Uncertain Climes

Download or read book Uncertain Climes written by Joseph Giacomelli and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2023-04-05 with total page 247 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Drawing on the writings of scientists, foresters, surveyors, and settlers, Joseph Giacomelli shows that climate uncertainty infused Gilded Age thinking about economic growth and national development. He details a multivalent discourse on climate that infused both practical concerns and overarching political themes, not least Manifest Destiny. Giacomelli makes it clear that uncertainty drew together concerns about human-induced climate change and cultural worries about the sustainability of capitalist expansionism. A rising belief in scientific positivism was matched by a growing awareness of the illusory nature of scientific certainty; faith in society's power to improve landscapes tussled with persistent fears of environmental catastrophe"--