Something New Under the Sun:

An Environmental History of the Twentieth-

Century World

John R. McNeill

Presentation by
Hakan Yokuş
 J. R. McNeill

• B. October 6, 1954, in Chicago, Illinois.

• American environmental historian.
• Professor at Georgetown University.
• President of the American Society for
Environmental History (2011–13).
• Won lots of Awards and Honors.
• e. g. the Heineken Prize, World History
Association Book Prize, and etc.
Contents
1. Prologue: Peculiarities of a Prodigal Century

PART ONE: THE MUSIC OF THE SPHERES PART TWO: ENGINES OF CHANGE

2. The Lithosphere and Pedosphere: The Crust of the Earth 9. More People, Bigger Cities

3. The Atmosphere: Urban History 10. Fuels, Tools, and Economics

4. The Atmosphere: Regional and Global History 11. Ideas and Politics

5. The Hydrosphere: The History of Water Use and Water 12. Epilogue: So What?
Pollution

6. The Hydrosphere: Depletions, Dams, and Diversions

7. The Biosphere: Eat and Be Eaten

8. The Biosphere: Forests, Fish, and Invasions

What the Book Says

• Human activity during the 20 th c., provoked environmental changes on an unprecedented scale.
• More damage than any other period in history.
• Therefore, 20th c, especially post-1950 was “Something New Under the Sun.”
• Not so much because of new environmental processes.
• But mainly old ones intensifying to new levels.
 World GDP, 1500 – 1992
What the Book Says
• The world’s economy in the late 20 th century
was about 120 times larger than that of 1500.
• But the post-1950 period saw economic
growth at rates entirely unprecedented in
human experience.
• Same thing happened in the world population
World Population, 1820 - 2000
growth.
• In the second half of the 20 th century,
population has increased extremely quickly
at the speed 50 to 100 times more rapid than
the period it reached 1 billion.
Changes in the Earth’s Air, Water, Soil, and the Biosphere:

Soil Pollution and Soil Erosion

• Most consequential impacts of human activity during the 20 th century occurred in the soil.
• Mining, smelting, refining, and use of metals were some of the major sources of soil pollution and soil erosion.

Air Pollution
• One another consequential impact of human activity occurred in the atmosphere.

• Even though pollution levels were reduced in the 20th century compared to, for example, the Industrial Revolution,
the scope and scale of the economic growth, industry, and militarism erased these benefits.

Similar degradations and changes also happened in the hydrosphere, the biosphere and the other core spheres of the
Earth (which are widely discussed throughout the first part of the book).
Main Reasons for These Environmental Changes & Main
Arguments of the Book

• Most of the environmental changes during the 20 th century driven by:

• Energy system
• Fossil fuels; cheap and abundant energy
• Population
• Urbanization
• International System Pressures
• Technologies
• New pollution intensive technologies
• ”Big Ideas”
• Nationalism, Communism
To Analyze the Book
• McNeill’s comprehensive overview covers a broad scope of scientific systems which are explained
clearly (lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, biosphere, etc.).
• He also provides many case examples of particular cities, regions and issues.
• Yet, the book does not overwhelm the audience with statistics or points that are too difficult to
understand.
• However, he does not consider capitalism and its impact on environment while exploring “big
ideas” such as nationalism and communism in the second part of the book.