Category: Environmental Studies

Mushroom of the Month, May 2018: Hemlock Varnish Shelf, Ganoderma tsugae

Today we initiate a new monthly series, Mushroom of the Month, brought to you by Michael W. Hopping, co-author of A Field Guide to Mushrooms of the Carolinas: A Southern Gateways Guide, just published by UNC Press. Mushrooms in the wild present an enticing challenge: some are delicious, others are deadly, and still others take on almost unbelievable forms. A… Continue Reading Mushroom of the Month, May 2018: Hemlock Varnish Shelf, Ganoderma tsugae

Author blog entry/Environmental Studies/Nature/UNC Press Authors/UNC Press News

Venus Bivar: Romanticising the French Countryside

Today we welcome a guest post from Venus Bivar, author of Organic Resistance: The Struggle over Industrial Farming in Postwar France. France is often held up as a bastion of gastronomic refinement and as a model of artisanal agriculture and husbandry. But French farming is not at all what it seems. Countering the standard stories of gastronomy, tourism, and leisure… Continue Reading Venus Bivar: Romanticising the French Countryside

Author blog entry/Environmental Studies/European History/Geography/Global Studies/UNC Press Authors/UNC Press News

Southeastern Geographer: Celebrating Black Geographies

The American Association of Geographers (AAG) annual meeting is being held April 10-14 in New Orleans, and one of the featured themes this year is Black Geographies. To celebrate the AAG being held in the South, the editors of Southeastern Geographer have curated two special issues from previously published articles — “Black Geographies” and “Geographies of Louisiana.” Our friends at… Continue Reading Southeastern Geographer: Celebrating Black Geographies

Environmental Studies/Geography/Journals/Science/Southern Studies/UNC Press News

January 11, 2018

Megan Raby: The Tropical Origins of the Idea of Biodiversity

Today we welcome a guest blog post from Megan Raby, author of American Tropics: The Caribbean Roots of Biodiversity Science. Biodiversity has been a key concept in international conservation since the 1980s, yet historians have paid little attention to its origins. Uncovering its roots in tropical fieldwork and the southward expansion of U.S. empire at the turn of the twentieth… Continue Reading Megan Raby: The Tropical Origins of the Idea of Biodiversity

Author blog entry/Biology/Environmental Studies/Latin American/Caribbean Hist./Science/UNC Press Authors/UNC Press News

November 15, 2017

Megan Raby: Ecology and U.S. Empire in the Caribbean

Today we welcome a guest blog post from Megan Raby, author of American Tropics: The Caribbean Roots of Biodiversity Science. Biodiversity has been a key concept in international conservation since the 1980s, yet historians have paid little attention to its origins. Uncovering its roots in tropical fieldwork and the southward expansion of U.S. empire at the turn of the twentieth… Continue Reading Megan Raby: Ecology and U.S. Empire in the Caribbean

Author blog entry/Biology/Environmental Studies/Latin American/Caribbean Hist./Science/UNC Press Authors/UNC Press News

October 30, 2017

Eve E. Buckley: The Power and Paucity of Primary Documents for Latin American Historians

Today we welcome a guest blog post from Eve E. Buckley, author of Technocrats and the Politics of Drought and Development in Twentieth-Century Brazil, on drought and regional development in Brazil. Eve E. Buckley’s study of twentieth-century Brazil examines the nation’s hard social realities through the history of science, focusing on the use of technology and engineering as vexed instruments of… Continue Reading Eve E. Buckley: The Power and Paucity of Primary Documents for Latin American Historians

Author blog entry/Environmental Studies/Global Studies/Guest Bloggers/Latin American/Caribbean Hist./Science/UNC Press Authors/UNC Press News

September 18, 2017

Eve E. Buckley: Science and the Challenges of Social Transformation

Today we welcome a guest blog post from Eve E. Buckley, author of Technocrats and the Politics of Drought and Development in Twentieth-Century Brazil, on drought and regional development in Brazil. Eve E. Buckley’s study of twentieth-century Brazil examines the nation’s hard social realities through the history of science, focusing on the use of technology and engineering as vexed instruments of… Continue Reading Eve E. Buckley: Science and the Challenges of Social Transformation

