Inventing for the Environment
Arthur P. Molella, Joyce Bedi
The MIT Press
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.