Americans during the twentieth-century became more disconnected from the environment and nature than ever before. More Americans lived in cities rather than on farms; they became ever more reliant on technology to interact with the world around them and with each other. Perhaps paradoxically, the twentieth-century also became the period in which environmental issues played an ever-increasing role in politics and public policy. Why is this so? Perhaps because, despite what many people believe, nature and the environment remains central to everyone's daily life. Pollution, environmental degradation, urban sprawl, loss of wildlife and biodiversity - all of these issues directly impact how everyone - even city dwellers - live their lives.
Nature and the Environment in Twentieth-Century America addresses a wide variety of the environmental issues that impacted the lives of people of all classes, races, and regions: 
 ; The expansion of the National Park system and the increased desire for leisure time spent in the great outdoors
 ; The devastation of the Dust Bowl and its impetus toward conservation and a greater understanding of ecology
 ; Grassroots activism and environmental politics from Rachel Carson to Love Canal
 ; The impact of globalization and its environmental consequences on the daily lives of Americans 
Part of the Daily Life through History series, this title joins Nature and the Environment in Nineteenth-Century Americain a new branch of the series-titles specifically looking at how science innovations impacted daily life.

Nature and the Environment in Twentieth-Century American Life (The Greenwood Press Daily Life Through History Series: Nature and the Environment in Everyday Life)

History

Black, Brian C.

Americas

Greenwood

The nineteenth-century saw a significant transformation in the United States. In one short century, the nation had seen the populating of the Great Plains and West, the decimation of native Indian tribes, the growth of national transportation and communication networks, and the rise of major cities. The century also witnessed the destruction of the nation's forests, battles over land and water, and the ascent of agribusiness. With these changes in resource use patterns and values came a concordant shift in attitudes toward nature. Conservation and preservation emerged as watchwords for the 1900s. The century that started with an attitude of environmental conquest thus ended by embracing conservation and a new environmental awareness.

Nature and the Environment in Nineteenth-Century American Life (The Greenwood Press Daily Life Through History Series: Nature and the Environment in Everyday Life)

An exceptionally timely volume that weighs the costs and benefits of alternative energy sources and their implications for reducing energy consumption.
As this book makes clear, civilization cannot long continue to ride on an oil slick. Worldwide, many people have come to see dependence on coal, and especially on oil, not only as unsustainable, but as profoundly destabilizing, both environmentally and politically. While ever-increasing demands continue to be placed on "mainstream" energy sources, recurring attempts have been made to generate power in "alternative" ways. 
After retracing some of these efforts, this succinct and historically informed volume explores the ongoing debate over alternative energy that gathered strength in the 20th century, showing how that debate mirrors larger attitudes toward energy and consumption. Like other volumes in this series, Alternative Energy is designed to provide material for student reports and debate arguments. It is an outstanding sourcebook for those interested in investigating the problems and prospects of alternative fuels.

Alternative Energy (Historical Guides to Controversial Issues in America)

Business & Money

Flarend, Richard

Economics

Tracing scientific ideas about the structure of Earth, Global Warming creates an intellectual portrait of the shifts in thinking that have led to the current controversy, enabling readers to make up their own minds on this important issue.
 • Includes excerpts from writing and policy related to climate change
• Offers a timeline of the development of the idea of global warming

Global Warming (Historical Guides to Controversial Issues in America)

Politics & Social Sciences

Weisel, Gary J.

Social Sciences

This concise, accessible introduction to the history of oil tells the story of how petroleum shaped human life since it was first discovered leaking inconspicuously from the soil. Leading environmental history specialist Brian C. Black connects the subsequent exploitation of petroleum to patterns in world history while tracing the intricate links between energy and people after 1850. For a century, human dependence on petroleum caused little discomfort as we enjoyed the heyday of cheap crude—a glorious episode of energy gluttony that was destined to end. Today, we see the disastrous results of environmental degradation, political instability, and world economic disparity in the waning years of a petroleum-powered civilization—lessons rooted in the finite nature of oil. This “crude reality” becomes tragic when we measure our overwhelming reliance on this geological ooze. Considering the nature of oil itself as well as the specifics of humans’ remarkable relationship with it, Crude Reality reveals our modern conundrum and then suggests the challenges of our future without oil. It is this essential context, the author argues, that will prepare us for our energy transition. Black brings to this book a global perspective and a wide-ranging technical knowledge presented specifically for general readers, making its scope much broader than any other survey. Written by a major scholar on the history of petroleum, it is an essential contribution to environmental history and the rapidly emerging field of energy history.

Crude Reality: Petroleum in World History (Exploring World History)

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

This concise, accessible introduction to the history of oil tells the story of how petroleum shaped human life since it was first discovered leaking inconspicuously from the soil. Leading environmental history specialist Brian C. Black connects the subsequent exploitation of petroleum to patterns in world history while tracing the intricate links between energy and people after 1850. For a century, human dependence on petroleum caused little discomfort as we enjoyed the heyday of cheap crude—a glorious episode of energy gluttony that was destined to end. Today, we see the disastrous results of environmental degradation, political instability, and world economic disparity in the waning years of a petroleum-powered civilization—lessons rooted in the finite nature of oil. This “crude reality” becomes tragic when we measure our overwhelming reliance on this geological ooze. Considering the nature of oil itself as well as the specifics of humans’ remarkable relationship with it, Crude Reality reveals our modern conundrum and then suggests the challenges of our future without oil. It is this essential context, the author argues, that will prepare us for our energy transition. Black brings to this book a global perspective and a wide-ranging technical knowledge presented specifically for general readers, making its scope much broader than any other survey. Written by a major scholar on the history of petroleum, it is an essential contribution to environmental history and the rapidly emerging field of energy history. The paperback edition features an updated epilogue and a bibliography.

