Frontier Science

Book excerpt: Between 1945 and 1970, Canada’s Department of National Defence sponsored scientific research into the myriad challenges of military operations in cold regions. To understand and overcome the impediments of the country’s cold climate, scientists studied cold-weather acclimatization, hypothermia, frostbite, and psychological morale for soldiers assigned to active duty in northern Canada. Frontier Science investigates the history of military science in northern Canada during this period of the Cold War, highlighting the consequences of government-funded research for humans and nature alike. The book reveals how under the guise of “environmental protection” research, the Canadian military sprayed pesticides to clear bushed areas, used radioactive substances to investigate vector-borne diseases, pursued race-based theories of cold tolerance, and enabled wide-ranging tests of newly developed weapons and equipment. In arguing that military research in northern Canada was a product of the Cold War, Matthew S. Wiseman tackles questions of government power, scientific authority, and medical and environmental research ethics. Based on a long and deep pursuit of declassified records, archival sources, and oral testimony, Frontier Science is a fascinating new history of military approaches to the human-nature relationship.