Author blog entry/Environmental Studies/Global Studies/Latin American/Caribbean Hist./Nature/UNC Press Authors

Mr. Seashell’s Legacy Lives On

There are few people in North Carolina who know seashells as well as Hugh Porter. Born in Ohio, he came to North Carolina in the mid 1950s and quickly earned the nickname “Mr. Seashell” for his extensive knowledge and passion for mollusks. This summer, North Carolina Sea Grant and the University of North Carolina Press are honoring Porter’s contributions to the state and celebrating the 20th year of his book, Seashells of North Carolina.
Continue Reading Mr. Seashell’s Legacy Lives On

Environmental Studies/Guest Bloggers/Nature/North Carolina/Science/Travel

Free Book Friday! Lessons from the Sand by Charles & Orrin Pilkey

It’s Free Book Friday!! Enter to win a copy of Lessons from the Sand by Charles O. Pilkey and Orrin H. Pilkey via Goodreads. Each easy-to-follow activity is presented in full color with dozens of whimsical and informational illustrations that will engage and guide readers through the experiments. Great for taking along on your next beach vacation! The giveaway ends on Friday, July 15, so get your entry in now! Continue Reading Free Book Friday! Lessons from the Sand by Charles & Orrin Pilkey

Education/Environmental Studies/Juvenile/Nature/North Carolina/Science/Travel

UNC Press Summer Reading List

Happy Summer! In honor of the summer solstice, we’re posting our suggestions for your summer reading list. If you’re planning a fun tropical vacation or just heading to your neighborhood pool, UNC Press has your perfect summer read. Pick up a fun guidebook or new biography, and don’t forget about our 40% sale! Continue Reading UNC Press Summer Reading List

African American Studies/American Studies/Biography / Autobiography/Biology/Cooking / Food/Cultural Studies/Current Events/Documentary Studies/Education/Environmental Studies/Events/Gardening/Geography/History/Jewish Studies/Juvenile/Music/Nature/North Carolina/Science/Southern Studies/Travel/UNC Press News/Women's Studies

Stan Ulanski: Sperm Whales: Demons of the Sea?

In the movie In the Heart of the Sea, based upon Nathaniel Philbrick’s best-selling book of the same title, an enraged sperm whale twice rams the whale ship Essex. In a matter of minutes, the Essex starts sinking and capsizes on its port side, leaving its crew stranded on the vast Pacific in three small and under-provisioned whale boats.

But about ten years before the sinking of the Essex in 1820, an even more cunning and fearsome whale received widespread notoriety throughout the whaling community and even among the general public. Continue Reading Stan Ulanski: Sperm Whales: Demons of the Sea?

Author blog entry/Environmental Studies/Guest Bloggers/Nature

Stan Ulanski: Wanderers of the Pacific Ocean: Sea Turtles

As I researched and studied the myriad organisms that swim in and fly over the California Current for my book on this unique ecosystem, none caught my attention more than Pacific sea turtles—living dinosaurs of the ocean. Theirs is an old story—one of long journeys and nesting rituals performed over the eons. The tale below chronicles the journey and trials of a determined sea turtle. Continue Reading Stan Ulanski: Wanderers of the Pacific Ocean: Sea Turtles

Author blog entry/Environmental Studies/Guest Bloggers/Nature

November 23, 2015

John Ryan Fischer: Indian Cowboys in California

The stories of Indian laborers often feel secondary to the spaces and stories of the Franciscan fathers, despite the fact that the missions were primarily centers of Indian work. The fathers hoped that productivity would lead to a surer conversion while they also made a profit, especially from the products of cattle in the form of hides and tallow that they sold to British and American ships along the Pacific coast. There are certainly signs of this work throughout the missions—from tallow vats to tanneries—and La Purisma stands out to me as a site that focuses on the type of work that its mostly Chumash inhabitants did on a daily basis. Beyond the missions, Indians as workers are even less visible in public presentations of California’s historical memory. Vaquero parades, rodeos, and festivals are rare, and the role of Indians in those festivals is small to nonexistent.

