...to the landfill to see how trash keeps piling up...to the incinerator to see how trash can be turned into energy ... to the recycling center to see how a soda bottle can be turned into a flowerpot. Filled with graphs, charts, and diagrams, Where Does the Garbage Go? explains how we deal with the problem of too much trash and provides ideas for easy ways to be a part of the solution.
(Unless school lunches are so bad you can't compost them... then it teaches nutrition and govt priorities!
Imagine taking a C++-based program you've been using for a decade and giving it a snazzy new interface using Windows Presentation Foundation. How about making your old business applications talk to your new ones using Windows Communication Foundation. C++/CLI makes this--and more--possible. C++/CLI in Action shows you how to bridge the gap between your existing C++ code and the .NET platform. C++/CLI in Action will help you if:
You only need to use pieces of the .NET framework, such as Windows Forms or web services.
There's no fluff here. Designed for readers who already know C++, this book starts by teaching the unique aspects of the C++/CLI language. After a quick tour through the basics, readers work through examples of integrating standard C++ into the .NET-based applications and building programs that mix C++ and .NET code for maximum performance and efficiency.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent book.......2007-05-14
Nishant did an excellent job with this book. The only complaint is that he could have made it bigger.
He separates himself from the rest. The difference is his book covers:
1. MFC/Managed C++ integration. Excellent chapter.
He shows how to add any Managed class to either
an MFC Dialog or MFC View. My favorite chapters are
five and six.
2. Templates/Generic mixing. Even covers managed template
inheritance.
3. Advanced event covering with C++. I have worked with C++/C#
for years, and I didn't know this about events. Very good.
4. Avalon integration. This is somewhat lacking, but it is still
very good coverage.
I would recommend this book to anybody.
Book Description
A sobering exploration of our high-octane trash output that was named an Editor's Choice by the New York Times and a nonfiction choice by The Guardian.
Eat a take-out meal, buy a pair of shoes, or read a newspaper, and you're soon faced with a bewildering amount of garbage. The United States is the planet's number-one producer of trash. Each American throws out 4.5 pounds daily. But garbage is also a global problem; the Pacific Ocean is today six times more abundant with plastic waste than zooplankton. How did we end up with this much rubbish, and where does it all go? Journalist and filmmaker Heather Rogers answers these questions by taking readers on a grisly, oddly fascinating tour through the underworld of garbage.
Said to "read like a thriller" (Library Journal), Gone Tomorrow excavates the history of rubbish handling from the 1800s to the present, pinpointing the roots of today's waste-addicted society. With a "lively authorial voice" (New York Press), Rogers draws connections between modern industrial production, consumer culture, and our throwaway lifestyle. She also investigates controversial topics like the politics of recycling and the export of trash to poor countries, while offering a potent argument for change. 10 b/w photographs.
Customer Reviews:
GONE TOMORROW explores all these facets and more........2007-01-07
The U.S. is the top producer of garbage on the planet, generating 30% of the world's trash and throwing out 1600 pounds per American per year - but what happens to garbage after it's in the trash? GONE TOMORROW: THE HIDDEN LIFE OF GARBAGE focuses on the answers to this question, providing journalist Heather Rogers' history of rubbish handling from the 1800s to modern times and reviewing the politics and social issues revolving around trash management policies. Technological transformations affected the nature and quantity of household garbage, postwar innovations handled more volume, and industry changes changed the nature and motivation of cartels handling garbage: GONE TOMORROW explores all these facets and more.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
An important book for anyone who cares about our environment.......2006-08-17
This book has had a profound effect on my growing enlightenment about sustainability. Heather Rogers traces the history of waste disposal, from the days when everything was used and re-used (and then scavenged and used again), to the dawn of mass production and organized waste disposal, where there is little if any economic incentive to minimize manufacturing waste. She argues convincingly that our consumerist economy is literally built on trash. If you think global warming and altered ocean chemistry are legitimate threats to our childrens' futures, then you should add this book to your must-read list.
We just think its gone because we don't see it..........2006-08-16
In my archaeology class we learned about the importance of the village midden, or garbage pile, in determining the culture and practices of the people inhabiting that village. On that basis, future archaeologists are going to have a heyday trying to figure out our current civilization.
