| Inventing for the Environment Contributor(s): Molella, Arthur P. (Editor), Bedi, Joyce (Editor) |
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ISBN: 0262633280 ISBN-13: 9780262633284 Publisher: MIT Press OUR PRICE: $44.55 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: September 2005 Annotation: 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. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Science | Environmental Science (see Also Chemistry - Environmental) - Science | Life Sciences - Ecology - Technology & Engineering | Environmental - General |
| Dewey: 363.7 |
| Series: Lemelson Center Studies in Invention and Innovation |
| Physical Information: 0.88" H x 6.68" W x 8.66" (1.32 lbs) 418 pages |
| Themes: - Topical - Ecology |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
Contributor Bio(s): Bedi, Joyce: - Joyce Bedi is Senior Historian at the Smithsonian Institution's Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation.Molella, Arthur P.: - Arthur P. Molella is Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Director of the Smithsonian Institution's Lemelson Center. He is the co-editor (with Joyce Bedi) of Inventing for the Environment (2003, MIT Press). |