Technology: Triumph & Tragedy, p. 64-85

Technology: Triumph & Tragedy,
64-85

a. economic, social, environmental history of urbanization

Major differences:
1. community vs. society
2. stone/bricks vs. concrete/steel
3. firewood/charcoal vs. coal/oil/gas
4. crafts vs. industry
5. carts, coaches, boats vs. trains, automobiles
6. locally produced food vs. globally supplied food
7. open drains/cesspits vs. sewage systems
8. solid waste recycled/reused vs. solid waste dumped in landfills

a. industrial city started in Britain in the 18th century
b. closure movement forced millions off the land
c. canals were dug, railways were installed
d. cities had to obtain food/energy from their immediate hinterland
e. Rome/Beijing: got food from canal barges/merchant vessels
f. until 18th century: muscle, water, wind, firewood, charcoal-only energy sources
g. modern cities came out of new energy
h. major innovation: coking coal in the 18th century!
i. the production/availability of iron/steel increased dramatically
j. 1712, Thomas Newcomen built the 1st steam engine
k. 1781, James Watt produced rotary-motion steam engines
l. steel > construction, production, transportation changed!
m. small producers couldn’t afford large/expensive engines
n. large factories were mostly in cities
o. repetitive labor!
p. labor was organized tightly, managers were strict
q. great riches for the few, great misery for many
r. 14 kilo to 3 kilo to 1 kilo to generate 1 horsepower-much less energy 
s. 1830: Stephenson-built trains, effective way of bulk transport (though slow)
t. every town wanted a rain connection to increase its prosperity
u. 1898: New York City’s new subway station was built-huge electric generators ran it
v. steam engines > steam turbines/diesel engines
w. Spinning Jenny/Power Loom were steam powered-Britain
y. American slave labor produced most of Britain’s cotton
z. NW England (Manchester), Midlands (Nottingham), Clyde Valley (Scotland)

a. people’s livelihoods depended on cotton
b. 1/2 of Britain’s exports were textiles
c. awful environmental/housing conditions
d. Friedrich Engels commented on awful housing in Manchester in 1844
e. High Miller commented on it in 1862
f. the poor would beg for water
g. Bradford, most polluted town-black sulphurous smoke
h. Sheffield: molton-pig iron was made into steel 
i. Henry Bessemer lowered the cost of steel making
j. cheap steel> iron warships/railways
k. the poor needed to be near work
l. the trade union movement was born
m. Lunar Society: discussed science, technology, health, literature & art
n. London: awful air pollution, overcrowding
o. 1836, London & Greenwich lines
p. 1848: Waterloo station was opened
q. 1863, world’s first underground, steam powered railway
r. 1800, London was 1,000,000
s. 1850, 4,000,000 in London
t. 1939, 8,600,000 in London
u. 1790, London was a port city with 14,000 ships coming in
v. London became the world’s leading financial center
w. Calcutta, Bombay, Hong Kong, Singapore, Sydney, New York, Toronto, Nairobi, Lagos became accessible with steamships
y. London’s Corn Laws were abolished which hurt England’s farmers-cheap grain flowed in from Canada & USA

Imports
1. North America/Russia: cornfields
2. Chicago/Odessa: granaries
3. Canada/Baltic: timber
4. Australia: sheep farms
5. Argentina/western prairies: oxen
6. Peru: silver
7. South Africa/Australia: gold
8. Indies: coffee, sugar, spice
9. Hindu/Chinese: tea
10. Spain/France: vineyards
11. Mediterranean: fruit gardens

Problems:
1. severe air pollution in London
2. smog from coal fires
3. heavy metals/chemicals ended up in soil
4. had to get water from Thames because groundwater was polluted
5. the Thames River became contaminated
6. flush toilets were connected to cesspits not sewers
7. a recycling scheme was needed for sewage!
8. land had to be kept productive

Advantages:
1. complex water supply system with steam-powered pumps
2. man made manures are good for soil-Victor Hugo advocated it

Waste Disposal:
a. London decided to dispose of the sewage in the North Sea
b. Joseph Bazalgette was put in charge of the huge project
c. 1866 Sanitary Act-Balzalgette’s project
d. Liebig decided to develop artificial fertilizers
e. artificial fertilizers contained: phosphates, nitrates & potash
f. we need a revolution in sewage recycling!

Germany’s Industrialization
a. Krupp & Thyssen built great industries based on coal mining & steel
b. farmers & craftsman became miners
c. German, Poland, Slovakia, Croatia, Italy-people came from all of these regions to work the mines
d. the Ruhrgebiet: small farms, villages, towns, forests> mines, steelworks, slag heaps, tenement buildings, railway lines
e. Berlin became Germany’s administrative center
f. Borsig & Siemens: headquarters in Berlin
g. Potsdam, first railway line (1838)
h. Siemens: electricity generation & communications systems
i. 1914: 3,700,000 in Berlin
j. The German wastewater system recycled sewage, fertilized orchards

USA
a. Andrew Carnegie, immigrant from Scotland, set up Bessemer converter in Pittsburgh
b. Pittsburgh: rich in coal, had abundant forests, & near Great Lakes-could ship to Detroit
c. Pittsburgh: Smokey city
d. 1892, Carnegie defeated a strike
e. US Steel, monopoly!

New York City
a. located at the mouth of the Hudson
b. originated as a Native American settlement
c. 5 boroughs: Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, Manhatten, the Bronx
d. 363 mile Erie Canal made NY prosperous
e. 1870, NY lit up by Edison
f. 1883: 1,600 ft. Brooklyn suspension bridge became the longest
g. 1904: start of subway system
h. Central Park: 337 hectares
i. 1800: 79,000 people
j. 1850: 700,000
k. 1900: 3,400,000
l. 1950: 7,900,000 people
m. skyscrapers depended on elevator technology
n. Woolworth building, “Cathedral of Commerce”
o. top floors: desirable, expensive
p. New York rivaled London’s finance
q. Wall Street became a world power in its own right
r. Wall Street depends on information based industry

Problems with modern cities
a. pollution
b. traffic congestion
c. overcrowding

Good:
a. parks
b. public spaces
c. gardens

Clean up
a. regulations
b. moving factories away from city centers

There was a dramatic change between humans relationship with nature!