Book ID: CBB001201248

The Wired Northwest: The History of Electric Power, 1870s--1970s (2012)

unapi

Hirt, Paul W. (Author)


University Press of Kansas


Publication Date: 2012
Physical Details: ix + 461 pp.; ill.; bibl.; index
Language: English

The Pacific Northwest holds an abundance of resources for energy production, from hydroelectric power to coal, nuclear power, wind turbines, and even solar panels. But hydropower is king. Dams on the Columbia, Snake, Fraser, Kootenay, and dozens of other rivers provided the foundation for an expanding, regionally integrated power system in the U.S. Northwest and British Columbia. A broad historical synthesis chronicling the region's first century of electrification, Paul Hirt's new study reveals how the region's citizens struggled to build a power system that was technologically efficient, financially profitable, and socially and environmentally responsible. Hirt shows that every energy source comes with its share of costs and benefits. Because Northwest energy development meant river development, the electric power industry collided with the salmon fishing industry and the treaty rights of Northwest indigenous peoples from the 1890s to the present. Because U.S. federal agencies like the Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation built many of the large dams in the region, a significant portion of the power supply is publicly owned, initiating contentious debates over how that power should best serve the citizens of the region. Hirt dissects these ongoing battles, evaluating the successes and failures of regional efforts to craft an efficient yet socially just power system. Focusing on the dynamics of problem-solving, governance, and the tense relationship between profit-seeking and the public interest, Hirt's narrative takes in a wide range of players-not only on the consumer side, where electricity transformed mills, mines, households, commercial districts, urban transit, factories, and farms, but also power companies operating at the local and regional level, and investment companies that financed and in some cases parasitized the operators. His study also straddles the international border. It is the first book to compare energy development in the U.S. Northwest and British Columbia. Both engaging and balanced in its treatment of all the actors on this expansive stage, The Wired Northwest helps us better understand the challenges of the twenty-first century, as we try to learn from past mistakes and re-design an energy grid for a more sustainable future.

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Reviewed By

Review Richard Hirsh (October 2017) Review of "The Wired Northwest: The History of Electric Power, 1870s--1970s". Technology and Culture (pp. 1090-1092). unapi

Review Brigham, Jay L. (2013) Review of "The Wired Northwest: The History of Electric Power, 1870s--1970s". Journal of American History (p. 564). unapi

Review Rowley, William D. (2014) Review of "The Wired Northwest: The History of Electric Power, 1870s--1970s". Journal of Interdisciplinary History (p. 407). unapi

Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB001201248/

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Authors & Contributors
Zumbrägel, Christian
Sholdice, Mark
Gooday, Gaeme
Viguié, Renan
Varaschin, Denis
Isaenko, Oleksandr
Concepts
Electric power industry
Electricity; magnetism
Power technology
Electrification
Hydroelectric power
Science and culture
Time Periods
19th century
20th century, early
20th century
20th century, late
21st century
18th century
Places
United States
Germany
Europe
Soviet Union
Great Britain
Manchester (England)
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