Gone Tomorrow, the Hidden Life of Garbage by Heather Rogers is fascinating and depressing at the same time. There are fascinating tidbits such as the idea that garbage is a relatively recent invention, that less than 300 years ago it would have been unthinkable to consign so much of our production to the trash heap so soon after it is produced. Before mass production and mass marketing, items were produced to be repaired and reused again and again and slogans such as "use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without" were common. There wasn't anything to throw away as even scraps of cloth became part of a quilt or rug.
There are horrifying descriptions of garbage dumps such as Rikers Island:
"The rats became so numerous and so large that the department imported dogs in an effort to eliminate the rats... there were more than one hundred dogs on the island, dogs which were never fed by authorities but lived solely on these rats."
"Gases... were constantly exploding, erupting through the soil covering and busting into flames. ... When a hot spell would come along in the summer, the ground resembled a sea of small volcanoes, all breathing smoke and flames."
Another disturbing idea brought out by Rogers is that the trucks that pick up your garbage and your recyclables may be dumping them into the same landfill because recycling often just isn't economically sustainable. But it's politically impossible to cut back the appearance of recycling.
There are also some distractions in the book as when the author claims the "Keep America Beautiful" campaign was modeled after a later series of clean-up efforts by Ladybird Johnson. I'm not sure how you model something after something that comes later.
The book definitely has a pro-environment, anti-business, distrust of government bias to it. In spite of that, it is an interesting and enlightening book.
10 star must read Fun as well as informative information.......2006-06-02
Every now and then a book or two comes along that makes me want to get on the phone to friends or email friends to tell them they must read the book. This happened this past week when Gone Tomorrow the Hidden Life of Garbage by Heather Rogers arrived at my cottage.
We are a homeschooling family who as a project spent a year looking at what we buy and why and what happens to what we put out for recycling and refuge pick up, as well as what gets flushed or composted. So this book became part of our curriculum. In less than three months our water usage dropped 60%, and the garbage can went from being overflowing to being placed out once a month and then with very little in it. Am now considering cancelling the service when the contract is up. And going in with three other neighbors and combining what little we all have and sharing the cost.
Recently someone asked me why we don't put our recycling bins out or rarely put the garbage container out and we had to explain that just because we have them doesn't mean we have to fill them and put them out every week. And this is where the book is so on target when talking about how there is a downsize to the whole recycling area. It is one of those things that came about because of good intentions, but hasn't helped stop people from actually buying stuff. Also in target is how the author says that often the recyclable get dumped in with the regular trash pick up because there is no local market for the items. This is what we discovered one morning when we saw the garbage truck picking up the recycling bins and garbage at the same time, not separately. Even more so now that gas prices have gone up and garbage companies cant raise prices so they dump everything at once. So we simply save the glass and what aluminum items we have and make a run to the real recycling center where we also make some extra money.
Much like I did as a kid when I would eagerly walk the roads on the island we lived on in summer to gather up the cans and bottles the tourists left behind, to turn in for money.
The author also does a great job in explaining how packaging of products is overdone, but also done because we live in a highly suit happy society. So having that extra foil safety cap on a bottle of pills, or secure bag around the lettuce raise the cost of items as well as add to landfills. Around here Styrofoam has to be put out with regular garbage not with recyclables. Same with those pesky popcorn packing things.
On page 207 the author writes about an area in Oakland, California where the Batcave garden sits. While it may not be for everyone there is enough helpful can do information from this group that most Americans could adopt that would cut down drastically on what they buy and then what they discard. Heck most Americans would do better with less lawn to cut and more vegetables being planted that could save on food costs as well on garbage since edibles are compostable.
The author provides so much information on the big business that garbage is and how the costs get passed on to us in ways we often do not see. From increased food prices, to hidden fees for getting rid of items.
Was especially pleased to see on page 210 the group Freecycle mentioned, since I belong to my local Freecycle group and love the attitude that rather than dump something why not see if there is someone locally who can use the item. To find a group near you go to their internet site which is Freecycle.org
Also loved seeing where Berkeley's Urban One was mentioned. They have a license to glean items from the city's dump that are useable, and then the items are taken to Eco Park where they are sold, for a profit. There is a similar place in Sonora east of Angles Camp that I go to that does the same thing. Some areas have twice yearly pick ups where you can set anything from furniture to appliances out for pick up. We visit these areas and gather items that we can use or give to others in need. Its a shame that Americans are so obese in so many ways, and throw out such useable items.