Nature's Entrepot: Philadelphia’s Urban Sphere and Its Environmental Thresholds (History of the Urban Environment, 66)

In Nature’s Entrepôt, the contributors view the planning, expansion, and sustainability of the urban environment of Philadelphia from its inception to the present. The chapters explore the history of the city, its natural resources, and the early naturalists who would influence future environmental policy. They then follow Philadelphia’s growing struggles with disease, sanitation, pollution, sewerage, transportation, population growth and decline, and other byproducts of urban expansion. Later chapters examine efforts in the modern era to preserve animal populations, self-sustaining food supplies, functional landscapes and urban planning, and environmental activism. Philadelphia’s place as an early seat of government and major American metropolis has been well documented by leading historians. Now, Nature’s Entrepôt looks particularly to the human impact on this unique urban environment, examining its long history of industrial and infrastructure development, policy changes, environmental consciousness, and sustainability efforts that would come to influence not just this region but also the nation.

University of Pittsburgh Press

In Nature’s Entrepôt, the contributors view the planning, expansion, and sustainability of the urban environment of Philadelphia from its inception to the present. The chapters explore the history of the city, its natural resources, and the early naturalists who would influence future environmental policy. They then follow Philadelphia’s growing struggles with disease, sanitation, pollution, sewerage, transportation, population growth and decline, and other byproducts of urban expansion. Later chapters examine efforts in the modern era to preserve animal populations, self-sustaining food supplies, functional landscapes and urban planning, and environmental activism.\nPhiladelphia’s place as an early seat of government and major American metropolis has been well documented by leading historians. Now, Nature’s Entrepôt looks particularly to the human impact on this unique urban environment, examining its long history of industrial and infrastructure development, policy changes, environmental consciousness, and sustainability efforts that would come to influence not just this region but also the nation.

This important book tells the sweeping story of energy, tracing patterns of energy use in human history. Contextualizing global history through the lens of the Anthropocene, Brian Black traces the eras of industrialization, concluding with our current transition within the reality of climate change. Written by a leading scholar, this book is an essential contribution to environmental history and the rapidly emerging field of energy history.

To Have and Have Not: Energy in World History (Exploring World History)

World

Review\nOver the past 150 years, oil has become a ubiquitous part of modern life. Placing a strong emphasis on oil’s environmental impact, Brian Black explores the many ways oil production and consumption have shaped world history. Wide-ranging and engagingly written, Crude Reality is an indispensable starting point for understanding how the world got to be the way it is today and the forces that are shaping its ongoing evolution. -- David Painter, Georgetown University\nBrian Black is one of America’s leading historians of energy and the oil industry, and this updated book provides scholars and the general public a splendid guide to those subjects. It is concise, thoroughly researched, wide-ranging in focus, and as relevant to our times as history can be. And it’s good reading all the way! -- Donald E. Worster, University of Kansas\nCrude Reality is a sweeping and accessible survey of how modern industrial societies became ever more dependent on petroleum. A valuable primer for readers wanting to learn more about our petroleum predicament. -- Tyler Priest, University of Iowa\nThis concise, accessible introduction to the history of oil tells the story of how petroleum has shaped human life since it was first discovered oozing inconspicuously from the soil. For a century, human dependence on petroleum caused little discomfort as we enjoyed the heyday of cheap crude—a glorious episode of energy gluttony that was destined to end. Today, we see the disastrous results in environmental degradation, political instability, and world economic disparity in the waning years of a petroleum-powered civilization—lessons rooted in the finite nature of oil. Considering the nature of oil itself as well as humans’ remarkable relationship with it, Brian C. Black spotlights our modern conundrum and then explores the challenges of our future without oil. It is this essential context, he argues, that will prepare us for our energy transition. Bringing his global perspective and wide-ranging technical knowledge, Black has written an essential contribution to environmental history and the rapidly emerging field of energy history in this sweeping, forward-looking survey.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Black, Brian C.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Black, Brian C.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Black, Brian C.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Nature and the Environment in Twentieth-Century American Life (The Greenwood Press Daily Life Through History Series: Nature and the Environment in Everyday Life)

Nature and the Environment in Nineteenth-Century American Life (The Greenwood Press Daily Life Through History Series: Nature and the Environment in Everyday Life)

Alternative Energy (Historical Guides to Controversial Issues in America)

Global Warming (Historical Guides to Controversial Issues in America)

Crude Reality: Petroleum in World History (Exploring World History)

Crude Reality: Petroleum in World History (Exploring World History)

Nature's Entrepot: Philadelphia’s Urban Sphere and Its Environmental Thresholds (History of the Urban Environment, 66)

Nature's Entrepot: Philadelphia’s Urban Sphere and Its Environmental Thresholds (History of the Urban Environment, 66)

To Have and Have Not: Energy in World History (Exploring World History)

Crude Reality: Petroleum in World History (Exploring World History)