The Earth as Modified by Human Action: A New Edition of Man and Nature

By George Perkins Marsh

Book Overview

The object of the present volume is: to indicate the character and, approximately, the extent of the changes produced by human action in the physical conditions of the globe we inhabit; to point out the dangers of imprudence and the necessity of caution in all operations which, on a large scale, interfere with the spontaneous arrangements of the organic or the inorganic world; to suggest the possibility and the importance of the restoration of disturbed harmonies and the material improvement of waste and exhausted regions; and, incidentally, to illustrate the doctrine that man is, in both kind and degree, a power of a higher order than any of the other forms of animated life, which, like him, are nourished at the table of bounteous nature. In the rudest stages of life, man depends upon spontaneous animal and vegetable growth for food and clothing, and his consumption of such products consequently diminishes the numerical abundance of the species which serve his uses. At more advanced periods, he protects and propagates certain esculent vegetables and certain fowls and quadrupeds, and, at the same time, wars upon rival organisms which prey upon these objects of his care or obstruct the increase of their numbers. The extension of agricultural and pastoral industry involves an enlargement of the sphere of man's domain, by encroachment upon the forests which once covered the greater part of the earth's surface otherwise adapted to his occupation. The felling of the woods has been attended with momentous consequences to the drainage of the soil, to the external configuration of its surface, and probably, also, to local climate; and the importance of human life as a transforming power is, perhaps, more clearly demonstrable in the influence man has thus exerted upon superficial geography than in any other result of his material effort. Lands won from the woods must be both drained and irrigated; river-banks and maritime coasts must be secured by means of artificial bulwarks against inundation by inland and by ocean floods; and the needs of commerce require the improvement of natural and the construction of artificial channels of navigation. The upheaval of the bed of seas and the movements of water and of wind expose vast deposits of sand, which occupy space required for the convenience of man, and often, by the drifting of their particles, overwhelm the fields of human industry with invasions as disastrous as the incursions of the ocean. On the other hand, on many coasts, sand-hills both protect the shores from erosion by the waves and currents, and shelter valuable grounds from blasting sea-winds. The natural character of the various fields where human industry has effected revolutions so important, and where the multiplying population and the impoverished resources of the globe demand new triumphs of mind over matter, suggests a corresponding division of the general subject, and I have conformed the distribution of the several topics to the chronological succession in which man must be supposed to have extended his sway over the different provinces of his material kingdom. I have, then, in the introductory chapter, stated, in a comprehensive way, the general effects and the prospective consequences of human action upon the earth's surface and the life which peoples it. It is perhaps superfluous to add, what indeed sufficiently appears upon every page of the volume, that I address myself not to professed physicists, but to the general intelligence of observing and thinking men; and that my purpose is rather to make practical suggestions than to indulge in theoretical speculations more properly suited to a different class from that for which I write. GEORGE P. MARSH. December 1, 1868

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1484836979
• ISBN13: 9781484836972
• Release Date: April 2013
• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Length: 462 Pages
• Weight: 2.88 lbs.
• Dimensions: 11.0" x 1.1" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Human Agency and Landscape Alteration

Although a dipolmat by profession, Marsh was the first environmentalist to describe the interrelationships between environment and culture. Today he is best remembered for his key work, "Man and Nature." In that classic work, he was the first to suggest that human agency constituted a major element in landscape change. The accepted view held by prominent geographers and geologists of his day was that the physical aspects of the earth were entirely the result of natural process and phenomena, including topography, geological materials, erosion, weathering, climate, etc. Before Marsh, no one had ever thought to study the earth in ways that it was changed by human actions. After his pioneering work, no serious environmentalist or geoscientist can afford to overlook the consequences of those actions on the land. A well-read copy of this book belongs in the personal library of every earth scientist, environmentalist, and conservationist. Marsh's book is a MUST READ for anyone concerned about what people are doing to the earth.

A Very Modern Environmentalist, Writing in 1864!!!

In 1864, George P. Marsh explained how civilizations create ecological disasters. His central thesis is that cutting down forests desrupts otherwise stable hydrological cycles, thereby causing erosion and degrading plant and animal habitats. The book is vaste, creative and detailed. An American from Vermont, Marsh also lived in Turkey and Italy, and pursued numerous careers, as diplomat, lawyer, businessman, and professor. His intense love of language and history merged with direct obersvations here and abroad to generate a remarkable breadth of knowlegde and a strong desire to communicate. In Man and Nature, Marsh is not only inspired, he is also happy to digress, particularly in the abundant footnotes.

Environmental Knowledge

The depth of information provided in this remarkable book trasncends the test of time.

Enlightened analysis concerning Humankind's destructivness.

Originally published in 1864, Marsh explains in wonderful detail the consequences of humankind's manipulation of earth's resources. Truly an enlightened thinker.