Book ID: CBB001420316

Opportunity, Montana: Big Copper, Bad Water, and the Burial of an American Landscape (2013)

unapi

Tyer, Brad (Author)


Beacon Press


Publication Date: 2013
Physical Details: xv + 232 pp.; ill.; maps; bibl.
Language: English

At the turn of the nineteenth century, Montana exploited the richest copper deposits in the world, fueling the electric growth of twentieth-century America and building some of the nation's most outlandish fortunes. The toxic by-product of those fortunes---what didn't spill into the river---was dumped in Opportunity. In the twenty-first century, Montana's draw is no longer metal but landscape: the blue-ribbon trout streams and unspoiled wilderness of the nation's last best place. To match reality to the myth, affluent exurbanites and well-meaning environmentalists are trying to restore the Clark Fork River to its natural state. In the process, millions of tons of toxic soils are being removed and dumped---once again---in Opportunity. As Tyer investigates Opportunity's history, he wrestles with questions of environmental justice and the ethics of burdening one community with an entire region's waste. Stalled at the intersection of a fading extractive economy and a fledgling restoration boom, Opportunity's story is a secret history of the American Dream and a key to understanding the country's---and increasingly the globe's---demand for modern convenience. As Tyer explores the degradations of the landscape, he also probes the parallel emotional geography of familial estrangement. Part personal history and part reportorial narrative, Opportunity, Montana is a story of progress and its price: of copper and water, of father and son, and of our attempts to redeem the mistakes of the past.

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Reviewed By

Review Quivik, Fredric L. (2014) Review of "Opportunity, Montana: Big Copper, Bad Water, and the Burial of an American Landscape". Environmental History (pp. 398-399). unapi

Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB001420316/

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Authors & Contributors
Josephson, Paul R.
Alessandra Landi
Giovanni Carrosio
Balasubramanian, Narayanaganesh
Patricio Flores
Steward, Katherine F.
Concepts
Environmentalism
Environmental degradation
Environmental ethics
Chemical pollution
Environmental sciences
Copper and copper industry
Time Periods
20th century
19th century
21st century
20th century, early
20th century, late
Places
United States
Montana (U.S.)
Singapore
Zimbabwe
Sweden
Austria
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