Mean to Think Historically?” Perspectives on History (January 2007). http://www.historians.org/publications-and-directories/perspectives-on-history/january-2007/what-does-it-mean-to-think-historically .

See Crosby, Ecological Imperialism ; Cronon, Changes in the Land .

27. Karl Marx , The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte (1852), quoted in Matt Perry , Marxism and History (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2002), 10 .

28. Walter Johnson , “On Agency,” Journal of Social History 37 (Fall 2003): 113–124 ; David Arnold , “Gramsci and Peasant Subalternity in India,” and Rajnaranyan Chandavarkar, “‘The Making of the Working Class’: E. P. Thompson and Indian History,” in Mapping Subaltern Studies and the Postcolonial , ed. Vinayak Chaturvedi (New York: Verson, 2000), 24–71 ; Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak , “Can the Subaltern Speak?” in Marxism and the Interpretation of Culture , ed. Cary Nelson and Larry Grossberg (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1988), 271–313 .

29. Robert Darnton , The Great Cat Massacre and Other Episodes in French Cultural History (New York: Basic Books, 1984), 262 . Professional historians’ definition of their methodology has evolved, from a search for objective truths found in an analysis of primary documents, to an understanding that the past contains many meanings. Carl Becker , “Everyman His Own Historian,” American Historical Review 37 (January 1932): 221–236 . See also E. H. Carr , What Is History? (New York: Vintage, 1961) ; Peter Novick , That Noble Dream: The “Objectivity Question” and the American Historical Profession (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1988) .

30. Arthur F. McEvoy , “Toward an Interactive Theory of Nature and Culture: Ecology, Production, and Cognition in the California Fishing Industry,” Environmental Review 11 (Winter 1987): 289–305 . McEvoy’s colleague Carolyn Merchant added a fourth dimension: reproduction, an engine of change in all three areas. Moreover, as women have historically had different roles than men in economic production and cultural reproduction, for Merchant, environmental historians should be at all times gender historians as well. See Carolyn Merchant , “The Theoretical Structure of Ecological Revolutions,” Environmental Review 11 (Winter 1987): 265–274 ; Merchant, Ecological Revolutions ; Merchant, “Gender and Environmental History,” Journal of American History 76 (March 1990): 1117–1121 . See also Barbara Leibhardt , “Interpretation and Causal Analysis: Theories in Environmental History,” Environmental Review 12 (Spring 1988): 23–36 .

31. Bruno Latour , Reassembling the Social: An Introduction to Actor-Network Theory (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005) .

32. William Chester Jordan , The Great Famine: Northern Europe in the Early Fourteenth Century (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1997) .

33. See James Merrell , The Indians’ New World: Catawbas and their Neighbors from European Contact though the Era of Removal (New York: W. W. Norton, 1991) .

34. David Blackbourn , The Conquest of Nature: Water, Landscape, and the Making of Modern Germany (New York: W. W. Norton, 2006) .

35. Worster, “Transformations of the Earth: Toward an Agroecological Perspective in History,” Journal of American History 76 (March 1990): 1087–1106 . Worster had offered up a very similar definition of the field two years earlier in an appendix to Ends of the Earth entitled “Doing Environmental History,” 293 .

36. Cronon, “Placing Nature in History,” Journal of American History 76 (March 1990): 1122–1131 .

37. White, “Environmental History, Ecology, and Meaning,” Journal of American History 76 (March 1990): 1111–1116 . White was careful to note that Worster’s approach was more “Braudelian” than Marxist. Worster does not judge himself a Marxist historian, either. He wrote in 2004 about his 1979 book, Dust Bowl (which begins on its first page with a quotation from Marx), that “I never intended…to offer a ‘Marxist’ interpretation of Great Plains history, for after all Marx missed quite a few things and turned out to be a bad prophet.” Worster, “Afterword,” in Dust Bowl: The Southern Plains in the 1930s (1979; New York: Oxford University Press, 2004), 246 .

38. Cronon , “The Trouble with Wilderness; Or, Getting Back to the Wrong Nature,” Environmental History 1 (January 1996): 7–28 ; Cronon, “The Densest, Richest, Most Suggestive 19 Pages I Know,” Environmental History 10 (October 2005): 679–681 . See also Cronon, “A Place for Stories: Nature, History, and Narrative,” Journal of American History 78 (March 1992): 1347–1376 .

39. Worster, “Seeing Beyond Culture,” Journal of American History 76 (March 1990): 1142–1147 .

40. White, “From Wilderness to Hybrid Landscapes: The Cultural Turn in Environmental History,” The Historian 66 (September 2004): 557–564 ; David C. Chaney , The Cultural Turn: Scene-Setting Essays on Contemporary Cultural History (New York: Routledge, 1994), 1 .

41. E. P. Thompson , The Making of the English Working Class (New York: Vintage, 1966) . For a brief and excellent analysis of the significance of Thompson to Marxist historical scholarship, see Perry, Marxism and History .

42. See Henry Nash Smith , Virgin Land: The American West as Symbol and Myth (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1950) ; Leo Marx , The Machine in the Garden: Technology and the Pastoral Ideal in America (New York: Oxford University Press, 1964) .

43. See Ursula Lehmkuhl , ed., Umweltgeschichte: Histoire Totale oder Bindestrich-Geschichte? Erfurter Beiträger zur Nordamerikanischen Geschichte, 4 (Erfurt: University of Erfurt, 2002) .

44. For Crosby’s support of Worster, see Crosby, “An Enthusiastic Second,” Journal of American History 76 (March 1990): 1107–1110 .

45. James W. Cook , Lawrence B. Glickman , and Michael O’Malley , eds., The Cultural Turn in U.S. History: Past, Present and Future (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2009) .

46. Alfred Crosby , “The Past and Present of Environmental History,” American Historical Review 100 (October 1995): 1177–1189 ; Theodore Steinberg , “Down to Earth: Nature, Agency, and Power in History,” American Historical Review 107 (June 2002): 797–820 ; Edmund Russell , “Evolutionary History: Prospectus for a New Field,” Environmental History 8 (April 2003): 204–228 ; J. R. McNeill , “Observations on the Nature and Culture of Environmental History,” History and Theory 42 (December 2003): 5–43 ; Kristin Asdal , “The Problematic Nature of Nature: The Post-Constructivist Challenge to Environmental History,” History and Theory 42 (December 2003): 60–74 ; Douglas R. Weiner , “A Death-Defying Attempt to Articulate a Coherent Definition of Environmental History,” Environmental History 10 (July 2005): 404–419 ; Sverker Sörlin and Paul Warde , “The Problem of the Problem of Environmental History: A Re-reading of the Field,” Environmental History 12 (January 2007): 107–130 ; Joseph E. Taylor III , “Boundary Terminology,” Environmental History 13 (July 2008): 454–481 .

47. These works include Kathleen Brosnan , Uniting Mountain and Plain: Cities, Law, and Environmental Change along the Front Range (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2002) ; Mark Carey , In the Shadow of Melting Glaciers: Climate Change and Andean Society (New York: Oxford University Press, 2010) ; Connie Chiang , Shaping the Shoreline: Fisheries and Tourism on the Monterey Coast (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2008) ; Mark Cioc , The Rhine: An Eco-Biography, 1815–2000 (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2006) ; Lawrence Culver , The Frontier of Leisure: Southern California and the Shaping of Modern America (New York: Oxford University Press, 2010) ; Diana K. Davis , Resurrecting the Granary of Rome: Environmental History and French Colonial Expansion in North Africa (Athens: Ohio University Press, 2007) ; Kurk Dorsey , The Dawn of Conservation Diplomacy: U.S.-Canadian Wildlife Protection Treaties in the Progressive Era (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1998) ; Marcus Hall , Earth Repair: A Translatlantic History of Environmental Restoration (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2005) ; Andrew Hurley , Environmental Inequalities: Class, Race, and Industrial Pollution in Gary, Indiana, 1945-1980 (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1995) ; David Igler , Industrial Cowboys: Miller & Lux and the Transformation of the Far West, 1850–1920 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2005) ; Isenberg, T he Destruction of the Bison: An Environmental History, 1750–1920 (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2000) ; Isenberg, Mining California: An Ecological History (New York: Hill and Wang, 2005) ; Ari Kelman , A River and Its City: The Nature of Landscape in New Orleans (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2003) ; Matthew Klingle , Emerald City: An Environmental History of Seattle (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2007) ; Nancy Langston , Forest Dreams, Forest Nightmares: The Paradox of Old Growth in the Inland West (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1995) ; Timothy J. LeCain , Mass Destruction: The Men and Giant Mines that Wired America and Scarred the Planet (Newark, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2009) ; Thomas Lekan , Imagining the Nation in Nature: Landscape Preservation and German Identity, 1885–1945 (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2005) ; Michael Lewis , Inventing Global Ecology: Tracking the U.S. Biodiversity Deal in India, 1947–1997 (Athens: Ohio University Press, 2004) ; J. R. McNeill , Mosquito Empires: Ecology and War in the Great Caribbean, 1620–1914 (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010) ; Linda Nash , Inescapable Ecologies: A History of Environment, Disease, and Knowledge (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2007) ; Jared Orsi , Hazardous Metropolis: Flooding and Urban Ecology in Los Angeles (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004) ; Jennifer Price , Flight Maps: Adventures with Nature in Modern America (New York: Basic Books, 1999) ; Sara Pritchard , Confluence: The Nature of Technology and the Remaking of the Rhône (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2011) ; Adam Rome , The Bulldozer in the Countryside: Suburban Sprawl and the Rise of American Environmentalism (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2001) ; Edmund Russell , War and Nature: Fighting Humans and Insects with Chemicals from World War I to Silent Spring (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2001) ; Russell, Evolutionary History: Uniting History and Biology to Understand Life on Earth (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2011) ; Douglas Sackman , Orange Empire: California and the Fruits of Eden (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2007) ; Theodore Steinberg , Nature Incorporated: Industrialization and the Waters of New England (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1991) ; Mart A. Stewart , “ What Nature Suffers to Groe”: Life, Labor, and Landscape on the Georgia Coast, 1680–1920 (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1996) ; Steven Stoll , The Fruits of Natural Advantage: Making the Industrial Countryside in California (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998) ; Stoll, Larding the Lean Earth: Soil and Society in Nineteenth-Century America (New York: Hill and Wang, 2002) ; Paul Sutter , Driven Wild: How the Fight Against Automobiles Launched the Modern Wilderness Movement (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2004) ; Joseph E. Taylor III , Making Salmon: An Environmental History of the Northwest Fisheries Crisis (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1999) ; Peter Thorsheim , Inventing Pollution: Coal, Smoke, and Culture in Britain since 1800 (Athens: Ohio University Press, 2006) ; Conevery Bolton Valencius , The Health of the Country: How American Settlers Understood Themselves and Their Land (New York: Basic Books, 2002) ; Brett Walker , The Conquest of Ainu Lands: Ecology and Culture in Japanese Expansion, 1590–1800 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2001) ; Walker, The Lost Wolves of Japan (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2005) ; Walker, Toxic Archipelago: A History of Industrial Disease in Japan (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2010) ; Louis S. Warren , The Hunter’s Game: Poachers and Conservationists in Twentieth-Century America (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1997) ; and Thomas Zeller , Driving Germany: The Landscape of the German Autobahn, 1930–1970 (Oxford: Berghahn Books, 2010) .