There are a few likely reasons for this omission. Continue Reading John Ryan Fischer: Indian Cowboys in California

American History/Author blog entry/Environmental Studies/Guest Bloggers/History/Native Amer./Indigenous Studies

November 16, 2015

Patricia Appelbaum: Pope Francis and the 1967 Theologians

This past summer, Pope Francis released his very welcome encyclical on climate change. Supporters and opponents have both noted his attention to science. What I find more interesting is his attention to theology and religion. Continue Reading Patricia Appelbaum: Pope Francis and the 1967 Theologians

Author blog entry/Christian Studies/Environmental Studies/Guest Bloggers/History/Religion

October 28, 2015

John Ryan Fischer: Land on Hawai’i’s Mauna Kea

Since October of last year, dozens of protestors have been arrested near the peak of Mauna Kea, the large mountain formed by volcanic activity on the Big Island of Hawaiʻi. The peak is one of the most sacred sites to traditional native Hawaiian beliefs, and the protestors have demonstrated against the construction of a large astronomical observatory there. Continue Reading John Ryan Fischer: Land on Hawai’i’s Mauna Kea

American History/Author blog entry/Environmental Studies/Guest Bloggers/History

August 19, 2015

Excerpt: Southern Water, Southern Power, by Christopher J. Manganiello

James B. Duke did not wait for markets to emerge to justify massive capital investments in hydropower; he cultivated industrial consumers. Duke’s company, and other companies that followed, had never envisioned providing service to rural or residential customers. Continue Reading Excerpt: Southern Water, Southern Power, by Christopher J. Manganiello

American History/Business/Environmental Studies/Excerpts/History/North Carolina/Southern Studies

Ellen Griffith Spears: End Toxic Discrimination

One Supreme Court decision announced this June received limited notice, in part because it came out the same week as momentous decisions on marriage equality and the Affordable Care Act, and following the horrific tragedy at Charleston’s Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. But the Court’s decision in a fair housing dispute, Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs et al. v. Inclusive Communities Project, merits serious attention as LGBTQ activists and their allies move on to tackle employment and housing discrimination and as the momentum from the campaign to remove the Confederate flag from public places turns toward a broader agenda. The ruling could be especially significant for activists working to end the disproportionate placement of polluting factories and hazardous waste facilities in low-income neighborhoods and communities of color. Continue Reading Ellen Griffith Spears: End Toxic Discrimination

African American Studies/Author blog entry/Civil Rights/Environmental Studies/Guest Bloggers/Law / Legal History/Public Policy

Timothy P. Spira: Hiking Rainbow Falls Trail

One of my favorite waterfall hikes in the southern Appalachians is the Rainbow Falls Trail in western North Carolina, just south of Lake Toxaway. Beginning in Gorges State Park, the 4-mile (round-trip) trail soon enters Pisgah National Forest, where it follows the Horsepasture River (a designated Wild and Scenic River) along the Blue Ridge Escarpment. Four waterfalls occur along this stretch of the river, including Rainbow Falls, a near-vertical cascade about 125 feet high with a large plunge pool at the base. Few waterfalls in the southern Appalachians are as spectacular (and powerful) as this one. Continue Reading Timothy P. Spira: Hiking Rainbow Falls Trail

Author blog entry/Environmental Studies/Guest Bloggers/Hiking/Nature/North Carolina/Travel

Lindsey A. Freeman: Anthropocene, Capitalocene, Cthulucene, Atomicocene

I’m going with Atomicocene because what has changed with this new time is not only humans and their activities, but specifically, and most dramatically, the role some humans in atomic states have played in the spreading of “artificial” radioactivity across the globe. Continue Reading Lindsey A. Freeman: Anthropocene, Capitalocene, Cthulucene, Atomicocene

Author blog entry/Environmental Studies/Guest Bloggers/History/Sociology

Adam Wesley Dean on the Creation of Yosemite

Yosemite National Park made the evening news on Wednesday, January 14, 2015. American rock climbers Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson reached the top of El Capitan by ascending Yosemite’s Dawn Wall. The climbers’ years of preparation, 19-day free-climb, and personal stories riveted television audiences nationwide. News programs also gave audiences a rare treat: panoramic views of the park’s natural beauty that included cascading waterfalls, granite formations, and snow-dusted trees.
Yet Yosemite almost did not become a national park. Continue Reading Adam Wesley Dean on the Creation of Yosemite

American History/Author blog entry/Civil War/Environmental Studies/Guest Bloggers/Hiking/History/Nature