Smokestacks and progressives : environmentalists, engineers and air quality in America, 1881-1951 / David Stradling.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Stradling, David.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Air--Pollution--United States--History.

Air.

Smoke prevention--United States--History.

Smoke prevention.

History.

Air--Pollution.

United States.

Physical Description:

x, 270 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Baltimore, Md. : Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999.

Summary:

In Smokestacks and Progressives: Environmentalists, Engineers and Air Quality in America 1881-1951, David Stradling describes the evolution of one of America's first environmental movements--the antismoke crusade of the early 1900s. The roots of modern environmentalism, Stradling explains, reach deep into the Victorian era. Early reformers connected beauty, health, and cleanliness with morality and demanded government assistance in maintaining all four. Air quality became an important issue for middle-class residents in coal-dependent cities--how could a city without pure air, they asked, truly be clean, healthful, and moral?

Contents:

Introduction: Vision Obscured 1

1 Coal: The Vital Essence of Our Civilization 6

2 Hell Is a City: Living with Smoke 21

3 Trouble in the Air: The Movement Begins 37

4 The Atmosphere Will Be Regulated 61

5 Priests of the New Epoch: Engineers and Efficiency 85

6 Smoke Means Waste 108

7 War Meant Smoke 138

8 "Where's My Smoke": Movement toward Success 153

Conclusion: The Struggle for Civilized Air 182.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [193]-262) and index.

ISBN:

0801860830

OCLC:

40693751