History As Well As Life Itself Is

For Anyone Inclined To Caricature Environmental History As 'environmental Determinism,' The Contrasting Histories Of The Dominican Republic And Haiti Provide A Useful Antidote. Yes, Environmental Problems Do Constrain Human Societies, But The Societies' Responses Also Make A Difference.

The Main Thing That Gives Me Hope Is The Media. We Have Radio, Tv, Magazines, And Books, So We Have The Possibility Of Learning From Societies That Are Remote From Us, Like Somalia. We Turn On The Tv And See What Blew Up In Iraq Or We See Conditions In Afghanistan.

The King's 28 Letters Have Been Described By Scholars As The World's Best Alphabet And The Most Scientific System Of Writing.

Infectious Diseases Introduced With Europeans, Like Smallpox And Measles, Spread From One Indian Tribe To Another, Far In Advance Of Europeans Themselves, And Killed An Estimated 95% Of The New World's Indian Population.

In Much Of The Rest Of The World, Rich People Live In Gated Communities And Drink Bottled Water. That's Increasingly The Case In Los Angeles Where I Come From. So That Wealthy People In Much Of The World Are Insulated From The Consequences Of Their Actions.