48. Crosby, Ecological Imperialism . The notion of ecology as a dynamic agent of change was one that emerged in the middle of the twentieth century among biologists such as Charles Elton, who studied population dynamics and ecological invasion. Charles Elton , Animal Ecology (London: Sidgwick and Jackson, 1927) ; Elton , The Ecology of Invasions by Animals and Plants (London: Chapman and Hall, 1958), 15–32 . See also Andrew Clark , The Invasion of New Zealand by People, Plants, and Animals (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1949) .

Crosby, Ecological Imperialism , 192.

50. Jared M. Diamond , Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fate of Human Societies (New York: W. W. Norton, 1997) .

51. J. R. McNeill , Mosquito Empires: Ecology and War in the Greater Caribbean, 1620–1914 (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010) . For adaptations, see also Isenberg, Destruction of the Bison , 7–8, 31–122; Isenberg, “Between Mexico and the United States: From Indios to Vaqueros in the Pastoral Borderlands,” in Mexico and Mexicans in the Making of the United States , ed. John Tutino (Austin: University of Texas Press, 2012), 85–109 .

52. White, Land Use, Environment, and Social Change: The Shaping of Island County, Washington (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1992 [1980]), xviii, 8–11 .

One of the first to embrace the idea was Cronon in his 1983 work, Changes in the Land , in which he understood that the ecological ideas of “climax” had given way to a more “historical” approach, “for which change was less the result of ‘disturbance’ than of the ordinary processes whereby communities maintained and transformed themselves.” Cronon, Changes in the Land , 11. In this regard, Cronon’s book, although published only four years after Dust Bowl and only three years after White’s Land Use, Environment, and Social Change , feels as if it belongs to a different era.

54. Worster, The Wealth of Nature: Environmental History and the Ecological Imaginatio n (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994), 177 . For a recent volume in which historians of science adopted some of the methodology and perspectives of environmental history, see Jeremy Vetter , ed., Knowing Global Environments: New Historical Perspectives on the Field Sciences (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2010) .

55. See Mary Beth Pudup et al., “William Cronon’s Nature’s Metropolis : A Symposium,” Antipode 26 (April 1994): 113–176 .

56. For an analysis of this aspect of Nature’s Metropolis within the context of urban environmental history, see Isenberg, “Introduction: New Directions in Urban Environmental History,” in The Nature of Cities: Culture, Landscape, and Urban Space , ed. Isenberg (Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press, 2006), xi–xix .

Hurley, Environmental Inequalities . See also Klingle, Emerald City .

See Novick, That Noble Dream .

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Environmental History

• First Online: 06 February 2021

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• Carsten Hobohm 3  

Part of the book series: Environmental Challenges and Solutions ((ECAS))

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Landscapes and ecosystems are composed of biota, including humans and their abiotic environment, and reflect evolution, historical events, and ecological conditions. Not only does the physical environment control human culture and behaviour ( environmental determinism ) but social behaviour and perception also have natural and cultural roots, and influence the direction and success of processes, conditions and measures in the landscape.

Meanwhile, all ecosystems and many natural attributes of biodiversity are affected by human activities and chemical products. The terms culture , landscape and environment are linked with different relationships between the physical environment and human life. The short timeline presented here exemplifies natural conditions of culture and human influence on nature.

Global environmental history shows an increasing trend in the spectrum of resources used as well as in the intensity of resource use by humans. The human population is still growing, accompanied by hunger crises, death and migration.

These trends are still continuing today, even though one day they will inevitably reach a maximum or changeover point, and although many local and regional attempts in the past have already shown recycling, reduction, disclaimer, and cultural perspectives which show means of reversing the trend.

History to date does not show any globally effective package of measures to protect the atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, pedosphere or biosphere. Environmental programmes have regularly been more successful at local to national, and sometimes at supranational scales.

Issues of water quality, quantity, availability, drought, severe floods, tsunamis, the damage and reconstruction of ecosystems and diseases linked to the environment have been and will most likely continue to be the greatest environmental problems facing humans, and humans pose the greatest problem for biodiversity and ecosystems.

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Hobohm, C. (2021). Environmental History. In: Hobohm, C. (eds) Perspectives for Biodiversity and Ecosystems. Environmental Challenges and Solutions. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-57710-0_1

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Are you looking for environmental research paper topics? With ongoing debates about global warming, air pollution, and other issues, there is no shortage of exciting topics to craft a research paper around. Whether you’re studying ecology, geology, or marine biology, developing the perfect environmental research topic to get your science research assignment off the ground can be challenging. Stop worrying – we got you covered. Continue reading to learn about 235 different ideas on environmental research topics. In this article, we will discuss environmental topics and show you how to choose an interesting research topic for your subject. We will also provide a list of various environmental topics from our research paper services . In addition, we will present you with environmental science research topics, discuss other ideas about the environment for research papers, and offer our final thoughts on these topics for research papers.

What Are Environmental Topics?

Environmental topics provide an analysis of environmental issues and their effect on people, culture, nature, or a particular place, often interdisciplinary, drawing from sciences, politics, economics, sociology, and public policy. Topics about environmental science may include environmental justice, engineering and communication, regulation, economics, and health. Environment research topics may focus on environmental sustainability, impact assessment, management systems, and resources. In addition, these areas for research papers offer a few opportunities to explore our relationship with the environment and consider how human activities influence it through climate change, pollution, or other factors such as natural resource usage as well as biodiversity loss.

What Makes a Good Environmental Research Topic? 

When choosing an environmental research topic, it is essential to consider what makes good environmental topics. Below is an expert list outlining what your topic should be like:

• It should be interesting and relevant to your study field.
• It's essential to consider the topic's potential implications on environment-related policies. Think about the possible positive or negative effects this topic could have when implemented in terms of protecting our environment.
• A good topic should be specific enough to provide a focus for your research paper and allow you to explore a particular issue in depth.
• The research topic should be feasible and manageable to ensure that you can find the necessary information and resources.
• Environmental sciences research topics should be current and relevant to ecological developments.

How to Choose Environmental Science Topics?

When choosing research topics for environmental science, it is essential to research the available information and determine its relevance. It all depends on whether the research topic is feasible and has the potential for exploration. Environmental issue topics should be well-defined and interesting to the researcher. The reason is that the researcher should be able to provide solutions or make suggestions on improvement strategies. You can follow the below steps when choosing environmental science topics for research:

Step 1: Identify topics that are relevant to your research context. Step 2: Develop a list of research areas by extracting critical concepts from the available literature.

Step 3: Select interesting and feasible topics by considering the methods available for analysis.

Step 4: Analyze these topics to identify the gaps in current research and formulate questions for further investigation. Step 5: Review the available literature to gain insights about the chosen topic and develop a research proposal.

Step 6: Consult experts in this field to get feedback and refine the proposed research.

Don’t have time for writing your environmental research paper? Count on StudyCrumb. Send us a ‘ write a research paper for me ’ message and get professional assistance in a timely manner. 

List of Environment Research Paper Topics

Environmental topics for a research paper can be overwhelming to navigate due to the vast number of issues you can discuss in your article. To help narrow down your research paper search, below is a list of environmental research topics that include climate change, renewable energy, ecology, pollution, sustainability, endangered species, ecosystems, nature, and water management. You can choose one of them as a guide to writing an excellent essay

Environmental Research Topics on Climate Change

Climate change is one of the most pressing issues that humanity is currently facing due to increased temperature levels. Climate change is amongst the most debated environmental research topics among researchers, policymakers, and governments. Here are critical areas related to climate change that you can use for your environmental science research paper topics:

• Causes and effects of climate change.
• Climate change adaptation strategies.
• Climate change impact on rural communities.
• Role of renewable energy sources in mitigating climate change.
• Carbon dioxide emission policies.
• Global warming and its impact on ocean acidification.
• Social effects of climate change.
• Permafrost melting and its implications.
• Role of international organizations in climate change.
• Climate change and forest fire: examining the role of climate change on wildfire season, frequency, and burned area.

