Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Comment
  • Published:

History: Pushing the climate frontier

The first large-scale environmental surveys, carried out on the US arid lands, hold scientific lessons for policy-making still relevant today, explains K. John Holmes.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Gilpin, W. The Central Gold Region (Sower, Barnes and Company, 1860).

  2. Powell, J. W. Report on the Lands of the Arid Region of the United States (US Department of the Interior, 1878).

  3. USGS. Twelfth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey to the Secretary of the Interior, 1890–91, Part II–Irrigation (Government Printing Office, 1891).

  4. Holmes, K. J. & Wolman, M. W. Environ. Mgmt 27, 177–193 (2001).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Powell, J. W. The Century Magazine 40, 111–116 (1890).

    Google Scholar 

  6. Warrick, R. A. Climatic Constraints and Human Activities (eds Ausubel, J. & Biswas, A. K.) (Pergamon, 1980).

  7. Van Hise, C. R. The Conservation of Natural Resources in the United States (Macmillan, 1910).

  8. United States Army Corps of Engineers. Preliminary Examination of Reservoir Sites in Wyoming and Colorado (US Congress, 1897).

  9. USGS. Twenty-third Annual Report of the Director of the United States Geological Survey to the Secretary of the Interior 1901–2 (Government Printing Office, 1902).

  10. Statement of Senator Thomas Gore (Oklahoma). Congressional Record 79, 6013 (Government Printing Office, 1935).

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to K. John Holmes.

Related links

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Holmes, K. History: Pushing the climate frontier. Nature 501, 310–311 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/501310a

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/501310a

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing