The story of N : a social history of the nitrogen cycle and the challenge of sustainability / Hugh S. Gorman.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gorman, Hugh S. (Hugh Scott), 1957-

Series:

Studies in Modern Science, Technology, and the Environment

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Nitrogen--Environmental aspects.

Nitrogen.

Nitrogen cycle.

Sustainable development.

Nature--Effect of human beings on.

Nature.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (260 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New Brunswick, N.J. : Rutgers University Press, c2013.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In The Story of N, Hugh S. Gorman analyzes the notion of sustainability from a fresh perspective-the integration of human activities with the biogeochemical cycling of nitrogen-and provides a supportive alternative to studying sustainability through the lens of climate change and the cycling of carbon. It is the first book to examine the social processes by which industrial societies learned to bypass a fundamental ecological limit and, later, began addressing the resulting concerns by establishing limits of their own. The book is organized into three parts. Part I, "The Knowledge of Nature," explores the emergence of the nitrogen cycle before humans arrived on the scene and the changes that occurred as stationary agricultural societies took root. Part II, "Learning to Bypass an Ecological Limit," examines the role of science and market capitalism in accelerating the pace of innovation, eventually allowing humans to bypass the activity of nitrogen-fixing bacteria. Part III, "Learning to Establish Human-Defined Limits," covers the twentieth-century response to the nitrogen-related concerns that emerged as more nitrogenous compounds flowed into the environment. A concluding chapter, "The Challenge of Sustainability," places the entire story in the context of constructing an ecological economy in which innovations that contribute to sustainable practices are rewarded.

Contents:

Front matter

CONTENTS

PREFACE

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Introduction

PART I. The Knowledge of Nature

PART II. Learning to Bypass an Ecological Limit

PART III. Learning to Establish Human-Defined Limits

NOTES

BIBLIOGRAPHY

INDEX

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 209-233) and index.

ISBN:

0-8135-5439-X

OCLC:

852896326