Environmental Science Research Topics on Renewable Energy

Renewable energy is essential due to its potential to reduce ecological damage from burning fossil fuels and provides valuable topics in environmental science. You can use renewable energy technologies as a cleaner alternative for generating electricity and heating. In addition, renewable energy is crucial for cooling homes and factories in the world. The following are environmental science topics for research paper on renewable energy:

• Renewable energy types, sources, and their impact on the environment.
• Economic benefits of renewable energy.
• Research on new technologies in renewable energy.
• Role of renewable energy in protecting businesses from legal actions.
• Hydropower and its role in renewable energy.
• Chemical batteries for renewable energy storage.
• Green microgrids in optimizing renewable energy usage.
• Ocean energy and its effects on the environment.
• Geothermal drilling and its consequences.
• Biomass resources and their use in renewable energy.

Environment Research Topics on Ecology

Ecology studies how living organisms interact with each other and their environment. Also, it is an important area of research for understanding how the environment affects the function of various species and ecosystems. It also gives a background for one of the best environment research paper topics. Below are topics for environmental research paper on ecology:

• Biodiversity conservation strategies.
• Impact of pollution on ecosystems.
• Ecological research on saving endangered species from extinction.
• Role of environment in migrations patterns of animals.
• Habitat fragmentation effects on the environment.
• Ecological implications of climate change.
• Ecology and pest control strategies.
• Ecological effects of deforestation.
• Ecology and conservation of marine life.
• Ecological consequences of urbanization.

Research Topics in Environmental Science About Pollution

Pollution is an issue at the forefront of scientific research. As one of the environmental science paper topics, it offers insights into how pollution destroys the environment and its negative impact on human and animal health. Stated below are hot environmental science research topics on pollution which you can use for your article:

• Air pollution: causes & effects.
• Water pollution and its consequences for people and other living organisms.
• Issue of urban & industrial pollution.
• Noise pollution and environment-related health risks.
• Marine plastic pollution in oceans.
• Radiological waste disposal policies.
• Nuclear energy, radiation & health impacts.
• Sustainable waste management solutions.
• Impact of pollution on biodiversity.
• Soil pollution and its effects on agriculture.

Environmental Topics for Research Papers on Sustainability

One of the many topics for environmental research papers is sustainability. Sustainability is an important topic to explore, as it involves finding a way for humans to reduce their ecological footprint and ensure that the environment can recover from our activities. Stated below are environmental topics for research paper on sustainability which you can explore:

• Strategies for sustainable development.
• Renewable energy sources and their effects.
• Environmental sustainability and its economic benefits.
• Sustainable energy sources and their effects.
• Implications of sustainable agriculture on the environment.
• Ecological impacts of sustainable forestry.
• Social implications of renewable energy use.
• Strategies for mitigating ecological impact from unsustainable development.
• Psychological effects of ecological awareness on sustainable practices.
• Influence of ecological sustainability on economic growth.

Environmental Topics to Write About Endangered Species

Endangered species are one of the environmental topics of great importance to research and find solutions for their conservation. Poaching, habitat destruction, and climate change negatively impact endangered species. Also, human activities have put other species at risk of extinction by competing for resources as well as introducing invasive species. Below is a list of cool environment topics to write about endangered species:

• Endangered species conservation.
• Causes & effects of habitat fragmentation.
• Wildlife conservation strategies.
• Climate change impacts on endangered species.
• Illegal wildlife trade and trafficking.
• Marine protected areas for conserving marine life.
• Ecological restoration and reintroduction programs.
• Endangered species in developing nations.
• Human rights & animal welfare laws .
• Captive breeding for conservation purposes.

Environmental Research Paper Topics on Ecosystems

Ecosystems are fascinating to explore in environmental paper topics because they contain a variety of living organisms and are a complex web of interactions between species, the environment, and humans. The subject provides environmental issues topics for research paper essential in exploring the dynamics of ecosystems and their importance. Below is a list of topics for environmental science research paper:

• Ecosystem services & their value.
• Climate change impacts on ecosystems.
• Hydrological cycle & effects on ecosystems.
• Ecological restoration & biodiversity conservation.
• Invasive species & their impact on native species.
• Biodiversity hotspots: areas of high endemism.
• Soil degradation & its impact on ecosystems.
• Sustainable forestry practices.
• Ecological restoration of wetlands.

Environmental Topics About Nature

Nature is a broad topic that includes ecological conservation, protection, and sustainability issues. Environmental research topics about nature allow us to explore areas that focus on preserving and conserving the environment. Research papers about nature can provide insight into utilizing nature as a resource, both from a practical and ecological aspect. Below is a list of environment topics that you can explore in your essays:

• Nature conservation & preservation strategies.
• Climate change effects on natural environments.
• Natural resource management strategies.
• Policies for natural resources management.
• Impact of human development on wildlands.
• Sustainable use of natural resources.
• Role of ethics in nature conservation.
• De-extinction: pros & cons of bringing back extinct species.
• Protected areas & conservation of rare species.

Environmental Issues Topics on Water Management

Water management is an issue that has a significant impact on the environment. Exploring a topic related to water management can provide experts, among others, with insights into environmental science issues and their implications. When it's time to write your project related to water management, you can explore the following topics for environmental issues:

• Water pollution & its control.
• Groundwater management strategies.
• Climate change impact on water resources.
• Integrated water resources management.
• Wetland conservation & restoration projects.
• Industrial effluents role in water pollution.
• Desalination technologies for freshwater production.
• Urbanization impact on groundwater resources.
• Inland & coastal water management strategies.
• Wastewater treatment & reuse technologies.

Environmental Science Topics in Different Areas

Environmental science studies ecological processes and their interactions with living organisms. Exploring environmental science related topics can provide valuable insights into environmental science issues, their ecological implications, and conservation efforts. In addition, these topics can also be explored in different areas, providing a comprehensive understanding of how different factors impact the environment. This section delves into various environmental science topics for projects related to law, justice, policy, economics, biology, chemistry, and health science.

Environmental Law Research Topics

Environmental law governs environmental processes and their interactions with living organisms. Delving into environmental law can uncover invaluable information on environment paper topics, ranging from legal matters and their consequences to preservation initiatives. Students can use the following environmental issue topics for research papers for their essays:

• Climate change liability & lawsuits.
• Strategies for conservation and protection under environmental law.
• Consequences of non-compliance with regulations on the environment.
• Impact of trade agreements on environment protection.
• Regulatory strategies for hazardous waste disposal.
• Strategies for enforcement and compliance with environment-related laws.
• International environment treaties and their implications.
• Effects of climate change legislation on the environment.
• Corporate environmental policies and regulations and their effects.
• Role of law in mitigating environment-related issues.

Environmental Justice Research Topics

Environmental justice seeks to ensure equitable treatment and meaningful involvement of all people in ecological protection, regardless of their race, sex, or economic status. Environment topics related to justice can provide valuable insights into ecological issues and their impacts. Listed below are justice-related Environmental topics to research:

• Implications of unequal access to resources.
• Disproportionate impacts of climate change on vulnerable populations.
• Consequences of marginalization of marginalized communities from environmental processes.
• Links between poverty and environment degradation.
• Effects of non-participation in environment-related decision-making.
• Policies to ensure access to clean air and water.
• Impact of social inequality on environment protection.
• Intersection between gender, race, and environment justice.
• Ecological consequences of corporate negligence of marginalized communities.
• Disproportionate implications of climate change on vulnerable populations.

Environmental Policy Research Paper Topics

Environmental policy is a set of laws, rules, and regulations created to protect the environment as well as its resources. Studying environment-related policies provides an area for students to explore a range of subjects related to the environment, ranging from local to global. Below are potential environmental sciences research topics for your reference.

• Environmental policy initiatives' implications on global climate change.
• Effectiveness of carbon taxes for air pollution control.
• Land use and development impact on the environment.
• Water quality in the united states, focusing on natural resource governance.
• Educational initiative's impact on public opinion and policy outcomes.
• Social aspects of policy making and implementation on the environment.
• Promoting sustainability from a global perspective.
• Potential for justice initiatives in promoting equitable and effective management.
• Rise of green economy its impact.
• Environment policies and their potential for success.

Environmental Economics Research Topics

Environmental economics seeks to understand environmental issues from an economic perspective. Examining environmental studies topics can offer insights into ecological conservation and sustainability while connecting protection efforts with economic interests and helping inform policies. The following are creative topics about environmental science related to economics:

• Economic impacts of regulating the environment.
• Strategies for environmentally sustainable economic growth.
• Consequences of non-compliance with environment-related regulations.
• Environment conservation and protection using economic incentives.
• Taxes and subsidies and their implications on the environment.
• Economic implications of climate change legislation.
• The private sector role in environment conservation and protection.
• Green finance role in mitigating ecological issues.
• Economics of pollution control and management.
• Conservation and protection of the environment in the face of economic interests.

>> Learn more: Economics Research Topics

Environmental Biology Research Topics

Environmental biology is a field of science that focuses on understanding the interactions between living organisms and their environment. It covers environmental biology topics such as biodiversity, conservation, pollution, management, health, and sustainability. The following are environment research paper topics related to biology:

• Biodiversity conservation in managing the environment.
• Role of biotechnology in reducing air pollution.
• Environment degradation and its consequences on wildlife.
• Role of microorganisms in maintaining soil fertility.
• Ecological consequences of over-exploitation of natural resources.
• Habitat fragmentation and its role in species conservation.
• Education's role in environment conservation.
• Environment degradation and its effects on food security.
• Invasive species and their impacts on ecosystem.

Keep in mind that we have a whole blog on biological topics if you need more ideas in this field.

