Conservation in the Progressive Era: Classic Texts
The documents collected in the book reveal the various and sometimes conflicting uses of the term “conservation” and the contested nature of the reforms it described.
The documents collected in the book reveal the various and sometimes conflicting uses of the term “conservation” and the contested nature of the reforms it described.
In case studies ranging from the Early Modern secondhand trade to utopian visions of human-powered vehicles, the contributions gathered here explore the historical fortunes of bicycling and waste recycling—tracing their development over time and providing valuable context for the policy successes and failures of today.
Umwelt als Ressource highlights the interaction and co-evolution of modern industry and the environment, using the example of the German paper industry in Saxony.
By detailing the waste we have discarded, John Scanlan argues that we can learn new things about the building blocks of our culture; he throws new light on the modern condition by examining not what we have kept, but what we have thrown away.
Marco Armiero, Robert S. Emmett, and Gregg Mitman have assembled a cabinet of curiosities for the Anthropocene, bringing together a mix of lively essays, creatively chosen objects, and stunning photographs by acclaimed photographer Tim Flach. Future Remains gathers fifteen objects which resemble more the tarots of a fortuneteller than the archaeological finds of an expedition—they speak of planetary futures.
Jennifer Clapp examines the nature of international trade in toxic waste and the roles of multinational corporations and environmental NGOs. Waste transfer has become a routine practice for firms in industrialized countries and poor countries accept these imports but struggle to manage the materials safely. She argues that governments have failed to recognize the voices of protest.
Finn Arne Jørgensen examines the development of the Scandinavian beverage container deposit-refund system, which has the highest return rates in the world, from 1970 to the present day. He reveals the challenges faced when the system was exported internationally and explores the critical role of technological infrastructures and consumer convenience in modern recycling.
In Catastrophic Times: Resisting the Coming Barbarism warns the reader about the possibility that we have already entered a catastrophic time, determined by the apparently uncontrollable impact of anthropogenic activities and the incapability of governments and authorities to respond effectively.
In Recycling, former Rachel Carson Center fellow Finn Arne Jørgensen investigates the benefits and drawbacks of recycling.
The world is full of environmental injustices and inequalities; yet few European historians have tackled these subjects head on, nor have they explored their relationships with social inequalities.