Woods and Waters: Selected Topics from Nash's Wilderness and the American Mind

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Highlights from GVRL collection:

Defining Documents in American History:
Environment & Conservation (1791-2015)
 

Environmental Ethics and Philosophy


Philosophy:  Environmental Ethics
 

Natural Resource Administration


Encyclopedia of Environmental Issues:
Preservation & Wilderness Issues

Shapers of the Great Debate on Conservation:
A Biographical Dictionary

Environmental Science:  In Context
 

Small groups will work together to conduct further research on selected topics from Roderick Nash's Wilderness and the American Mind.  Findings will be presented to the class in a formal 10 minute presentation. 

Visual aids are required.

Topics:

• Hetch Hetchy Reservoir
• Teddy Roosevelt's conservation legacy
• Aldo Leopold
• Echo Park Dam
• Creation/ challenges to National Park Service
• 1964 Wilderness Act/Grand Canyon challenges

These topics are multidisciplinary, which is why the array of databases to the right are recommended.  

Whenever possible, choose the ADVANCED SEARCH option available in most databases, and enter multiple search terms to narrow your search.

It is helpful to modify your search (example:  Echo Park Dam) with qualifiers.   Be as specific as possible.   Toy with the vocabulary / jargon.

Examples:

• history / origin / creation
• legacy / influence / leaders
• issue / controversy / debate / opposition / dispute
• overview / philosophy
• outlook / philosophy / viewpoint/ view / position /

Combine keywords in Google as well as in databases.  Be specific about what you are looking for:
Example search:  "Teddy Roosevelt" Conservation philosophy impact speech
Search return:  Almanac of Theodore Roosevelt 
http://www.theodore-roosevelt.com/trenv.html
yielding photographs, legacy, newsreel footage, quote from TR speech outlining conservation philosophy:
 

If you are searching a title you have already selected (such as one of the e-Books on the left), enter your search terms in one of the "Within Publication" fields.

When you choose an article from the search returns, click the "View Text" tab:

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If you are searching the entire GVRL collection, opt for the ADVANCED search option.
Be sure to reset the dropdown menus to Keyword.  This will allow for pinpoint searching.

Primary sources offer the most compelling documentation!  They provide a window into contemporary thinking, politics and passions.

Many primary sources are visual, which add to the power of the presentation or paper.

Example sources:

	Library of Congress Collection National Geographic 10 Vintage Posters  AFAR vintage posters posting
Map of current controversy Hetch Hetchy dam removal. 2012 article in Capital Press, West's Ag Weekly	Posters developed by the WPA, National Parks & Reserves, US Travel Bureau to build support for the National Parks  1930s	Anti-Dam Brochure 1955 Council of Conservationists Colorado State Univ.

Additional primary source material includes:

• Contemporary articles in newspapers and magazines (see historical newspaper databases, to the right).
  Example magazine article:  "The Hetch Hetchy Valley" by John Muir, Sierra Club Bulletin, January 1908
  Current newspaper articles tracing continuing conflict from area newspapers  - example:  "How Hetch Hetchy Valley's natural beauty was sacrificed to quench SF.s thirst,"  San Francisco Chronicle, 1 Jan 2018.
• Court Cases (example - follow the legal campaign to restore Hetch Hetchy Reservoir through the California Court system)
• Journals / Personal narratives - examples:
  John Muir,  "My First Summer in the Sierras"  The Atlantic, January 1911
  John Muir,  "In Defense of Forests" The Atlantic, April 1990
• Memoirs
• Photos - Sierra Club Archives - photos by Ansel Adams, Joseph N. LeConte, Edward T. Parsons, and Cedric Wright
• Speeches
• Legislation / Statutes
  The following impact the National Park Service:
  • 1906 Antiquities Act:  text |  NPS explanation |  Overview
  • 1916 NPS Organic Act: text |  DOJ explanation
  • 1964 Wilderness Act
  • 1968 Wild and Scenic Rivers Act:  text  |  U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service explanation
  • 1970 National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
  • National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) - text | NPS explanation
• Federal act authorizing Hetch Hetchy Reservoir - Raker Act 1913

GreenFILE provides scholarly, government and general-interest sources covering the environmental effects of individuals, corporations and governments and what can be done at each level to minimize negative impacts.  This comprehensive resource draws on the connections between the environment and a variety of disciplines such as agriculture, education, law, health and technology.

Be sure to check Academic Search Premier and MasterFILE Premier to include these databases in the search.

Current newspapers are very useful for following current controversies on Hetch Hetchy, Echo Park and Grand Canyon challenges to 1964 Wilderness Act.

ProQuest US Newstream
presents premium national daily newspapers (Wall Street Journal, NYT, LA TImes, Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, etc.) as well as regional newspapers.  Continuously updated.
 

Ebsco Host Newspaper Source
delivers full text articles from 700+ major newpapers plus copy from broadcast and radio news.

Ebsco Newswire provides
constantly updated world news form major press newswires such as AP, UPI, CNN, Xinhua, PR

Newspapers.com is an online repository of 16 million+ pages of historical newspapers from 4,400+ newspapers.  Includes small, local publications from all over the United States.  Can only be searched on campus.