Environmental Chemistry Research Topics

Environmental chemistry research is a complex interdisciplinary field aiming to understand the behavior of a chemical process within an environment. It involves researching the impact of pollutants in the air, soil, water, and other ecological media. Possible research topics about the environment related to this field include:

• Effect of agricultural chemicals on water systems.
• Air pollution control strategies and their effectiveness.
• Climate change impacts on aquatic ecosystems.
• Sources and implications of persistent organic pollutants.
• Air quality monitoring for urban areas.
• Water quality monitoring in coastal areas.
• Characterization and fate of toxic compounds in soil and groundwater.
• Impact of hazardous chemical waste on the environment.
• Monitoring and remediation of contaminated sites.
• The roles of environmental chemistry in climate change research.

Need more ideas? There is one more blog with  chemistry research topics  on our platform.

Environmental Health Science Research Topics

Environmental health is a diverse field focusing on the natural environment as well as its effects on human health. It is an interdisciplinary field that offers environment topics for research, such as environmental epidemiology, toxicology, and ecology, in addition to risk assessment. Provided below is a list of topics for an environmental science project that is suitable for your research paper:

• Air pollution effects on human health.
• Climate change effects on health.
• Water pollution and public health.
• Noise pollution effects on well-being.
• Mental health effects of environment-related toxins.
• Human health effects of natural disasters.
• Urbanization's effect on human health.
• Sustainable development and public health.
• Role of social media in promoting environmental health and awareness.
• Biodiversity preservation and its impact on human health.

Other Ideas & Topics About Environment for Research Papers

Ecological crisis is a key issue that has continuously affected planet earth. People are becoming more aware of environmental problems as well as their impact on health, well-being, and quality of life. As such, ecological fields for research are becoming ever more critical. This section will explore interesting environmental topics related to current ecological issues, controversial, interesting topics, easy research questions for projects, as well as unique research areas which students might study. These environmental issue project ideas below will help you develop interesting fields for research papers.

Current Issues in Environmental Science

Current ecological issues are a hot topic that has become increasingly important. They provide outstanding environmental issues to write about due to their impact on the environment and human health. The following are environmental issue topics for paper writing that are currently in discussion:

• Global warming and how to prevent its impact.
• Sustainable energy and its role in protecting the environment.
• Water conservation practices.
• Renewable energy role in global ecological protection.
• Carbon footprint and climate change.
• Ozone layer depletion and its effects on human health.
• Plastic pollution and its impact.
• Land degradation and soil erosion.
• Energy industry activities effects on ecological health.
• Air pollution and its impact on human health.
• Deforestation and its consequences.
• Effect of agricultural practices on ecological health.
• Overuse and exploitation of natural resources.
• Industrial waste impact on health.
• Green technology role in ecological protection.

Controversial Environmental Topics for Research Paper

Environmental controversies constitute a significant challenge facing society today. From climate change to air and water pollution, the effects of human activity on our natural environment are increasingly becoming a focus of public debate and research. Research papers on environmental controversial topics can help inform the public as well as policymakers about the potential impacts of human activities on the environment. The following are examples of environmental controversy topics for research paper:

• Climate change: is human activity a primary cause of global warming.
• Deforestation: are current logging practices sustainable in the long term.
• Air pollution: what are the health impacts of air pollution.
• Water pollution: how is water pollution impacting biodiversity and ecosystems.
• Geothermal energy: what potential impacts does geothermal energy extraction have on the environment.
• Renewable energy: are wind and solar energy carbon-neutral.
• Arctic drilling: is drilling for oil in the arctic ocean a viable option given current climate conditions.
• Nuclear power: what health risks are associated with nuclear power plants.
• Biodiversity loss: what steps can you take to protect biodiversity from human activities.
• Endangered species: how protecting endangered species can impact conservation efforts and how they live.
• GMO foods: are genetically modified organisms safe for human consumption? how does GMO food affect humans.
• Pesticides: how does pesticide use affect our health and the environment.
• Ocean acidification: how is ocean acidification impacting marine ecosystems.
• Waste management: what are the most effective ways to manage waste and reduce pollution.
• Resource exploitation: how does the exploitation of natural resources impact local communities.

Interesting Environmental Research Topics

In the context of environmental subjects, research topics explore the effects of human activities on the environment as well as the potential solutions to the identified problems. In addition to providing insight into ecological protection and conservation, research areas in this category cover social issues related to environmentalism and ecological justice. Below are interesting environmental science topics to consider when looking for a research topic in the future:

• Effects of environment-related toxins on human health.
• Climate change effects on coastal habitats.
• Agricultural activities impacts on the environment.
• Groundwater contamination and its effects on water quality.
• Pollution from factories and its impact on the environment.
• Waste management strategies and their impacts.
• Consequences of water contamination on local wildlife.
• Impacts of mining.
• Deforestation effects on ecosystems and species diversity.
• Industrial fishing practices effects.
• Sustainable forestry practices and their impact on ecosystems.
• Nuclear energy production and its consequences.
• Reducing emissions from vehicles and their effects on air quality.
• Landfills implications on the environment.
• Implications of plastic pollution.

Easy Environmental Research Questions for Projects

When it comes to environmental science topics for project work, there are plenty of easy options. Research projects in this category can explore ecological issues as well as their consequences or potential solutions to these problems. The following is a list of the top fifteen most accessible environment project topics for your research project.

• Air pollution levels impact on urban areas.
• Agricultural practices effects on the environment.
• Developing strategies for sustainable development.
• Causes of water contamination.
• Factors contributing to global warming.
• Natural disasters effects on the environment.
• Land use changes effects on the environment.
• Energy consumption impacts on the environment.
• Climate change effects on the environment.
• Industrialization and its consequences.
• Impact of plastic pollution.
• Health risks associated with air pollution.
• Deforestation impacts on the environment.
• Soil erosion and its effects on the environment.
• Causes and consequences of species extinction.

Unique Environmental Research Topics for Students

As environmental issues become increasingly complex, research fields for students become more varied. Unique environmental research topics for college students can range from local ecological concerns to global ones. The following are fifteen unique environmental science research topics for high school students and college students:

• Climate change impact on water quality.
• Acid rain and its effects.
• Urbanization's effect on biodiversity.
• Effects of offshore drilling.
• Ocean acidification and its impact.
• Impact of privatization on natural resources.
• Effectiveness of renewable energy sources.
• Relationship between energy consumption and the environment.
• Potential impacts regarding genetic engineering on biodiversity.
• Toxic waste disposal and its impacts.
• Environment-related policies impact on water quality.
• Deforestation and its effects on soil quality.
• Causes and consequences of ozone layer depletion.
• Relationship between pollution and public health issues.

Final Thoughts on Environmental Topics for Research Papers

This article has provided 235 environmental science research topics for research papers as well as project work that high school and college students can use. Topics range from local issues, such as assessing air pollution levels in an urban area, to global concerns, like examining the ecological effects of plastic pollution. Whether its health risks are associated with air pollution in an environment or the impacts of industrialization, research can help shape your understanding of how to protect as well as preserve our planet. It is up to the students to identify good environmental research topics that are interesting and relevant to them and to delve deeper to understand the earth better.

Get in touch with our academic writing service and receive expert help. Let us know your topic, pay for research paper and get an excellent result in no time.

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500+ Environmental Research Topics

Environmental research is a crucial area of study in today’s world, as we face an increasing number of complex and pressing environmental challenges. From climate change to pollution, biodiversity loss to natural resource depletion, there is an urgent need for scientific inquiry and investigation to inform policy, decision-making, and action. Environmental research encompasses a broad range of disciplines, including ecology, biology , geology, chemistry , and physics , among others, and explores a diverse array of topics , from ocean acidification to sustainable agriculture. Through rigorous scientific inquiry and a commitment to generating evidence-based solutions, environmental research plays a vital role in promoting the health and well-being of our planet and its inhabitants. In this article, we will cover some trending Environmental Research Topics.

Environmental Research Topics

Environmental Research Topics are as follows:

