Inventing Pollution

Coal, Smoke, and Culture in Britain since 1800

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Political Science, Government, Public Policy, Science & Nature, Technology, Engineering, History, British
Cover of the book Inventing Pollution by Peter Thorsheim, Peter Thorsheim, Ohio University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Peter Thorsheim, Peter Thorsheim ISBN: 9780821446270
Publisher: Ohio University Press Publication: April 16, 2018
Imprint: Ohio University Press Language: English
Author: Peter Thorsheim, Peter Thorsheim
ISBN: 9780821446270
Publisher: Ohio University Press
Publication: April 16, 2018
Imprint: Ohio University Press
Language: English

Going as far back as the thirteenth century, Britons mined and burned coal. Britain’s supremacy in the nineteenth century depended in large part on its vast deposits of coal, which powered industry, warmed homes, and cooked food. As coal consumption skyrocketed, the air in Britain's cities and towns filled with ever-greater and denser clouds of smoke. Yet, for much of the nineteenth century, few people in Britain even considered coal smoke to be pollution.

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.

Even as coal production in Britain has plummeted in recent decades, it has surged in other countries. This reissue of Thorsheim’s far-reaching study includes a new preface that reveals the book’s relevance to the contentious national and international debates—which aren’t going away anytime soon—around coal, air pollution more generally, and the grave threat of human-induced climate change.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Going as far back as the thirteenth century, Britons mined and burned coal. Britain’s supremacy in the nineteenth century depended in large part on its vast deposits of coal, which powered industry, warmed homes, and cooked food. As coal consumption skyrocketed, the air in Britain's cities and towns filled with ever-greater and denser clouds of smoke. Yet, for much of the nineteenth century, few people in Britain even considered coal smoke to be pollution.

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.

Even as coal production in Britain has plummeted in recent decades, it has surged in other countries. This reissue of Thorsheim’s far-reaching study includes a new preface that reveals the book’s relevance to the contentious national and international debates—which aren’t going away anytime soon—around coal, air pollution more generally, and the grave threat of human-induced climate change.

More books from Ohio University Press

Cover of the book Internal Frontiers by Peter Thorsheim, Peter Thorsheim
Cover of the book The Palace of Bones by Peter Thorsheim, Peter Thorsheim
Cover of the book The Mound Builders by Peter Thorsheim, Peter Thorsheim
Cover of the book Modern Muslims by Peter Thorsheim, Peter Thorsheim
Cover of the book Making Modern Girls by Peter Thorsheim, Peter Thorsheim
Cover of the book Eye to Eye by Peter Thorsheim, Peter Thorsheim
Cover of the book Walker Percy, Fyodor Dostoevsky, and the Search for Influence by Peter Thorsheim, Peter Thorsheim
Cover of the book Marikana by Peter Thorsheim, Peter Thorsheim
Cover of the book Dams, Displacement, and the Delusion of Development by Peter Thorsheim, Peter Thorsheim
Cover of the book Appalachia in the Classroom by Peter Thorsheim, Peter Thorsheim
Cover of the book Dolores Huerta Stands Strong by Peter Thorsheim, Peter Thorsheim
Cover of the book Following the Barn Quilt Trail by Peter Thorsheim, Peter Thorsheim
Cover of the book A Head in Cambodia by Peter Thorsheim, Peter Thorsheim
Cover of the book Paths toward the Nation by Peter Thorsheim, Peter Thorsheim
Cover of the book Do They Miss Me at Home? by Peter Thorsheim, Peter Thorsheim
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy