La Contamination du monde. Une histoire des pollutions à l'âge industriel (UNIVERS HISTORI)

by François JARRIGE, Thomas Le roux

Autrefois sources de nuisances locales circonscrites, les effets des activités humaines sur l'environnement se sont transformés en pollutions globales. Le climat se réchauffe, les mers s'acidifient, les espèces disparaissent, les corps s'altèrent : en rendre compte d'un point de vue historique permet de ne pas sombrer dans la sidération ni dans le découragement face à un processus qui semble devenu inéluctable. Car le grand mouvement de contamination du monde qui s'ouvre avec l'industrialisation est avant tout un fait social et politique, marqué par des cycles successifs, des rapports de force, des inerties, des transformations culturelles. En embrassant l'histoire des pollutions sur trois cents ans, à l'échelle mondiale, François Jarrige et Thomas Le Roux explorent les conflits et l'organisation des pouvoirs à l'âge industriel, mais aussi les dynamiques qui ont modelé la modernité capitaliste et ses imaginaires du progrès.





François Jarrige est maître de conférences à l'université de Bourgogne. Il a notamment publié Technocritiques. Du refus des machines à la contestation des technosciences (La Découverte, 2014).


Thomas Le Roux est chargé de recherches au CNRS (CRH-EHESS). Il est notamment l'auteur de Le Laboratoire des pollutions industrielles, Paris, 1770-1830 (Albin Michel, 2011).

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, History, Environment, World History, Geography

383 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 5, 2017

Reviews

[The Inquisitive Biologist · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sprawling and information-dense environmental history book, The Contamination of the Earth is a depressing but vital survey of the last few centuries of industrial pollution. See my full review at https://inquisitivebiologist.com/2021...

[Cyrille Honoré · Rating 5 out of 5]

Une histoire assez complète des pollutions depuis la Révolution Industrielle qui permet de mettre en perspective les décisions actuelles et les atermoiements sur la question écologique. Pas rassurant du tout pour le devenir de l’être humain sur cette planète.

[maya ⟢]

read 1/3 for uni and it was already profoundly depressing! makes you look at 19th century tactics to avoid combatting pollution and think wow what even has changed in the last 200 years

what stuck with me the most was how the needs of the industry will always be considered more important than the destruction it’s causing because a unrestricted, powerful economy will benefit all of us in the end right? right????

besides, by building this monster ourselves we also constructed our dependence on it and it really seems impossible to have any lasting, impactful change if the system itself isn’t overturned as well. protecting the climate while maintaining capitalist logic seems inherently contradictory.

[Marshall E · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nice broad, sweeping review of pollutions, but at times the writing lacks a bit of style. It felt like there was a lot of repetitive text describing production increases, e.g., "1 ton of X production in 1850 increased to 10,000 tons of X by 1900"

[Meira Datiya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never have I read a more insightful, informative, and well researched history of pollution, it's roots, and what has happened in modern times. This is a book I will be recommending for years to come.

[S. Wiam Adeleine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very captivating book.

[Valerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good information but boring as hell.

[Ietrio · Rating 1 out of 5]

The two authors know how to appreciate the hand that feeds them. Hence, the private enterprise that gave jobs to the individuals and fed the multitudes are at fault. And the governments that generated wars and "national interest" industries. The two are here to testify how the conversion of the Renault factories in tank factories suddenly lead to a rise in life expectancy for the young workers, especially male workers.