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Perils of Progress: Environmental Disasters in the 20th Century, 1st edition

Published by Pearson (March 19, 2010) © 2011

  • Albert M. Craig Harvard University
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Part of the Connections: Key Themes in World History series, Perils of Progress: Environmental Disasters in the 20th Century is essential reading for anyone interested in furthering a clean and safe environment while simultaneously encouraging responsible manufacturing.

Author Andrew Jenks examines past environmental disasters, such as the tragedies at Love Canal, Bhopal, and Chernobyl, to prepare students to anticipate and head off potential environmental disasters as well as to meet and deal rationally with the next toxic apocalypse should one occur.

FOREWORD

SERIES EDITOR’S PREFACE

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

INTRODUCTION: The Perils of Progress

Modernity's Pollution Problems

Methodology

The Four Horsemen of the Toxic Apocalypse

Common Themes to Consider

The Blame Game

Conspiracy Theory and Historical Amnesia

The Moral Dimension

1 The Minamata Disaster and the True Costs of Japanese Modernization

Chisso Corporation

Disturbing Signs

Political and Cultural Obstacles

Lifting the Veil of Silence

The Battle Rejoined

Atomic Bombs, Godzilla, and the Culture of Victimization

Seeking Justice Outside the Courts

The Uniqueness of the Japanese Case

Minamata as a Global Event

The Appeal to Emotion

A New Way to Calculate Progress

A Lingering Toxicity

SOURCES

Struggling with the Disease

"Those who remain are like embers."

T he Confrontation at Goi

“Let a feather drop onto their heads...."

The Chisso Corporations Defends Itself

2 Love Canal and the Law of Unintended Consequences

The Unspoken Bargain

The Bargain Re-evaluated

Reports of Mysterious Substances

Science in the Service of the State

Long Term Social and Political Effects

“Revitalizing” the Community

SOURCES

A Child's Death

A Curious Tax Audit

Passing the Buck

And Who Was Responsible?

3 The Bhopal Gas Tragedy: A Perfect Storm of Injustice

India, Union Carbide, and the Green Revolution

Complacency

Corporate and Popular Responses

Finger Pointing

The Legal Drama

A Silver Lining?

The Disaster Industry

SOURCES

Profit at All Costs?

Robert A. Peck, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs, Department of State, responds to questions from the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs

Ronald Wisehart, vice president for Government Relations, Union Carbide Corp., responds to questions from the committee.

Safety First?

4 The Techno-Politics of Disaster: Chernobyl and the Collapse of the Soviet Union

Anatomy of an Accident

Political Fallout and Historical Context

Evacuation

The Blame Game

Toward an Explanation

Casualties and Health Consequences

Chernobyl after Chernobyl

SOURCES

"Television Address by Mikhail Gorbachev, 14 May 1986, Moscow”

The Western Nuclear-Power Industry Reacts

The Myth of Chernobyl?

Victims and Heroes: Voices from Chernobyl

EPILOGUE: MAKING CONNECTIONS

BIBLIOGRAPHY

INDEX

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