In this paper I sketch key episodes in the two thousand year history of interactions between society and environment that have shaped the City of London and its hinterlands. My purpose in writing it has been to provide an empirical puzzle for use in teaching and theorizing about the long term...

This paper provides a context for the Dahlem Workshop on "Earth System Analysis for Sustainability." The authors begin by characterizing the contemporary epoch of Earth history in which humanity has emerged as a major - and uniquely self-reflexive - geological force. They turn next to the...