Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society

Understanding why past responses to urban water crises have failed can help us avoid repeating mistakes.

In the Environment & Society Portal's latest virtual exhibition, “Drought, Mud, Filth, and Flood: Water Crises in Australian Cities, 1880s–2010s,” the authors invite visitors to consider the historical relationship of “water crises” and the development of urban water systems, through experiences from the driest inhabited continent on earth, Australia. 

Communicating the Climate: From Knowing Change to Changing Knowledge, edited by Katrin Kleemann and Jeroen Oomen.

For decades, climate scientists have been producing data demonstrating that climate change is a real, urgent threat to humanity. Yet this has not translated into political action—or even widespread public concern—at the scale needed to tackle the problem in time. Has climate science failed us? This volume tackles the question of what role—if any—science can play in the future of the climate-change debate.

With its wealth of alpine environments and cultural traditions, Bavaria calls to diverse audiences that are as rich as its own natural heritage.

Through a host of new projects rooted in sharing and comparing Munich, Bavaria, and the Alpine region, the RCC is celebrating the home of its German headquarters as well as strengthening its bonds with a consortium of partners from all over the world.

More information on RCC partners and projects is available here.

This curated compilation of online syllabi on the interrelationship between environment and society provides a growing resource for teachers and students.

It reflects a diversity of scholarly approaches towards the reciprocal interrelationships between humans and their environment, from environmental history and humanities to the social and natural sciences.

We continually strive for geographical and cultural diversity and invite instructors to get in touch and tell us about favorite online resources. 

On Seeing the Woods, we regularly publish pieces written by RCC fellows, students, visiting scholars, staff, as well as select external contributors.

Our various unique blog series feature a rich mix of topics: from the effervescent history of beer and the disquieting decline of insects, to the uses of environmental history, and toxicity and hopeful narratives—you're guaranteed to find something to reel you in!

For all the latest posts and more information, visit the blog here. Happy reading!