Synopses & Reviews
This ambitious book describes the many ways in which invention can benefit the environment (here defined broadly to include all forms of interaction between humans and nature). The book starts with nature itself and then leads readers to examine the built environment and then specific technologies in areas such as public health and energy.
Each part focuses on a single environmental issue. Topics range widely, from the role of innovation in urban landscapes to the relationship among technological innovation, public health, and the environment. Each part features an essay by a historian, an essay by a practitioner, and a "profile of innovation" describing an individual whose work has made a difference. The mixture of historians and practitioners is critical because statements about the environment inevitably measure present and future conditions against those of the past. Defenders of the automobile, for example, point out that the internal combustion engine, for all its harmful effects on the air we breathe, helped to improve urban environments previously befouled by horses. Historical examples can also lead to the rediscovery of an old technology, as in the revival of straw bale construction. As it explores the history of invention for the benefit of the environment, the book suggests many new ways to put the past to use for the common good.
Review
"This remarkable book mingles the insights of historians and innovators for a number of industrial ecology topicsand thereby lays a realistic foundation for the world's future. The preface and the final chapter are jewels that clarify the book's unique, interactive interior. Reading the book will motivate you to interpret the future both more wisely and creatively." Paul B. MacCready, founder and chairman, AeroVironment Inc.
Review
"Inventing for the Environment opens a dialogue between the new environmental history and inventors, architects, and planners who seek sustainability. This is not the old formula of identifying problems that can be 'solved' through a technological fix. These contributors see a far more complex interpenetration of nature and culture. They identify biological solutions to technological problems, see urban forms as natural, argue that fires and watersheds have become cultural, and describe ways to recycle waste into substances more durable than steel." David E. Nye, Center for American Studies, Odense University, author of America as Second Creation: Technology and Narratives of New Beginnings
Synopsis
Essays by historians and practitioners on how invention can benefit the environment.
Synopsis
This ambitious book describes the many ways in which invention affects the environment (here defined broadly to include all forms of interaction between humans and nature). The book starts with nature itself and then leads readers to examine the built environment and then specific technologies in areas such as public health and energy.
Synopsis
This ambitious book describes the many ways in which invention affectsthe environment (here defined broadly to include all forms of interaction betweenhumans and nature). The book starts with nature itself and then leads readers toexamine the built environment and then specific technologies in areas such as publichealth and energy.Each part focuses on a single environmental issue. Topics rangewidely, from the role of innovation in urban landscapes to the relationship amongtechnological innovation, public health, and the environment. Each part features anessay by a historian, an essay by a practitioner, and a portrait of innovationdescribing an individual whose work has made a difference. The mixture of historiansand practitioners is critical because statements about the environment inevitablymeasure present and future conditions against those of the past. Early in theindustrial revolution, smoke stacks were symbols of prosperity; at its end they wereregarded as signs of pollution. Historical examples can also lead to the rediscoveryof an old technology, as in the revival of straw bale construction. As it exploresthe history of invention for the environment, the book suggests many new ways to putthe past to use for the common good.
Synopsis
andlt;Pandgt;This ambitious book describes the many ways in which invention affects the environment (here defined broadly to include all forms of interaction between humans and nature). The book starts with nature itself and then leads readers to examine the built environment and then specific technologies in areas such as public health and energy.Each part focuses on a single environmental issue. Topics range widely, from the role of innovation in urban landscapes to the relationship among technological innovation, public health, and the environment. Each part features an essay by a historian, an essay by a practitioner, and a "portrait of innovation" describing an individual whose work has made a difference. The mixture of historians and practitioners is critical because statements about the environment inevitably measure present and future conditions against those of the past. Early in the industrial revolution, smoke stacks were symbols of prosperity; at its end they were regarded as signs of pollution. Historical examples can also lead to the rediscovery of an old technology, as in the revival of straw bale construction. As it explores the history of invention for the environment, the book suggests many new ways to put the past to use for the common good.andlt;/Pandgt;
About the Author
Arthur Molella is Director at the Smithsonian Institutions Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation.
Joyce Bedi is Historian at the Smithsonian Institutions Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation.
Table of Contents
On nature and technology. Tempered dreams / Richard White ; The tool that is more : an inquiry into fire, the original Promethean invention / Stephen J. Pyne -- What role does innovation play in urban landscapes? Inventing nature in Washington, D.C. / Timothy Davis ; Bioliteracy, bioparks, urban natural history, and enhancing urban environments / Michael H. Robinson ; Portrait of innovation : Jon C. Coe / Martha Davidson -- How do innovations in city planning shape the environment? Environmental planning for national regeneration : techno-cities in New Deal America and Nazi Germany / Arthur Molella and Robert Kargon ; Prospects and retrospect : the city of Hundertwasser and Soleri / Harry Rand, with a statement by Paolo Soleri ; Portrait of innovation : Erick Valle / Martha Davidson -- How do innovations in architecture affect the environment? Straw-bale building : using an old technology to preserve the environment / Kathryn Henderson ; The Wimberley house of healing / Marley Porter ; Portrait of innovation : David Hertz / Martha Davidson -- How are technological innovation, public health, and the environment related? How bad theory can lead to good technology : water supply and sewerage in the age of miasmas / Martin V. Melosi ; Clean water for the world / Ashok Gadgil ; Portrait of innovation : Devra Lee Davis / Martha Davidson -- How can innovations in alternative energy sources affect the environment? Reducing automobile emissions in southern California : the dance of public policies and technological fixes / Rudi Volti ; Negawatts, hypercars, and natural capitalism / Amory Lovins ; Portrait of innovation : Subhendu Guha / Martha Davidson -- How are the principles of industrial ecology applied to benefit the environment? Industrial ecology and the transformation of corporate environmental management : a business historian's perspective / Christine Meisner Rosen ; Industrial ecology / Braden Allenby ; Portrait of innovation : Robert H. Socolow / Martha Davidson -- Conclusion : The new environmentalism / Roderick Nash, with Martha Davidson.