• Climate change and its impacts on ecosystems and society
• The effectiveness of carbon capture and storage technology
• The role of biodiversity in maintaining healthy ecosystems
• The impact of human activity on soil quality
• The impact of plastic pollution on marine life
• The effectiveness of renewable energy sources
• The impact of deforestation on local communities and wildlife
• The relationship between air pollution and human health
• The impact of agricultural practices on soil erosion
• The effectiveness of conservation measures for endangered species
• The impact of overfishing on marine ecosystems
• The role of wetlands in mitigating climate change
• The impact of oil spills on marine ecosystems
• The impact of urbanization on local ecosystems
• The impact of climate change on global food security
• The effectiveness of water conservation measures
• The impact of pesticide use on pollinators
• The impact of acid rain on aquatic ecosystems
• The impact of sea level rise on coastal communities
• The effectiveness of carbon taxes in reducing greenhouse gas emissions
• The impact of habitat destruction on migratory species
• The impact of invasive species on native ecosystems
• The role of national parks in biodiversity conservation
• The impact of climate change on coral reefs
• The effectiveness of green roofs in reducing urban heat island effect
• The impact of noise pollution on wildlife behavior
• The impact of air pollution on crop yields
• The effectiveness of composting in reducing organic waste
• The impact of climate change on the Arctic ecosystem
• The impact of land use change on soil carbon sequestration
• The role of mangroves in coastal protection and carbon sequestration
• The impact of microplastics on marine ecosystems
• The impact of ocean acidification on marine organisms
• The effectiveness of carbon offsets in reducing greenhouse gas emissions
• The impact of deforestation on climate regulation
• The impact of groundwater depletion on agriculture
• The impact of climate change on migratory bird populations
• The effectiveness of wind turbines in reducing greenhouse gas emissions
• The impact of urbanization on bird diversity
• The impact of climate change on ocean currents
• The impact of drought on plant and animal populations
• The effectiveness of agroforestry in improving soil quality
• The impact of climate change on water availability
• The impact of wildfires on carbon storage in forests
• The impact of climate change on freshwater ecosystems
• The effectiveness of green energy subsidies
• The impact of nitrogen pollution on aquatic ecosystems
• The impact of climate change on forest ecosystems
• The effectiveness of community-based conservation initiatives
• The impact of climate change on the water cycle
• The impact of mining activities on local ecosystems
• The impact of wind energy on bird and bat populations
• The effectiveness of bioremediation in cleaning up contaminated soil and water
• The impact of deforestation on local climate patterns
• The impact of climate change on insect populations
• The impact of agricultural runoff on freshwater ecosystems
• The effectiveness of smart irrigation systems in reducing water use
• The impact of ocean currents on marine biodiversity
• The impact of climate change on wetland ecosystems
• The effectiveness of green buildings in reducing energy use
• The impact of climate change on glacier retreat and sea level rise
• The impact of light pollution on nocturnal wildlife behavior
• The impact of climate change on desert ecosystems
• The effectiveness of electric vehicles in reducing greenhouse gas emissions
• The impact of ocean pollution on human health
• The impact of land use change on water quality
• The impact of urbanization on bird populations
• The impact of oil spills on marine ecosystems and wildlife
• The effectiveness of green energy storage technologies in promoting renewable energy use
• The impact of climate change on freshwater availability and water management
• The impact of industrial pollution on air quality and human health
• The effectiveness of urban green spaces in promoting human health and well-being
• The impact of climate change on snow cover and winter tourism
• The impact of agricultural land use on biodiversity and ecosystem services
• The effectiveness of green incentives in promoting sustainable consumer behavior
• The impact of ocean acidification on shellfish and mollusk populations
• The impact of climate change on river flow and flooding
• The effectiveness of green supply chain management in promoting sustainable production
• The impact of noise pollution on avian communication and behavior
• The impact of climate change on arctic ecosystems and wildlife
• The effectiveness of green marketing in promoting sustainable tourism
• The impact of microplastics on marine food webs and human health
• The impact of climate change on invasive species distributions
• The effectiveness of green infrastructure in promoting sustainable urban development
• The impact of plastic pollution on human health and food safety
• The impact of climate change on soil microbial communities and nutrient cycling
• The effectiveness of green technologies in promoting sustainable industrial production
• The impact of climate change on permafrost thaw and methane emissions
• The impact of deforestation on water quality and quantity
• The effectiveness of green certification schemes in promoting sustainable production and consumption
• The impact of noise pollution on terrestrial ecosystems and wildlife
• The impact of climate change on bird migration patterns
• The effectiveness of green waste management in promoting sustainable resource use
• The impact of climate change on insect populations and ecosystem services
• The impact of plastic pollution on human society and culture
• The effectiveness of green finance in promoting sustainable development goals
• The impact of climate change on marine biodiversity hotspots
• The impact of climate change on natural disasters and disaster risk reduction
• The effectiveness of green urban planning in promoting sustainable cities and communities
• The impact of deforestation on soil carbon storage and climate change
• The impact of noise pollution on human communication and behavior
• The effectiveness of green energy policy in promoting renewable energy use
• The impact of climate change on Arctic sea ice and wildlife
• The impact of agricultural practices on soil quality and ecosystem health
• The effectiveness of green taxation in promoting sustainable behavior
• The impact of plastic pollution on freshwater ecosystems and wildlife
• The impact of climate change on plant-pollinator interactions and crop production
• The effectiveness of green innovation in promoting sustainable technological advancements
• The impact of climate change on ocean currents and marine heatwaves
• The impact of deforestation on indigenous communities and cultural practices
• The effectiveness of green governance in promoting sustainable development and environmental justice
• The effectiveness of wetland restoration in reducing flood risk
• The impact of climate change on the spread of vector-borne diseases
• The effectiveness of green marketing in promoting sustainable consumption
• The impact of plastic pollution on marine ecosystems
• The impact of renewable energy development on wildlife habitats
• The effectiveness of environmental education programs in promoting pro-environmental behavior
• The impact of deforestation on global climate change
• The impact of microplastics on freshwater ecosystems
• The effectiveness of eco-labeling in promoting sustainable seafood consumption
• The impact of climate change on coral reef ecosystems
• The impact of air pollution on human health and mortality rates
• The effectiveness of eco-tourism in promoting conservation and community development
• The impact of climate change on agricultural production and food security
• The impact of wind turbine noise on wildlife behavior and populations
• The impact of light pollution on nocturnal ecosystems and species
• The effectiveness of green energy subsidies in promoting renewable energy use
• The impact of invasive species on native ecosystems and biodiversity
• The impact of climate change on ocean acidification and marine ecosystems
• The effectiveness of green public procurement in promoting sustainable production
• The impact of deforestation on soil erosion and nutrient depletion
• The impact of noise pollution on human health and well-being
• The effectiveness of green building standards in promoting sustainable construction
• The impact of climate change on forest fires and wildfire risk
• The impact of e-waste on human health and environmental pollution
• The impact of climate change on polar ice caps and sea levels
• The impact of pharmaceutical pollution on freshwater ecosystems and wildlife
• The effectiveness of green transportation policies in reducing carbon emissions
• The impact of climate change on glacier retreat and water availability
• The impact of pesticide use on pollinator populations and ecosystems
• The effectiveness of circular economy models in reducing waste and promoting sustainability
• The impact of climate change on coastal ecosystems and biodiversity
• The impact of plastic waste on terrestrial ecosystems and wildlife
• The effectiveness of green chemistry in promoting sustainable manufacturing
• The impact of climate change on ocean currents and weather patterns
• The impact of agricultural runoff on freshwater ecosystems and water quality
• The effectiveness of green bonds in financing sustainable infrastructure projects
• The impact of climate change on soil moisture and desertification
• The impact of noise pollution on marine ecosystems and species
• The effectiveness of community-based conservation in promoting biodiversity and ecosystem health
• The impact of climate change on permafrost ecosystems and carbon storage
• The impact of urbanization on water pollution and quality
• The effectiveness of green jobs in promoting sustainable employment
• The impact of climate change on wetland ecosystems and biodiversity
• The impact of plastic pollution on terrestrial ecosystems and wildlife
• The effectiveness of sustainable fashion in promoting sustainable consumption
• The impact of climate change on phenology and seasonal cycles of plants and animals
• The impact of ocean pollution on human health and seafood safety
• The effectiveness of green procurement policies in promoting sustainable supply chains
• The impact of climate change on marine food webs and ecosystems
• The impact of agricultural practices on greenhouse gas emissions and climate change
• The effectiveness of green financing in promoting sustainable investment
• The effectiveness of rainwater harvesting systems in reducing water use
• The impact of climate change on permafrost ecosystems
• The impact of coastal erosion on shoreline ecosystems
• The effectiveness of green infrastructure in reducing urban heat island effect
• The impact of microorganisms on soil fertility and carbon sequestration
• The impact of climate change on snowpack and water availability
• The impact of oil and gas drilling on local ecosystems
• The effectiveness of carbon labeling in promoting sustainable consumer choices
• The impact of marine noise pollution on marine mammals
• The impact of climate change on alpine ecosystems
• The effectiveness of green supply chain management in reducing environmental impact
• The impact of climate change on river ecosystems
• The impact of urban sprawl on wildlife habitat fragmentation
• The effectiveness of carbon trading in reducing greenhouse gas emissions
• The impact of ocean warming on marine ecosystems
• The impact of agricultural practices on water quality and quantity
• The effectiveness of green roofs in improving urban air quality
• The impact of climate change on tropical rainforests
• The impact of water pollution on human health and livelihoods
• The effectiveness of green bonds in financing sustainable projects
• The impact of climate change on polar bear populations
• The impact of human activity on soil biodiversity
• The effectiveness of waste-to-energy systems in reducing waste and emissions
• The impact of climate change on Arctic sea ice and marine ecosystems
• The impact of sea level rise on low-lying coastal cities and communities
• The effectiveness of sustainable tourism in promoting conservation and community development
• The impact of deforestation on indigenous peoples and their livelihoods
• The impact of climate change on sea turtle populations
• The effectiveness of carbon-neutral and carbon-negative technologies
• The impact of urbanization on water resources and quality
• The impact of climate change on cold-water fish populations
• The effectiveness of green entrepreneurship in promoting sustainable innovation
• The impact of wildfires on air quality and public health
• The impact of climate change on human migration patterns and social systems
• The impact of noise pollution on bird communication and behavior in urban environments
• The impact of climate change on estuarine ecosystems and biodiversity
• The impact of deforestation on water availability and river basin management
• The impact of climate change on plant phenology and distribution
• The effectiveness of green marketing in promoting sustainable consumer behavior
• The impact of plastic pollution on freshwater ecosystems and biodiversity
• The impact of climate change on marine plastic debris accumulation and distribution
• The effectiveness of green innovation in promoting sustainable technology development
• The impact of climate change on crop yields and food security
• The impact of noise pollution on human health and well-being in urban environments
• The impact of climate change on Arctic marine ecosystems and biodiversity
• The effectiveness of green transportation infrastructure in promoting sustainable mobility
• The impact of deforestation on non-timber forest products and forest-dependent livelihoods
• The impact of climate change on wetland carbon sequestration and storage
• The impact of plastic pollution on sea turtle populations and nesting behavior
• The impact of climate change on marine biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in the Southern Ocean
• The effectiveness of green certification in promoting sustainable agriculture