So I recommend this book for anyone who wants a mature education on garbage and what we can and should do to reduce the amount we produce. Its not good enough to simply preach a use and recycle mantra.
Reuse and Recycle, but Rethink.......2006-05-30
This book came after the documentary by the same name (same writer), but it is not intended to be a companion piece. This work is self explanatory, and it packs quite a punch without lots of scenes of waste.
The author goes into some detail about the history of garbage and how the science of waste management came into being. In doing so, she discusses the economics involved and explains how waste is a fairly new phenomenon, as prior generations reused waste or repaired broken things. The author quotes Karl Marx a lot, and readers may be turned off as we equate him with communism. However, the comments cited here seem to hit squarely on the mark.
She also discusses the politics and lobbying involved in dealing with waste. Without a doubt, we are a wasteful culture. Everything is designed to be thrown out and replaced. As a result, we are slowly wasting our resources and burying ourselves (and third-world countries) in our trash. This is the part of the book that hits the strongest.
I would highly recommend reading this book. It draws attention to our need to start paying attention to what we are doing. Maybe we do need to rethink the way we do things.
Book Description
It is from the discards of former civilizations that archaeologists have reconstructed most of what we know about the past, and it is through their examination of today's garbage that Rathje and Murphy inform us of our present. Rubbish! is their witty and erudite investigation into all aspects of the phenomenon of garbage. They show what the study of garbage tells us about a population's demographics and buying habits. Along the way, they dispel the common myths about our "garbage crisis"--about fast-food packaging and disposable diapers, about biodegradable garbage and the acceleration of the average family's garbage output. They also suggest methods for dealing with garbage.
Customer Reviews:
What Our Rubbish Says About Us.......2006-08-19
This is an overview of the University of Arizona's continuing trash sorting project started in 1972 to document the lifestyle habits of the American public through observing what we eat, what we use in household goods, etc., and then throw out. Socio, political and economic behaviors become evident while recording the fascinating finds in daily trash digging, probing, and quantifying.
This project also included studies at the now closed Fresh Kills landfill on Staten Island in New York City where holes were bored all the way to the bottom of the fill and where the studies then took on a more ominous dimension of environmental impact discoveries such as: that the breakdown of trash, even over years, is a myth. The research showed that there is little biodegradation occurring due to compaction and lack of bacterial decomposition, so the researchers found completely intact and recognizable items from food to readable newsprint- even at the bottom of the heap where it was at least 50 years old- same type discoveries of intact trash heaps discovered in ancient Rome, Greece, etc.
Most distressing of the discoveries in the landfill was the discovery of the huge quantity of "leachate"- a toxic liquid stew, that is leaking at the rate of a million gallons a day into New York Harbor.
The book concludes with recommendations on alternatives to landfill as a means to dispose of trash plus recycling and lifestyle changes.
For another enlightening read on all things trash, there is Elizabeth Royte's "Garbage Land"- a personal story of discovery of what her family's trash footprint is and where everything including recyclables ends up- a real eye-opener and an entertaining read!
There is a link between owning a cat and reading "The National Enquirer"!.......2005-06-27
"Rubbish" is a highly academic book about "The Garbage Project" at the University of Arizona's Anthropology Department. The main idea behind "The Garbage Project" is to gain information about society by analyzing garbage patterns in various locations.
Despite being a book about garbage, the contents of the book are quite diverse. The book is divided into 4 parts. The first section, An Introduction to the Garbage Project, gives the background of "The Garbage Project", why it started, what they do, and what they hope to accomplish. This section also discusses how anthropologists use garbage to learn about ancient civilizations. The second section, The Landfill Excavations, discuss the basic theories of landfills, how the team takes samples from landfills, and discusses why biodegradation does not work in landfills. The third section, Interlude: Diapers and Demographics, I found to be highly entertaining. This section has a fascinating chapter on estimating the population of a neighborhood (as well as sex and age) based on the garbage collected from this neighborhood (a study done to initially help the Census Bureau). This section is also filled with useless information such as "There is a link between owning a cat and reading "The National Enquirer"". There is also a detailed discussion about disposable diapers in landfills. The final section, Garbage and the Future, was the most educational by far. This part discusses the serious shortcomings of citywide recycling programs and side effects people never hear about. There are also discussions on alternate garbage disposal methods, such as high tech incinerators used to generate electricity, as well as several other attempts at using technology to turn garbage into a useful product. The section and the book end with a chapter on reducing and addressing garbage disposal.
