Negative ecologies : fossil fuels and the discovery of the environment

So much of what we know of clean water, clean air, and now a stable climate rests on how fossil fuels first disrupted them. __Negative Ecologies__ is a bold reappraisal of the outsized role fossil fuels have played in making the environment visible, factual, and politically operable in North America. Following stories of hydrocarbon harm that lay the groundwork for environmental science and policy in North America, this book brings into clear focus the dialectic between the negative ecologies of fossil fuels and the ongoing discovery of the environment. Exploring iconic sites of the oil economy, ranging from leaky Caribbean refineries to deepwater oil spills, from the petrochemical fallout of plastics manufacturing to the extractive frontiers of Canada, __Negative Ecologies__ documents the disruptions, injuries, and disasters that have long accompanied fossil fuels and the manner in which our solutions have often been less about confronting the cause than managing the effects. This history of our present promises to re-situate scholarly understandings of fossil fuels and renovate environmental critique today. David Bond challenges us to consider what forms of research, critique, and mobilization may now be needed not only to confront the deleterious properties of fossil fuels, but to envision ways of living beyond them. "So much of what we know of clean water, clean air, and now a stable climate rests on how fossil fuels first disrupted them. Negative Ecologies is a bold reappraisal of the outsized role fossil fuels have played in making the environment visible, factual, and politically operable in North America. Following stories of hydrocarbon harm that lay the groundwork for environmental science and policy in North America, this book brings the dialectic between the negative ecologies of fossil fuels and the ongoing discovery of the environment into clear focus. Exploring iconic sits of the oil economy, ranging from leaky Caribbean refineries to deepwater oil spills, from the petrochemical fallout of plastics manufacturing to the extractive frontiers of Canada, Negative Ecologies documents the disruptions, injuries, and disasters that have long accompanied fossil fuels and the manner in which our solutions have often been less about confronting the cause than managing the effects. This history of our present promises to resuscitate scholarly understandings of fossil fuels and renovate environmental critique today. Bond challenges us to consider what forms of research, critique, and mobilization may now be needed not only to confront the deleterious properties of fossil fuels, but to envision ways of living beyond them"-- Provided by publisher "So much of what we know of clean water, clean air, and now a stable climate rests on how fossil fuels first disrupted them. Negative Ecologies is a bold reappraisal of the outsized role fossil fuels have played in making the environment visible, factual, and politically operable in North America. Following stories of hydrocarbon harm that lay the groundwork for environmental science and policy in North America, this book brings the dialectic between the negative ecologies of fossil fuels and the ongoing discovery of the environment into clear focus. Exploring iconic sits of the oil economy, ranging from leaky Caribbean refineries to deepwater oil spills, from the petrochemical fallout of plastics manufacturing to the extractive frontiers of Canada, Negative Ecologies documents the disruptions, injuries, and disasters that have long accompanied fossil fuels and the manner in which our solutions have often been less about confronting the cause than managing the effects. This history of our present promises to resituate scholarly understandings of fossil fuels and renovate environmental critique today. Bond challenges us to consider what forms of research, critique, and mobilization may now be needed not only to confront the deleterious properties of fossil fuels, but to envision ways of living beyond them"-- Provided by publisher So much of what we know of clean water, clean air, and now a stable climate rests on how fossil fuels first disrupted them. Negative Ecologies is a bold reappraisal of the outsized role fossil fuels have played in making the environment visible, factual, and politically operable in North America. Following stories of hydrocarbon harm that lay the groundwork for environmental science and policy, this book brings into clear focus the dialectic between the negative ecologies of fossil fuels and the ongoing discovery of the environment. Exploring iconic sites of the oil economy, ranging from leaky Caribbean refineries to deepwater oil spills, from the petrochemical fallout of plastics manufacturing to the extractive frontiers of Canada, Negative Ecologies documents the upheavals, injuries, and disasters that have long accompanied fossil fuels and the manner in which our solutions have often been less about confronting the cause than managing the effects. This history of our present promises to re-situate scholarly understandings of fossil fuels and renovate environmental critique today. David Bond challenges us to consider what forms of critical engagement may now be needed to both confront the deleterious properties of fossil fuels and envision ways of living beyond them. So much of what we know of clean water, clean air, and now a stableclimate rests on how fossil fuels first disrupted them.Negative Ecologies is a bold reappraisal of the outsizedrole fossil fuels have played in making the environment visible,factual, and politically operable in North America. Followingstories of hydrocarbon harm that lay the groundwork forenvironmental science and policy, this book brings into clear focusthe dialectic between the negative ecologies of fossil fuels andthe ongoing discovery of the environment. Exploring iconic sites ofthe oil economy, ranging from leaky Caribbean refineries todeepwater oil spills, from the petrochemical fallout of plasticsmanufacturing to the extractive frontiers of Canada, NegativeEcologies documents the upheavals, injuries, and disastersthat have long accompanied fossil fuels and the manner in which oursolutions have often been less about confronting the cause thanmanaging the effects. This history of our present promises tore-situate scholarly understandings of fossil fuels and renovateenvironmental critique today. David Bond challenges us to considerwhat forms of critical engagement may now be needed to bothconfront the deleterious properties of fossil fuels and envisionways of living beyond them Contents List of Illustrations Introduction: The Promise and Predicament of Crude Oil 1. Environment: A Disastrous History of the Hydrocarbon Present 2. Governing Disaster 3. Ethical Oil 4. Occupying the Implication 5. Petrochemical Fallout 6. The Ecological Mangrove Conclusion: Negative Ecologies and the Discovery of the Environment Acknowledgments Notes References Index