nature and culture

"there are no natural contexts in and around new orleans and there have not been since humans entered the region. accepting all humans, both past and present, western or native, as agents of change and not as part of nature reminds us that the gulf between us and them, past and present is perhaps not as wide as we think. we can no longer act as if there is a clear distinction between nature and culture. to speak of natural history requires an understanding of human actions and to write human history demands an appreciation of nature and its influence. new orleans is not just a colonial or post colonial city, new orleans is a sum of all its past. we cannot forget that humans acting as a part of, not apart from the environment shaped this past."

transforming new orleans and its environs : centuries of change. craig colten