I think this book will not be for everyone. The book reads like a Master's Thesis at times, rather long and seems to ramble. However, some parts of the book are exceptional (such as the chapter on recycling or "Closing the Loop") and are really an eye opener.
I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in Environmental Sciences. Also, if you can manage to wade through pages of various scientific theories and facts, I'd highly recommend picking this book up! While a little slow reading at times, it is quite informative and I think a real eye opener.
One of the best books Iýve read this year.......2004-02-07
This is a fascinating overview of the world of garbology, the science of garbage. The authors begin by describing how the Garbage Project came to be, when students in a 1971 anthropology class at the University of Arizona hit upon studying garbage as a way to study people and culture. The Garbage Project has grown to become one of the leading scientific explorations into garbage, where it comes from, where it goes, and what it does when it gets there. Published results from the Garbage Project have covered such varied topics as changing patterns of meat consumption, using garbage volume to estimate population, and the relative quantities of diapers, newspapers, and plastics in landfills.
One of the most valuable contributions of the book is that it provides historical data to put garbage in perspective. Contrary to many people's beliefs, the authors argue that garbage and where to put it is not a new problem at all. They point out that one of the characteristics that make us human is that we create garbage, and we always have, back to the very first time a humanoid discovered how to create tools by chipping flint. To those who worry about our non-biodegradable trash, the authors remind us that the pottery shards of ancient archeological sites are nothing more than the indestructible refuse of yesteryear. And yet others worry about burying our trash in landfills which doesn't allow normal biodegradation to occur, but the authors point out that this also isn't new, describing an archeological dig of a putrid 2,000-year-old buried dump in Italy. Of course, the main message that the authors express is not that garbage is benign, but that the problem isn't new, and that garbage issues have been a concern since the dawn of civilization. They also point out that sanitation issues are even getting better. They give an overview of the history of garbage treatment in the US, from burying it under the kitchen floor, to building dumps, incinerators, and sanitary landfills. They point out that cities in the past weren't as clean as they are now. Cities used to produce mountains of coal dust and horse manure, and garbage would often simply sit on the corner, waiting to be dispersed by scavengers or pigs. They point out that "...ever since governments began facing up to their responsibilities, the story of the garbage problem in the industrialized world has been one of steady amelioration, of bad giving way to less bad and eventually to not quite so bad."
Scientists as well as ordinary people have very inaccurate ideas of what's in landfills today and how landfills work. Until the Garbage Project actually studied landfills, many landfill planners believed that trash would biodegrade somehow once it went into the landfill, and that the trash would eventually settle, producing large quantities of methane gas. By drilling into landfills and studying their contents, Garbage Project scientists have found that very little biodegradation actually occurs in landfills at all- -basically, only food scraps and perhaps a few lawn clippings break down. Since food scraps make up only a small portion of landfill volume, then settling and methane gas production is much less than expected.
If you think garbage is a problem, then an obvious way to address the problem is to reduce garbage volume. So what items take up the most space in our landfills? Many environmentalists would guess disposable diapers and plastics. But by meticulously analyzing landfill samples, Garbage Project scientists have determined that diapers comprise less than 2% of landfill volume and all plastics less than 20%. Paper, on the other hand, especially newspaper, doesn't compress well, doesn't biodegrade in landfill any better than plastic, and takes up 40% of landfill volume on average. Think of that next time you need to answer "Paper or plastic?" at the supermarket. By studying what's in our landfills and what actually happens to the stuff once it's been down there for a few decades, we can get better ideas about what the real garbage problems are and how to address them.
The authors suggest that the best solutions to garbage problems may be to ensure that there are economic incentives to garbage reduction. They point out that the weight and volume of packaging plastics has decreased dramatically since the 1960s- - plastic beverage bottles now weigh much less than they used to- -because it's cheaper for companies to pack and ship their items in lighter weight packaging. One of the persistent problems for garbage reduction is cities that charge a flat rate for garbage removal, rather than a per-can rate. In localities where residents pay a nominal fee for each bag of garbage to be disposed of, recycling participation rates are much higher, and garbage volume is less. The worst thing a city can do is to adopt uniform large containers for mechanized garbage collection, since garbage production magically increases to fill the space allotted to it.
