Menu
Idea

conservationism

124
Filter by:

Filter by published date

Overhead view of neighborhood in the Palisades destroyed by wildfires.
partner

The L.A. Fires Expose the Problem With Conservation Policy

For more than a century, conservation policy has focused on economic development and wisely using natural resources.
by Johnathan K. Williams via Made By History on January 30, 2025
Indiana Dunes National Park.

Inside the Fight to Save the Indiana Dunes, One of America’s Most Vulnerable National Parks

Caught between steel mills, suburbs and a hard place, the 15,000-acre site is a fantasia of biodiversity—and a case study for hard-fought conservation.
by Eli Wizevich via Smithsonian on July 25, 2024
Attendees of the 1908 Conference of Governors.

When American Governors and Moguls Came Together to Prevent Environmental Catastrophe

A historic 1908 conference transcended party and personal interest for the ‘common good.'
by Adam M. Sowards via Zócalo Public Square on August 17, 2023
A view of the Grand Canyon.

When the Government Tried to Flood the Grand Canyon

In the 1960s, the government proposed the construction of two dams in the Grand Canyon, potentially flooding much of Grand Canyon National Park.
by Livia Gershon, Byron E. Pearson via JSTOR Daily on August 12, 2023
A puffin with a fish in its mouth next to a puffin decoy.

50 Years of Project Puffin: An Oral History of an Incredibly Audacious Idea

In 1973, a young biologist hatched a plan to bring a charismatic seabird back to Maine. Over five decades, it would revolutionize seabird restoration.
by Rene Ebersole via Audubon on June 29, 2023
Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas leading Washington Post editors on a hike along the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, as part of his campaign to prevent the construction of a highway along its route, Maryland, 1954.

The Frontier Justice

William O. Douglas was a strong advocate of conservation, but as a Supreme Court justice his involvement in such issues was often ethically questionable.
by Jed S. Rakoff via New York Review of Books on May 4, 2023
Carter at the Dedication of a New Solar Water Heating System for the White House Roof.

Unheralded Environmentalist: Jimmy Carter’s Green Legacy

In 1978, Carter protected 56M Alaskan acres, tripled wilderness lands, championed conservation, and foresaw climate risks, leaving a lasting green legacy.
by Kai Bird via Yale E360 on March 23, 2023

The Debate Over Executive Orders Began With Teddy Roosevelt's Mad Passion for Conservation

Teddy used nearly 10 times as many executive orders as his predecessor. The repercussions are still felt today.
by Lorraine Boissoneault via Smithsonian on April 17, 2017

Letter From a Drowned Canyon

The story of water in the West, climate change, and the birth of modern environmentalism lies at the bottom of Lake Powell.
by Rebecca Solnit via The California Sunday Magazine on March 30, 2017
Sheep.

Gems in the Pasture

Heritage animal breeding has transformed living history museums and challenged both the public and historians to reconsider colonial Americans’ animal world.
by Pamela H. Sacks via Commonplace on April 7, 2003
Yosemite Valley from Artist’s Point

This Land is Their Land: Trump is Selling Out the US’s Beloved Wilderness

During the McCarthy era’s darkest days, public lands came under attack. History now repeats itself – and this may be the last chance to defend what’s ours.
by Nate Schweber via The Guardian on May 18, 2025
Jimmy Carter speaking in front of a row of solar panels.

Energy Is Central to American Politics. That All Started with Jimmy Carter.

We have yet to solve the problems that Carter confronted head-on as president.
by Gautama Mehta via Grist on January 9, 2025
An aerial view of a forest meeting with a burnt, empty landscape.

Does the U.S. Have a Fire Problem?

Forest fires of 1910 sparked a media-driven fire exclusion policy, which has arguably worsened today's "fire problem."
by Richard Bednarski via Edge Effects on October 10, 2024
Jimmy Carter speaking into a microphone in front of a crowd.

Unwavering

You can argue over whether Jimmy Carter was America’s greatest president, but he was undoubtedly one of the greatest Americans to ever become president.
by Jim Barger Jr. via The Bitter Southerner on October 1, 2024
Prairie landscape.

Protecting the Prairie

On the native prairies of North America, green is the problem.
by Sarah Smarsh via Orion Magazine on August 27, 2024
San Diego Postcard.