• The impact of climate change on oceanographic processes and upwelling systems
• The impact of noise pollution on terrestrial wildlife communication and behavior
• The impact of climate change on coastal erosion and shoreline management
• The effectiveness of green finance in promoting sustainable investment
• The impact of deforestation on indigenous communities and traditional knowledge systems
• The impact of climate change on tropical cyclones and extreme weather events
• The effectiveness of green buildings in promoting energy efficiency and carbon reduction
• The impact of plastic pollution on marine food webs and trophic interactions
• The impact of climate change on algal blooms and harmful algal blooms in marine ecosystems
• The effectiveness of green business partnerships in promoting sustainable development goals
• The impact of climate change on ocean deoxygenation and its effects on marine life
• The impact of noise pollution on human sleep and rest patterns in urban environments
• The impact of climate change on freshwater availability and management
• The effectiveness of green entrepreneurship in promoting social and environmental justice
• The impact of deforestation on wildlife habitat and biodiversity conservation
• The impact of climate change on the migration patterns and behaviors of birds and mammals
• The effectiveness of green urban planning in promoting sustainable and livable cities
• The impact of plastic pollution on microplastics and nanoplastics in marine ecosystems
• The impact of climate change on marine ecosystem services and their value to society
• The effectiveness of green certification in promoting sustainable forestry
• The impact of climate change on ocean currents and their effects on marine biodiversity
• The impact of noise pollution on urban ecosystems and their ecological functions
• The impact of climate change on freshwater biodiversity and ecosystem functioning
• The effectiveness of green policy implementation in promoting sustainable development
• The impact of deforestation on soil carbon storage and greenhouse gas emissions
• The impact of climate change on marine mammals and their ecosystem roles
• The effectiveness of green product labeling in promoting sustainable consumer behavior
• The impact of plastic pollution on coral reefs and their resilience to climate change
• The impact of climate change on waterborne diseases and public health
• The effectiveness of green energy policies in promoting renewable energy adoption
• The impact of deforestation on carbon storage and sequestration in peatlands
• The impact of climate change on ocean acidification and its effects on marine life
• The effectiveness of green supply chain management in promoting circular economy principles
• The impact of noise pollution on urban birds and their vocal communication
• The impact of climate change on ecosystem services provided by mangrove forests
• The effectiveness of green marketing in promoting sustainable fashion and textiles
• The impact of plastic pollution on deep-sea ecosystems and biodiversity
• The impact of climate change on marine biodiversity hotspots and conservation priorities
• The effectiveness of green investment in promoting sustainable infrastructure development
• The impact of deforestation on ecosystem services provided by agroforestry systems
• The impact of climate change on snow and ice cover and their effects on freshwater ecosystems
• The effectiveness of green tourism in promoting sustainable tourism practices
• The impact of noise pollution on human cognitive performance and productivity
• The impact of climate change on forest fires and their effects on ecosystem services
• The effectiveness of green labeling in promoting sustainable seafood consumption
• The impact of climate change on insect populations and their ecosystem roles
• The impact of plastic pollution on seabird populations and their reproductive success
• The effectiveness of green procurement in promoting sustainable public sector spending
• The impact of deforestation on soil erosion and land degradation
• The impact of climate change on riverine ecosystems and their ecosystem services
• The effectiveness of green certification in promoting sustainable fisheries
• The impact of noise pollution on marine mammals and their acoustic communication
• The impact of climate change on terrestrial carbon sinks and sources
• The effectiveness of green technology transfer in promoting sustainable development
• The impact of deforestation on non-timber forest products and their sustainable use
• The impact of climate change on marine invasive species and their ecological impacts
• The effectiveness of green procurement in promoting sustainable private sector spending
• The impact of plastic pollution on zooplankton populations and their ecosystem roles
• The impact of climate change on wetland ecosystems and their services
• The effectiveness of green education in promoting sustainable behavior change
• The impact of deforestation on watershed management and water quality
• The impact of climate change on soil nutrient cycling and ecosystem functioning
• The effectiveness of green technology innovation in promoting sustainable development
• The impact of noise pollution on human health in outdoor recreational settings
• The impact of climate change on oceanic nutrient cycling and primary productivity
• The effectiveness of green urban design in promoting sustainable and resilient cities
• The impact of plastic pollution on marine microbial communities and their functions
• The impact of climate change on coral reef bleaching and recovery
• The impact of deforestation on ecosystem services provided by community-managed forests
• The impact of climate change on freshwater fish populations and their ecosystem roles
• The effectiveness of green certification in promoting sustainable tourism
• The impact of noise pollution on human stress and cardiovascular health
• The impact of climate change on glacier retreat and their effects on freshwater ecosystems
• The effectiveness of green technology diffusion in promoting sustainable development
• The impact of plastic pollution on sea grass beds and their ecosystem services
• The impact of climate change on forest phenology and productivity.
• The effectiveness of green transportation policies in promoting sustainable mobility
• The impact of deforestation on indigenous peoples’ livelihoods and traditional knowledge
• The impact of climate change on Arctic ecosystems and their biodiversity
• The effectiveness of green building standards in promoting sustainable architecture
• The impact of noise pollution on nocturnal animals and their behavior
• The impact of climate change on migratory bird populations and their breeding success
• The effectiveness of green taxation in promoting sustainable consumption and production
• The impact of deforestation on wildlife corridors and ecosystem connectivity
• The impact of climate change on urban heat islands and their effects on public health
• The effectiveness of green labeling in promoting sustainable forestry practices
• The impact of plastic pollution on sea turtle populations and their nesting success
• The impact of climate change on invasive plant species and their ecological impacts
• The effectiveness of green business practices in promoting sustainable entrepreneurship
• The impact of noise pollution on urban wildlife and their acoustic communication
• The impact of climate change on alpine ecosystems and their services
• The effectiveness of green procurement in promoting sustainable agriculture and food systems
• The impact of deforestation on soil carbon stocks and their effects on climate change
• The impact of climate change on wetland methane emissions and their contribution to greenhouse gas concentrations
• The effectiveness of green certification in promoting sustainable forestry and timber production
• The impact of plastic pollution on marine mammal populations and their health
• The impact of climate change on marine fisheries and their sustainable management
• The effectiveness of green investment in promoting sustainable entrepreneurship and innovation
• The impact of noise pollution on bat populations and their behavior
• The impact of climate change on permafrost thaw and its effects on Arctic ecosystems
• The impact of deforestation on ecosystem services provided by sacred groves
• The impact of climate change on tropical cyclones and their impacts on coastal ecosystems
• The effectiveness of green technology transfer in promoting sustainable agriculture and food systems
• The impact of plastic pollution on benthic macroinvertebrate populations and their ecosystem roles
• The impact of climate change on freshwater invertebrate populations and their ecosystem roles
• The effectiveness of green tourism in promoting sustainable wildlife tourism practices
• The impact of noise pollution on amphibian populations and their communication
• The impact of climate change on mountain ecosystems and their biodiversity
• The effectiveness of green certification in promoting sustainable agriculture and food systems
• The impact of deforestation on indigenous peoples’ food security and nutrition
• The impact of climate change on plant-pollinator interactions and their ecosystem roles
• The impact of plastic pollution on freshwater ecosystems and their services
• The impact of climate change on oceanic currents and their effects on marine ecosystems
• The effectiveness of green investment in promoting sustainable transportation infrastructure
• The impact of noise pollution on human sleep quality and mental health
• The impact of climate change on marine viruses and their effects on marine life
• The effectiveness of green labeling in promoting sustainable packaging and waste reduction
• The impact of deforestation on ecosystem services provided by riparian forests
• The impact of climate change on insect-pollinated crops and their yields
• The effectiveness of green procurement in promoting sustainable waste management
• The impact of plastic pollution on estuarine ecosystems and their services
• The impact of climate change on groundwater recharge and aquifer depletion
• The effectiveness of green education in promoting sustainable tourism practices
• The impact of climate change on coral reefs and their biodiversity
• The effectiveness of green labeling in promoting sustainable clothing and textile production
• The impact of deforestation on riverine fish populations and their fishery-dependent communities
• The impact of climate change on mountain water resources and their availability
• The effectiveness of green certification in promoting sustainable tourism accommodations
• The impact of plastic pollution on deep-sea ecosystems and their biodiversity
• The impact of climate change on sea-level rise and its effects on coastal ecosystems and communities
• The effectiveness of green energy policies in promoting renewable energy production
• The impact of noise pollution on human cardiovascular health
• The impact of climate change on biogeochemical cycles in marine ecosystems
• The effectiveness of green labeling in promoting sustainable personal care and cosmetic products
• The impact of deforestation on carbon sequestration and its effects on climate change
• The impact of climate change on wildfire frequency and severity
• The effectiveness of green procurement in promoting sustainable energy-efficient technologies
• The impact of plastic pollution on beach ecosystems and their tourism potential
• The impact of climate change on marine mammals and their habitat range shifts
• The effectiveness of green urban design in promoting sustainable and livable neighborhoods
• The impact of noise pollution on urban human and wildlife communities
• The impact of climate change on soil microorganisms and their roles in nutrient cycling
• The effectiveness of green labeling in promoting sustainable electronics and e-waste management
• The impact of deforestation on watershed services and their effects on downstream ecosystems and communities
• The impact of climate change on human migration patterns and their impacts on urbanization
• The effectiveness of green investment in promoting sustainable water management and infrastructure
• The impact of plastic pollution on seabird populations and their nesting success
• The impact of climate change on ocean acidification and its effects on marine ecosystems
• The effectiveness of green certification in promoting sustainable fisheries and aquaculture
• The impact of noise pollution on terrestrial carnivore populations and their communication
• The impact of climate change on snow and ice dynamics in polar regions
• The effectiveness of green tourism in promoting sustainable cultural heritage preservation
• The impact of deforestation on riverine water quality and their effects on aquatic life
• The impact of climate change on forest fires and their ecological effects
• The effectiveness of green labeling in promoting sustainable home appliances and energy use
• The impact of plastic pollution on marine invertebrate populations and their ecosystem roles
• The impact of climate change on soil erosion and its effects on agricultural productivity
• The effectiveness of green procurement in promoting sustainable construction materials and waste reduction
• The impact of noise pollution on marine mammal populations and their behavior
• The impact of climate change on ocean circulation and its effects on marine life
• The effectiveness of green investment in promoting sustainable forest management
• The impact of deforestation on medicinal plant populations and their traditional uses
• The impact of climate change on wetland ecosystems and their carbon storage capacity
• The effectiveness of green urban planning in promoting sustainable and resilient cities
• The impact of plastic pollution on seabed ecosystems and their biodiversity
• The effectiveness of green certification in promoting sustainable palm oil production
• The impact of noise pollution on bird populations and their communication
• The impact of climate change on freshwater quality and its effects on aquatic life
• The effectiveness of green labeling in promoting sustainable food packaging and waste reduction
• The impact of deforestation on streamflow and its effects on downstream

