Nature at War: American Environments and World War II

Book Overview

This anthology is the first sustained examination of American involvement in World War II through an environmental lens. World War II was a total and global war that involved the extraction, processing, and use of vast quantities of natural resources. The wartime military-industrial complex, the 'Arsenal of Democracy, ' experienced tremendous economic growth and technological development, employing resources at a higher intensity than ever before. The war years witnessed transformations in American agriculture; the proliferation of militarized landscapes; the popularization of chemical and pharmaceutical products; a rapid increase in energy consumption and the development of nuclear energy; a remaking of the nation's transportation networks; a shift in population toward the Sunbelt and the West Coast; a vast expansion in the federal government, in conjunction with industrial firms; and the emergence of environmentalism. World War II represented a quantitative and qualitative leap in resource use, with lasting implications for American government, science, society, health, and ecology.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1108412076
• ISBN13: 9781108412070
• Release Date: May 2020
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Length: 387 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.4" x 8.9"