The Search for the Ultimate Sink: Urban Pollution in Historical Perspective (Technology and the Environment) [Hardcover]

Joel A. Tarr (Author)

Book Description

Series: Technology and the Environment | Publication Date: December 1996

Whether it comes by air, by land, or by water, pollution has long plagued the American city. And for just as long, the question of how to deal with urban wastes has taxed the minds of scientists, engineers, and public officials - and the pocketbooks of ordinary citizens. For more than twenty years, Joel A. Tarr has written about the issues of urban pollution. In this collection of his essays, Professor Tarr surveys what technology has done to, and for, the environment of the American city since 1850. In studies ranging from the horse to the railroad, from infrastructure development to industrial and domestic pollution, from the Hudson River to the smokestacks of Pittsburgh, his constant theme is the tension between the production of wastes and the attempts to dispose of them or control them with minimal costs. The Search for the Ultimate Sink: Urban Pollution in Historical Perspective stands alone in its scholarly depth and scope. These essays explore not only the technical solutions to waste disposal, but also the policy issues involved in the trade-offs among public health, environmental quality, and the difficulties and costs of pollution control, and all this against the broader background of changes in civic and professional values. Any reader concerned with the interactive history of technology, the environment, and the American city will find in The Search for the Ultimate Sink an informative and compelling account of pollution problems from the past and a serious guide to urban policies for the future.

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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Joel A. Tarr is the Richard S. Caliguiri Professor of Urban and Environmental History and Policy at Carnegie Mellon University. He received his BS and MA degrees at Rutgers University and his PhD from Northwestern University. Among his many publications is the co-edited collection, Technology and the Rise of the Networked City in Europe and America, 1988 winner of the Abel Wolman Award from the Public Works Historical Society. He has been awarded fellowships and grants from several institutions, including the National Science Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 419 pages
• Publisher: Univ of Akron Pr; 1st edition (December 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1884836054
• ISBN-13: 978-1884836053
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,056,792 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars For Techies Only, May 25, 2010

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This review is from: Search For The Ultimate Sink (Technology and the Environment) (Perfect Paperback)

A good reference book for engineers and fans of sewage technology and history. A bit too much of an overview with selections by various authors.

Probably a textbook, intended to enrich the professor just a bit.