About the author

Muhammad Hassan

Researcher, Academic Writer, Web developer

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Research Paper

Environmental history research paper topics.

This page lists environmental history research paper topics and ideas and provides links to example papers on history of environment and ecology.

Anthropocene

Human activities have become so pervasive and profound that they rival the great forces of nature and are pushing the Earth into planetary terra incognita. Some geologists believe that that the Earth has now left its natural geological epoch—the interglacial state called the Holocene—and is rapidly moving into a less biologically diverse, less forested, much warmer, and probably wetter and stormier state, the Anthropocene. See Anthropocene Research Paper .

Anthroposphere

The anthroposphere—we humans together with our environment—addresses the degree to which we, as opposed to other life forms, have impacted and penetrated the biosphere. The concept, introduced in the late twentieth century, proposes that monopolies of human power throughout history, such as agrarian and industrial regimes, have deeply affected the relations between humans and the nonhuman world. See Anthroposphere Research Paper .

Biological Exchanges

With few exceptions, the spread of plants, animals, and diseases was limited to geographically bound regions for much of the Earth’s history. Humans facilitated biological exchange, intentionally and accidentally carrying species across natural borders. As opportunities for human travel increased, so did the opportunities for biological exchange, often with dramatic consequences. See Biological Exchanges Research Paper .

Carrying Capacity

The growth of a population in a given environment is theoretically limited by the availability of resources and susceptibility to disease or disaster, thus the maximum number or density of organisms an area can support is called the carrying capacity. The threshold for humans is unknown, because they respond to scarcity by moving to new areas, adopting new resources, or inventing technologies to increase capacity. See Carrying Capacity Research Paper .

Climate Change

Fluctuations in global temperatures throughout history have been accompanied by changes in sea levels and altered weather patterns, both of which have been linked to mass migrations, famines leading to disease, the collapse of some civilizations, and the growth of others. These cycles of warm and cold are affected by energy exchanges between oceans and the atmosphere, fossil-fuel emissions, and solar energy. See Climate Change Research Paper .

Columbian Exchange

The early exchanges of life forms between Europe and America, which began in earnest with the voyage of Christopher Columbus in 1492, included disease germs, weeds, and vermin as well as medicines, crops, and domesticated animals. The effects were far-reaching for species that had developed in relative isolation on different continents of the Old and New Worlds. See Columbian Exchange Research Paper .

Deforestation

Humans have been felling, using, and burning trees for about half a million years, and the forests have receded as human populations have grown and spread. The clearing of woodlands for agriculture has been the leading cause of deforestation, but the harvesting of timber as a raw material and fuel has also played a significant role. See Deforestation Research Paper .

Desertification

Experts disagree over the current rate at which arable land is becoming desert, to what extent human activities are responsible, and whether the process is reversible. Yet events such as the Dust Bowl of the 1930s in the United States are compelling evidence of a link between desertification and human misuse of the land. See Desertification Research Paper .

Two types of deserts—tropical and temperate —occupy approximately one third of the planet. While thought to be vast areas of limited resources, the usefulness of arid climates throughout history has depended on the social interaction between the climate and a given society. Analyzing hunter-gatherer and nomadic pastoralist societies has given insight to the influence that desert regions have had on human development. See Deserts Research Paper .

Earthquakes

Earthquakes are experienced as shockwaves or intense vibrations on the Earth’s surface. They are usually caused by ruptures along geological fault lines in the Earth’s crust, resulting in the sudden release of energy in the form of seismic waves. They can also be triggered by volcanic activity or human actions, such as industrial or military explosions. See Earthquakes Research Paper .

Ecological Imperialism

Ecological imperialism is the process by which colonizers carried the plants, animals, and diseases of their homeland to new lands, albeit sometimes unintentionally. Changing a new environment to more closely resemble a familiar one was often critical to the establishment and success of the imperialists, most prominently Europeans in the Americas, Africa, and Oceania. See Ecological Imperialism Research Paper .

From simple mechanical muscle energy to the energy derived from radioactive materials, energy use has ebbed and flowed throughout history. The economic, social, and political consequences of these changes are great, correlating with the rise and fall of empires and eras. Energy use continues to evolve in tandem with humanity and will dictate which choices are available for future development. See Energy Research Paper .

Environmental Movements

Although the term environmentalism was not used until much later, the roots of environmental movements date back to the 1800s, when demands for cleaner water and air and the protection of wilderness became common. Industrialization and colonialism sparked the fi rst environmentalist voices. Though goals and intentions of the countless organizations vary, environmental movements as a whole remain an important aspect of modern society. See Environmental Movements Research Paper .

Erosion affects crop productivity and remains the largest cause of water pollution on Earth, depositing nutrients, sediments, pesticides, and fertilizers into water supplies. There are two types of erosion: natural and human-induced. Erosion prediction and the need for soil conservation became a focus in the twentieth century under President Roosevelt’s New Deal, which helped spread the word about the threats of erosion. See Soil Erosion Research Paper .

Ethnobotany

Ethnobotany examines the cultural and biological relationships between plants and people, usually human populations organized into communities or linguistic groups. Ethnobotanists study how people use plants, modify habitats to benefit plant species, alter entire landscapes, and create new plants through genetic selection (domestication) and unnatural places to grow them (gardens and fields). See Ethnobotany Research Paper .

Extinctions

Extinctions have occurred throughout the history of the Earth; extinction is in fact a critical component in the theory of evolution and is attributed to natural selection, random factors, or catastrophic events. The Earth has survived five mass extinctions—including one that destroyed the dinosaurs—all of which have shaped the world as we know it today. See Extinctions Research Paper .

Famine is a complex social phenomenon and is distinguished from starvation by its social aspect. Individuals starve to death as a result of reductions in food supply, but societies experience a more complex response. Not all members of society suffer equally from food shortages. As Amartya Sen has pointed out, the poorer and less privileged sections of society, whose entitlements to food are least secure, suffer more than the richer, more privileged sections. See Famine Research Paper .

Humans learned to control fire at least 400,000 years ago. Cooking over fi re increased the variety of foods. Fire kept dangerous animals away from campgrounds and warmed living spaces so humans could leave tropical Africa and spread round the Earth; people burned dry vegetation as they migrated to improve hunting and thereby changed natural ecological balances. No single skill did so much to expand human power over nature. See Fire Research Paper .

Gaia Theory

In 1969 the British scientist James Lovelock postulated that life on Earth regulates the composition of the atmosphere to keep the planet habitable. The novelist William Golding, Lovelock’s friend and neighbor, suggested Lovelock call the hypothesis Gaia, after the Greek Earth goddess. Although in its early exposition and in the popular press the Gaia hypothesis was understood as saying Earth itself was a living organism, the theory as Lovelock came to articulate it said rather that Earth acts like a living organism, with its living and nonliving components acting in concert to create an environment that continues to be suitable for life. See Gaia Theory Research Paper .

Green Revolution

The successful development of higher-yielding hybrid strains of corn and wheat (“miracle seeds”) in the early 1960s led to the controversial Green Revolution: big businesses and governments see it as a breakthrough in agriculture and food safety, while small farmers and ecologists see it as ruining the environment, destroying agricultural productivity, obliterating indigenous cultural and agricultural practices, and creating even greater global inequalities. See Green Revolution Research Paper .

At least five prolonged ice ages—epochs when glaciers cover entire continents—have occurred throughout the Earth’s 4.6 billion–year history. These five ice ages represented unusual, relatively short episodes in the whole of Earth’s climatic record (spanning a total of 50 to 200 million years, only 1 to 4 percent), and yet they destroyed entire ecosystems, leaving behind tremendous piles of glacial debris. See Ice Ages Research Paper .

Islands are almost as diverse as they are numerous: large or small, rich or poor, inhabited or populated. From the earliest times, as populations settled ever farther around the globe, humans have coveted islands as stepping stones and colonies. Islands have served as trading posts, warehouses, naval bases, and refueling stations. They are still valued today for their often exotic environments and remote locales. See Islands Research Paper .

Mountains evolved as havens of bio- and cultural diversity and have long been associated with indestructibility, ruggedness, and characteristics hostile to human endeavors. Until the U.N. designated 2002 the International Year of the Mountain, environmentalists ignored the fragility of mountain regions. Poor, indigenous mountain peoples, victimized by central governments, often have little choice but to overexploit their environment, and are threatened by warfare ubiquitous in many mountainous lands. See Mountains Research Paper .

Natural Gas

Natural gas consists primarily of methane. It is often located alongside other fossil fuels. Cleaner than other fossil fuels, gas is an important source of energy, both as a gas and in a liquefied state, used in heating, cooking, and powering automobiles. Before it can be used as a fuel, gas must be processed to make it near pure methane. See Natural Gas Research Paper .

