Tracking the Language of the Environment

The "greenhouse effect" (in green) was most popular through 1988 or so, when it was overtaken by "climate change" (in blue) and "global warming" (in red). Climate change and global warming tracked even until about 1994, w

Here's a baseline look at "environment." I have no idea what would cause the pretty sudden drop after 2000. Should we blame Al Gore?

And here's "environmentalism," which clearly shows how the movement around the environment grew, slowly at first, then in a flash in the mid-1990s. Despite the impressive curve on this graph, it's worth noting that compared with &quo

Here's "nature" versus "environment" from the turn of the 19th Century through 2008. Despite its relatively steady downward trend over time, I like thinking that the slight uptick for "nature" around 1836 had to do wi

I honestly don't know what to infer from this chart, but I do think that there's a good chance that "preservation" was used pretty commonly outside of the realm of the environment and natural resources.

"Solar energy" (blue) boomed through the 1970s, until Reagan came into office and stripped Jimmy Carter's panels off the White House roof. "Nuclear energy" (green) saw a similar jolt, but didn't fall as fast, even after the

To leave things on an up note: pessimism may be rising, but optimism is fairing even better. (Note: this is a far from scientific assessment.)