ES101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Shifting Cultivation, Environmental History, Information Revolution
Document Summary
Since our hunter-gatherer days we have undergone 3 major cultural changes that have increased our impact on the environment. Hunter-gatherers had a small impact on their environment because they used so little. (homo-sapiens) Shifting cultivation provided more food for people who lived longer and in better health. Using new technologies for rapid access to much more information on a global scale. Limited and local environmental impact ( small population = low resource use. Canadian north - 500 bc to 1000 ad. Snow houses and igloos - follow the hunt. Shift from small scale local goods to mass production - factories. Information revolution through new technologies (communications, remote sensing) Rate of information increase and speed of communication. Contradiction: economic growth versus limits of finite world. Ancient farming society - four corners of us. 10th and 11th centuries development of largest social and political system in prehistoric na. Over 40,000 square miles scrubby semi arid landscape.