All cultures depend on the natural world—plants and animals, the weather, the sun and the sea— for their sustenance. Likewise, each culture has creation stories that classify and provide ethical concepts about its place in the natural world. But not all cultures embody the multitude of universal laws, physical matter, and forms of life on Earth as Western culture does, and attempt to express it all as a single concept called nature. See Nature Research Paper .

Oceans and Seas

Oceans and seas comprise 98 percent of the biosphere and cover about 70 percent of the Earth’s surface. Water is circulated between the oceans and seas, the atmosphere, and the land by evaporation and precipitation, thus transporting chemicals and heat, determining the Earth’s climate, and fertilizing and eroding the land. Humans depend on ocean resources, harvesting marine life, for instance, and drilling the ocean beds for oil. See Oceans and Seas Research Paper .

Oil in myriad forms has been used for hundreds of purposes for at least six thousand years. Oil spills occur naturally and as a result of oil exploration, transportation, and processing. Several disasters have led to more stringent environmental standards, such as double-hulled ships. The drilling-platform explosion and subsequent oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010 has brought renewed global attention to the dangers of oil spills. See Oil Spills Research Paper .

Population and the Environment

Examples throughout history reveal that the simple formula—more people equals more environmental disruption—does not always apply. Nonetheless, in most circumstances, population growth has brought accelerated environmental change and continues to do so. Since the mid-twentieth century, as human population growth approached its maximum rate, the relationship between population growth and the environment has been the subject of popular and scholarly debate. See Population and the Environment Research Paper .

The geographer Lewis Mumford’s observation— that all great historic cultures thrived by traveling along the natural highway of a great river—is particularly resonant today, as the world’s rivers bear the brunt of human manipulation. Pollution and habitat loss (two main side effects of hydraulic engineering), as well as climate change, pose unprecedented challenges to agriculture, manufacturing, urban water supplies, and wildlife conservation. See Rivers Research Paper .

The first roads were built to facilitate the movement of armies over uneven landscapes. Paved road systems reached new levels of sophistication during Roman times but fell into disrepair with the fall of the empire. The dawn of modern road building began with the invention of the automobile, evolving into today’s intricate networks of street and highway systems. See Roads Research Paper .

Salinization

Salinization, the process by which salts accumulate in soil, has long been (and continues to be) one of the world’s major challenges for sustaining agricultural production. In natural and managed ecosystems, salinization regulates plant and animal communities, and it determines the way in which water is circulated and distributed on and below the Earth’s surface and in the atmosphere. See Salinization Research Paper .

Timber, or lumber, is wood that is used in any of its stages—from felling through to processing— in the production of construction materials, or as pulp for paper. Timber has been a resource around the world for many centuries in the craft and construct of all manner of objects and utensils, from dwellings to ships to tables to toothpicks. See Timber Research Paper .

Trees are vastly older than the human species, and the study of trees is itself a vast subject. With its focus on human/tree interaction through the ages, this article considers trees as objects of human veneration, as sources of food or obstacles to agriculture, and as wildlife whose “behavior” is affected by human actions. See Trees Research Paper .

Water is essential for life. In addition to consumption, water is used for travel, power generation, hygiene, recreation, agriculture, industry, ritual, and more. While water covers about three-quarters of the Earth’s surface, less than 2 percent of it is fi t to drink. Access to water continues to play a crucial role in the location and movement of peoples and communities. See Water Research Paper .

Water Energy

Mechanical (kinetic) energy of flowing or falling water was traditionally converted to rotary motion by a variety of waterwheels, and, starting in the 1880s, by water turbines that have been used to turn generators. Unlike fossil fuels, this form of electricity generation does not produce air pollution directly, but its other environmental impacts have become a matter of considerable controversy. See Water Energy Research Paper .

Water Management

Water has many essential uses, including in agriculture, industry, recreation, and domestic consumption, most of which require fresh water (as opposed to saltwater). Only 3 percent of Earth’s water supply is fresh, and most of that is frozen. While fresh water is a renewable resource, supply is limited while demand is increasing. This requires careful management of existing water resources. See Water Management Research Paper .

Wind Energy

Sails were one of the first inventions to convert wind energy into motion, and windmills have been used since the tenth century to harness the power of the wind for grain milling and water pumping. In the early twenty-first century, wind is the fastest growing renewable energy source, forecasted to provide 20 percent of the world’s electricity by the year 2040. See Wind Energy Research Paper .

See other History Research Paper Topics .

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What is an argument.

An argument is an effort to change readers' mind about an issue -- a topic of concern or urgency that is not easily agreed upon due to its complexity. Arguments arise when people disagree on what is true or false, accurate or inaccurate, sufficient or insufficient, about the subject being discussed.

An argument must possess four basic ingredients to be successful. First, it must contain as much  relevant information  about the issue as possible. Second, it must present  convincing evidence  that enables the audience to accept the writer's or speaker's claim as authentic. Third, it must fairly represent  challenging views  and then explain why those views are wrong or limited. And fourth, it must lay out a  pattern of reasoning . That is, it must logically progress from thesis to support of thesis to conclusion.

Source: White, F. D., & Billings, S. J. (2014).  The well-crafted argument: a guide and reader . Australia: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Crafting Your Argument

A strong thesis.

You will craft your topic and research into an argument by establishing your thesis, which will present your topic as a problem that can be researched and refuted by potential counterarguments. Your thesis will clearly state your position on the topic, and your position needs to be debatable (something that reasonable people would have a disagreement on), and not just state facts. For example, if your topic is European Colonialism , your thesis might look something like this: Colonialism was essential for the development of European countries because... (list a few reasons why). 

The reasons you give to support your thesis should be meaningful and supported by evidence. You can use scholarly articles from the library as supporting evidence; for tips on how to do that, check out the Finding Your Sources page on this guide.

An Organized Argument

After writing a strong thesis statement, the next step is to organize your argument. There are a few ways you can structure your paper, but here is one simple way:

• Introduction and Thesis
• First Claim
• Second Claim
• Third Claim
• Counterargument rebuttal

For more help on crafting an argument and writing a persuasive essay, reach out to the Academic Support Center for support.

Counterargument

Presenting a counterargument is an important component of writing a persuasive essay. Here, you provide acknowledgement and fair representation of those claims that oppose or in some way challenge the claim you are arguing. Here are some steps you can follow to establish and refute a counterargument:

• Ask yourself, what are the possible objectives to my claim? See if you can anticipate refutations to your claim even if you cannot readily locate them.
• Search for actual arguments that challenge your own. Be sure to summarize these arguments fairly; that is, do not omit parts of the claim that you think you would not be able to counterargue. Note: it is entirely possible that a challenging view will strike you as so convincing that you may want to revise or even abandon your original claim.
• Look for common ground - places where the challenging claim intersects with your own.
• Explain why the challenging claim is incorrect or flawed.

Source: White, F. D., & Billings, S. J. (2014). The well-crafted argument: a guide and reader. Australia: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Finding Resources for the Counterargument

You can use the library's resources to help you identify a counterargument and find resources that support it. One way to do this is to do a search using the Multi-Search with keywords like disadvantage, risk, negative, or other words that imply disagreement. For example, if your argument is that all children should be vaccinated, you might try a search like this one to find articles that offer an opposition: colonialism AND Europe* AND econom*.  (*note: the asterisk at the end of the word is called, truncation, or, a wildcard, and will search for a variation of that word. For example, econom* will find economy, economic, economics, economical, etc.)

You can also search for resources that discuss the overall issue or controversy, rather than focusing on one particular side. Try using additional keywords like debate, controversy, discussion, etc., in your search. Even articles that strongly argue for one side could also present a section on the counterargument to their position. Looking through the full text of any articles you find will help you identify these kinds of resources.

For more help finding resources to support your counterargument, email a librarian at [email protected] !

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Historical Environmental Topics

• Selected historical press releases
• EPA Order 1000.27: EPA History Program (pdf) (75.4 KB) (now defunct)
• Quotations about the environment
• Historical resources about statutes, regulations and policies
• Natural disasters and other emergencies
• Other topics of historical interest

Historical Resources about Statutes, Regulations and Policies

Bubble Policy Clean Air Act of 1970/1977 and Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 Clean Water Act Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) Environmental Research, Development and Demonstration Authorization Act Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972 Fishbowl Policy Food Quality Protection Act Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act (ocean dumping) National Environmental Policy Act Noise and the Noise Control Act Pollution Prevention Act   (search for "Pollution Prevention Takes Center Stage") Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Safe Drinking Water Act Superfund Toxic Substances Control Act

• Looking Backward: A Historical Perspective on Environmental Regulations by Jack Lewis [EPA Journal - March 1988]
• Environmental Regulation: The Early Days at EPA by William D. Ruckelshaus  [EPA Journal - March 1988]

Natural Disasters and Other Emergencies

Chernobyl (search for "Answering Questions about Chernobyl") Columbia Space Shuttle Accident  Eco-Terrorism (search for "Responding to Eco-Terrorism") Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Hurricanes Katrina and Rita (search for "Response to 2005 Hurricanes") Love Canal Three Mile Island Times Beach Valley of the Drums World Trade Center (9/11)

Other Topics of Historical Interest

Alar  (search for "Daminozide (Alar) Pesticide Canceled for Food Uses") DDT Earth Day Earth Summit at Rio de Janeiro, 1992 Henry David Thoreau  Lead London's Historic "Pea-Soupers" Montreal Protocol (see also the Ozone Layer Depletion link below) Noise and the Noise Control Act North American Free Trade Agreement (search for "Statement on the North American Free Trade Agreement" )  Ozone Layer Depletion (see also the Montreal Protocol link above) Pesticides Public Participation and Transparency Rachel Carson  Selected Multilateral Environmental Instruments In Force for the U.S Women and the Environment 

• EPA History Home
• Origins of EPA
• EPA's Administrators
• Historical Photos and Images
• Milestones and Timeline