Drawing together the evidence of archaeology, palaeoecology, climate history and the historical record, this first environmental history of Scotland explores the interaction of human populations with the land, waters, forests and wildlife.This volume takes the reader from the mid nineteenth century to the present, confronting the -Anthropocene- - the era where human action became a key driver of environmental and climatic change - and explores Scotland-s experience of its consequences and costs. In the first half of the book, we chart a course through a century of decline and loss alongside the first serious efforts to curb and reverse the worst environmental impacts, from the filth-spewing cities and foul factory emissions of the lowlands to the degraded mountains, moorland and waters of the upland zones, In the second half, we trace the conflict between pressures to develop and to conserve, to go for economic growth or environmental protection, against the backdrop of mounting public
