El siglo planetario. Periodizaciones para una historia del medio ambiente en el siglo XX

This article deals with the periodicity in the environmental history. Since no previous divisions are satisfactory and those used by historiography are difficult to adjust within conventional divisions, the author suggests it could be mainly caused by the controversy to group events due to Ihe lack of theoretical and specific studies. The environmental transformations are analysed from a triple point of view. Firstly, the degradation effects provoked by the pressure and mainly by Ihe industrial production, particularity, water, soil, and atmosphere pollution. Secondly, changes in the use of natural resources. Finally, the cultural register of those changes and their effects on scientific though, public opinion, and policy with legislative changes and new institutions creation. The author concludes that these three points of view follow different logic demanding distinct temporal frames, and though disagreements frequently occur among them, a common perspective starts in the second half of the Twentieth century.