Inventing Pollution
Coal, Smoke, and Culture in Britain since 1800
Seiten
2006
Ohio University Press (Verlag)
978-0-8214-1681-5 (ISBN)
Ohio University Press (Verlag)
978-0-8214-1681-5 (ISBN)
- Lieferbar
- Versandkostenfrei
- Auch auf Rechnung
- Artikel merken
Zu diesem Artikel existiert eine Nachauflage
Britain's supremacy in the nineteenth century depended in large part on its vast deposits of coal. This coal not only powered steam engines in factories, ships, and railway locomotives but also warmed homes and cooked food. As coal consumption skyrocketed, the air in Britain's cities and towns became filled with ever-greater and denser clouds of smoke.
In this far-reaching study, Peter Thorsheim explains that, for much of the nineteenth century, few people in Britain even considered coal smoke to be pollution. To them, pollution meant miasma: invisible gases generated by decomposing plant and animal matter. Far from viewing coal smoke as pollution, most people considered smoke to be a valuable disinfectant, for its carbon and sulfur were thought capable of rendering miasma harmless.
Inventing Pollution examines the radically new understanding of pollution that emerged in the late nineteenth century, one that centered not on organic decay but on coal combustion. This change, as Peter Thorsheim argues, gave birth to the smoke-abatement movement and to new ways of thinking about the relationships among humanity, technology, and the environment.
In this far-reaching study, Peter Thorsheim explains that, for much of the nineteenth century, few people in Britain even considered coal smoke to be pollution. To them, pollution meant miasma: invisible gases generated by decomposing plant and animal matter. Far from viewing coal smoke as pollution, most people considered smoke to be a valuable disinfectant, for its carbon and sulfur were thought capable of rendering miasma harmless.
Inventing Pollution examines the radically new understanding of pollution that emerged in the late nineteenth century, one that centered not on organic decay but on coal combustion. This change, as Peter Thorsheim argues, gave birth to the smoke-abatement movement and to new ways of thinking about the relationships among humanity, technology, and the environment.
Peter Thorsheim is a professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
| Reihe/Serie | Series in Ecology and History |
|---|---|
| Verlagsort | Athens |
| Sprache | englisch |
| Maße | 152 x 229 mm |
| Themenwelt | Geschichte ► Teilgebiete der Geschichte ► Kulturgeschichte |
| Geschichte ► Teilgebiete der Geschichte ► Wirtschaftsgeschichte | |
| Naturwissenschaften ► Biologie ► Ökologie / Naturschutz | |
| ISBN-10 | 0-8214-1681-2 / 0821416812 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0-8214-1681-5 / 9780821416815 |
| Zustand | Neuware |
| Haben Sie eine Frage zum Produkt? |
Mehr entdecken
aus dem Bereich
aus dem Bereich
der stille Abschied vom bäuerlichen Leben in Deutschland
Buch | Hardcover (2023)
C.H.Beck (Verlag)
CHF 32,15
vom Mittelalter bis zur Gegenwart
Buch | Softcover (2024)
C.H.Beck (Verlag)
CHF 16,80
