Livia Gershon is a freelance writer in Nashua, New Hampshire. Her writing has appeared in publications including Salon, Aeon Magazine and the Good Men Project. Contact her on Twitter @liviagershon.
The Chipko activists of 1970s and ‘80s India saved their forests by calling attention to the deep interdependence between humans and the natural world.
In the 19th century, England's working classes frequently used opium. But there weren't laws against the drug until the middle classes started using it.
"Better Baby Contests" began as part of the Progressive Era push to improve children’s health and reduce infant mortality. Then eugenicists got involved.
The United States National Weather Service began as part of the military, with a mandate to serve the interests of federal officials and business owners.
When Technicolor changed the face of the film industry, it also altered the cosmetics industry, sparking the great Hollywood Powder Puff War of the 1930s.
