Contested climate: the debate on the climatic influence of forests – episode 1

Dating back to classical antiquity in the western world, the
contested notion that climate was changing due principally to the
human impact on forests was strongly revived in the
mid-nineteenth century. Foresters and botanists, many of whom
were employed as public servants, led the revival. They argued on
the basis of the lessons of history and scientific evidence in an
attempt to shape government policy on forest management. Much of
the concern with the impact of forests on climate would have
remained the almost exclusive domain of scientists, were it not
for the role of journalists in popularising and politicising the
idea. Throughout the latter half of the 19th and first quarter of
the 20th centuries, newspaper coverage of the debate transformed
a dusty scientific enquiry into a vibrant but increasingly
polarised public debate. An increasingly widespread popular
article of faith, the twin ideas of climate change and forest
influence persisted until at least the 1920s buoyed by a
sympathetic press and growing bands of conservationists.
Ultimately, however, the ideas were debunked by climatologists
and rejected by mainstream science.


Stephen Legg is an Adjunct Senior Research Fellow in History in
the School of Philosophical, Historical and International Studies
at Monash University. In this episode of the Exploring
Environmental History Podcast Stephen discusses the development
of the debate surrounding the influence of forests on climate,
the role of the press in shaping and communicating scientific
ideas and how it illuminates the broader role of science in
society. He also compares the engagement of governments, science
and the press internationally, and how this debate in turn
related to ideas about conservation and climate change.


Music credits: Silica by fluffy
and C120-12string-guitar-arps by Javolenus. Both
available from ccMixter.