Abstract

Industrial societies are drowning in the torrent of waste created by our production methods, habits of consumption, and living patterns. In "Dung, Sludge, and Landfill: Biogas Technology in the Netherlands, 1970Ð2000," Rob Raven and Geert Verbong present case studies of three technologies among the many used in the management of the waste stream: the upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor, a wastewater treatment system; anaerobic manure digestion; and landfill gas extraction. By following the different paths of development traced by these technologies, Raven and Verbong hope both to address the question of why some environmental technologies succeed while others fail and, more broadly, to "illuminate the complicated interplay between technological development and social context."

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