San Diego—A Green(Er) City: Six Decades Of Environmental Activism In A Biodiversity Hotspot

San Diego's city-wide mission to promote sustainability, combat climate change, and reduce environmental health disparities.
by Andrew Wiese via The Metropole on February 13, 2024
A herd of caribou walking across a field.
partner

Denying Science to Drill for Oil is a Decades-long Tradition

What the debate about the Arctic Refuge tells us about science denialism.
by Finis Dunaway via Made By History on February 8, 2024
People on Mason's Island

Island in the Potomac

Steps from Georgetown, a memorial to Teddy Roosevelt stands amid ghosts of previous inhabitants: the Nacotchtank, colonist enslavers, and the emancipated.
by Amelia Roth-Dishy via JSTOR Daily on February 7, 2024
Man holding a rare Razorback Sucker fish from the Colorado River.
partner

At 50 the Endangered Species Act is Worth Celebrating

Before the Endangered Species Act, the federal government had actually encouraged the killing of certain species.
by Laura J. Martin via Made By History on December 28, 2023
Painting of an owl superimposed on a painting of its range around Puget Sound.

The Epic History of the Endangered Species Act

The two-volume ‘Codex of the Endangered Species Act’ takes a long look back — and forward.
by Michelle Nijhuis via High Country News on December 1, 2023
Forest of redwoods.

The Greatest Act of Greenwashing in American History

A new chronicle of redwood logging exposes how a cadre of wealthy industrialists reaped a fortune in the name of environmentalism.
by Robert Moor via The Atlantic on August 14, 2023
Sign advertising land for sale, near sign marking entrance to Mojave National Preserve.

The American West’s Great Checkerboard Problem

As long as the U.S. system privileges private property, thousands of acres of public lands will remain off limits.
by Julia Sizek via Zócalo Public Square on August 8, 2023
Heinrich Harder's "Megatherium americanum," or elephant-sized ground sloth, 1908.

The Nature Trade

Dan Flores reminds us that modern North Americans still walk in the footsteps of our fellow animals.
by Michelle Nijhuis via New York Review of Books on August 1, 2023
Watercolor of a whale destroying a boat of whalers.

Captain Joy’s Last Voyage

What a whaling captain’s logbook can teach us about sperm whales and our oceans.
by Richard King, Kripa Bansal, Mia Hines, Carter Myers-Brown, Finn Warner, Mallory Hoffbeck, Karan Kunwar via Earth Island Journal on June 2, 2023
Old millhouse down a garden path.

Reclaiming a North Carolina Plantation

On a former plantation in Durham, a land conservancy and two determined sisters are pioneering a model for providing land to Black gardeners and farmers.
by Cynthia R. Greenlee via Garden & Gun on April 24, 2023
Nixon outdoors making his famous double-v hand gesture.

Nixon Was the Weirdest Environmentalist

Richard Nixon helped establish Earth Day and poured millions of dollars into conservation, despite his own ambivalence about the environmental movement.
by Liza Featherstone via The New Republic on April 20, 2023
Jimmy Carter at a podium against the backdrop of an American flag.

Is Jimmy Carter Where Environmentalism Went Wrong?

Carter’s austerity was part of a bigger project. It didn’t really have much to do with environmentalism.
by Kate Aronoff via The New Republic on April 18, 2023
Polar bear walks across melting ice in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
partner

Did One Photograph Change the Fate of the Arctic Wildlife Refuge?

What the political fight over a photo teaches us about the power of art, grassroots activism and images.
by Finis Dunaway via Made By History on March 3, 2023
Cover of "Beaver Land," featuring a beaver tail

A Fascinating History of Beavers Shows How the Species Shaped the U.S.

Leila Philip's book is thrilling, both on scientific and historical levels.
by Katrina Gulliver via Washington Post on December 13, 2022
Black and white photo of people taking fish out of a train car.

Remembering When Fish Rode the Rails

For decades, salmon, catfish, and trout traveled in America's fleet of "Fish Cars."
by Jonathan Feakins via Atlas Obscura on August 2, 2022
View More
30 of
124

Filter Results:

Suggested Filters:

Idea

Person

brought to you by
© Bunk History