Something new under the sun : an environmental history of the twentieth-century world

Book

Something new under the sun : an environmental history of the twentieth-century world / J.R. McNeill.

Summary:

"In the course of the twentieth century the human race, without intending anything of the sort, has undertaken a giant, uncontrolled experiment on the earth. In time, according to J.R. McNeill in his startling new book, the environmental dimension of twentieth-century history will overshadow the importance of events like the world wars, the rise and fall of communism, and the spread of mass literacy. Contrary to the wisdom of Ecclesiastes that "there is nothing new under the sun," McNeill sets out to show that the massive change we have wrought in our physical world has indeed created something new. To a degree unprecedented in human history, we have refashioned the earth's air, water, and soil, and the biosphere of which we are a part." "McNeill's work is a fruitful compound of history and science. McNeill infuses a substrate of ecology with a lively historical sensibility to the significance of politics, international relations, technological change, and great events. He charts and explores the breathtaking ways in which we have changed the natural world with a keen eye for character and a refreshing respect for the unforeseen in history."--Jacket.

Record details

ISBN: 0393049175
ISBN: 9780393049176
ISBN: 0393321835
ISBN: 9780393321838
Physical Description: xxvi, 421 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.
Edition: 1st ed.
Publisher: New York : W.W. Norton & Company, ©2000.

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:: Includes bibliographical references (pages 363-404) and index.
Formatted Contents Note:: 1. Prologue: Peculiarities of a prodigal century : Economic growth since 1500 ; Population growth since 10,000 B.C. ; Energy history since 10,000 B.C. -- pt. 1. The music of the spheres. 2. The lithosphere and pedosphere: the crust of the earth : The basics of the earth's crust ; Soil alchemy ; Soil pollution ; Earth movers -- 3. The atmosphere: urban history : The basics of the atmosphere ; Air pollution before 1900 ; Air pollution since 1900 ; Coal cities ; Smog cities ; Megacities ; Recovering cities -- 4. The atmosphere: regional and global history : Regional air pollution since 1870 ; Acid rain ; Further consequences of air pollution ; Climate change and stratospheric ozone ; Space pollution -- 5. The hydrosphere: the history of water use and water pollution : Water basics ; World water use and supply ; Urban water ; River water ; Lakes and eutrophication ; Seas and oceans -- 6. The hydrosphere: depletions, dams, and diversions : Groundwater ; Dams and diversions ; Taming floods and draining wetlands ; Coastlines -- 7. The biosphere: eat and be eaten : Microbiota: the first lords of the biosphere ; Land use and agriculture -- 8. The biosphere: forests, fish, and invasions : Forests ; Whaling and fishing ; Biological invasions ; Biodiversity and the sixth extinction.

pt. 2. Engines of change. 9. More people, bigger cities : Population growth ; Migration ; The footprints and metabolisms of cities -- 10. Fuels, tools, and economics : Energy regimes and the environment ; Technological change and the environment ; Economic changes and the environment -- 11. Ideas and politics : Big ideas ; Environmental ideas ; International politics and war ; Enivironmental politics and policies -- 12. Epilogue: So what?
Language Note:: Text in English.