While you can, in consulation with the professor, choose your own topics which may not be listed here, the following are topics which would be rewarding to examine, given the state of the field of environmental history and the sources that are available in the New York Metropolitan Area.

1) Dutch, French, and English land-use patterns in New England generally, and Staten Island specifically.
2) Native American land-use patterns in New England generally, and Staten Island specifically.
3) Moments of cross-cultural contact and contestation over land-use in New England generally, and Staten Island specifically.
4) Industrialization and environment in New England generally, and Staten Island specifically.
5) Major industries and their historical environmental impacts on Staten Island (e.g.: clay, brewing, shipbuilding, linoleum, cemeteries, dyemaking, Procter & Gamble).
6) Suburbanization and urbanization in New England generally, and Staten Island specifically.
7) The impact of bridges (especially the Verazzano Narrows Bridge) on Staten Island.
8) Agriculture in New England generally, and Staten Island specifically.
9) The nature of land-use in Staten Island before the Verazzano Narrows Bridge.
10) Cemeteries on Staten Island.
11) Staten Island's connection to Manhattan (as its "country" and as its "amusement park") in the early twentieth century.
12) The closing of the Brookfield Dump.
13) Pollution on Staten Island (set a specific period, or limit it to a variety of pollution--air, water, soil--or locality).
14) The planning and opening of the Fresh Kills Landfill.
15) Opposition to the Fresh Kills Landfill (at different points in its planning, preparation for closing, etc.).
16) The closing of the Fresh Kills Landfill.
17) Staten Island Secession and the Landfill.
18) Arlington Railroad Yard as an illegal dumping site.
19) Linoleumville.
20) Mariculture and whaling in New England generally, and Staten Island specifically.
21) Public health issues.
22) New Jersey's impact on Staten Island's environment (e.g.: brush fires and air pollution, chemical plants, refineries, sovereignty issues, etc.).
23) Ethnic settlement and land control (immigration patterns and landholding).
24) Environmental justice issues in New England generally, and Staten Island specifically.
25) Groundwater control (springs, swamps, and streams).
26) Preserve land on Staten Island (the history of its establishment and use).
27) Birds and birding on Staten Island.
28) Landfill reclamation and land contours on Staten Island.
29) Ship hulks.
30) The campus of the College of Staten Island as a constructed environment (and one which has had multiple uses/meanings).