After reading this book, I have a new-found respect for the Styrofoam cup and disposable diapers. I better understand why newspapers are so hard to get rid of, even through recycling. But there is one fishy result that leaves me a little suspicious- -at one point the authors argue that processed food creates less garbage than fresh food. The basis for this claim is a cross-cultural study they did in Mexico City and Arizona. They found that Mexican households produce a lot more garbage than American households, and that the larger volume is mostly attributable to the fact that Americans use processed foods where Mexicans use fresh foods. But wait, didn't the authors find in a different study that it was precisely food wastes that biodegrade in landfills, so in the end, isn't it better to produce more food scrap waste than packaging waste? This odd loose end leaves a bit of doubt in my mind that the book is entirely unbiased. But overall, I found the book incredibly informative and quite well written.
Sheds light on Human Behavior.......2003-06-16
As someone from a a profession where problem solving is a core ability, I was amazed from chapter to chapter how the members of the Garbage Project went about their endeavors to successful results. They truly show how something so ubiquitous(garbage) can contain so much information about our lives and our behaviors.
The men and women involved in this research project open the bag on the realities of this human behavior to shed light on how we act as consumers and as members of society in general. Our political tendencies are also exposed in investigating how groups endeavor to address the issue of solid waste disposal, often to unbelievable results, totally contrary to the desired end goal.
I wholeheartedly agree with some other reviewers in that this should be required reading for anyone interested in environmental issues, from the simplest aluminum can collector to the most active environmentalists.
This is billed as an archaeology book, but I would call it more accurately an environmental/psycological/science read, never very technical, often entertaining and always eye-opening.
Informative, Fascinating, Easy to Read.......2003-03-30
Rubbish should be required reading for anybody who things he/she cares about environmentalal issues. Until reading the book, I would have never guessed all the facts--yes, hard, cold facts--documented in its pages. Garbage disposal is the ultimate out-of-sight-out-of-mind issue in our hurried consumer culture. So much of our opinions on garbage comes from an uninformed media (i.e. the ridiculously high estimates of landfill space taken up by disposal diapers). People act, lobby and debate based on knowledge that, as the book shows, is usually false.
As wasteful as we are, the authors present interesting comparisons of American families and Mexican families. The results will surprise you, to say the least. Also well presented are rational comments on the always present issue of recycling.
In all, this is a fascinating book. Like all great book of this nature, it is scientific but an easy read. Highly recommended!
Book Description
Move over, Uncle John. Here comes a hipper book with engrossing—and just plain gross—articles on subjects other bathroom books barely touch: celebrities, sex, drugs, computers, and crime, along with plenty of traditional toilet-tank fare. This bathroom book with attitude contains over 1,000 shocking stories, fascinating factoids, unforgettable quotes, hilarious humor, and startling trivia to keep you entertained while you heed Nature's call. Pull up some porcelain and let Garbage entertain you with essential sports trivia, disgusting presidents, and kinky sex; or take a load off and learn how to avoid jury duty, clone your dog or cat, be a movie extra, get a raise, or work your way out of traffic tickets. Keep this treasure trove at the ready and make those visits to the lu even more satisfying.
Customer Reviews:
Much better than Uncle John's.......2003-09-01
This book is so much better than Uncle John's -- most of it is about sex and celebrities and a lot of the small stuff you find on each page is very funny. It's also cheaper than John's and there's a lot more to read -- I wish Greta (woman? secretly a man?) would write one every year like Uncle John does but I looked it up and only found that she (he) has written one other book titled "That's Disgusting"
Excellent book.......2002-02-09
All throughout reading this book I was entertained and fascinated at the same time. The first few chapters (on celebrities and sex) has some of the most interesting facts and trivial bits I've ever read. It's also quite funny in how the bits are presented, as Greta Garbage has a wicked sense of humor.
The only problem was that the book needed a better editor; there were a lot of typos, some more glaring than others (in one instance, Melissa Joan Hart is identified as the daughter of Joan Rivers). That's my only real problem; I really think of the book as deserving four and a half stars.
Unbelievably fantastic book.......2001-11-26
This book is so chock full of interesting and funny things I couldn't put it down. I kept turning to different pages and finding more that I wanted to read. This could be the most fascinating book out there! I read the author's other book "That's Disgusting" so I picked this one up when I saw it. I loved the other but there's much more to read here (althouugh most of it is less disgusting) about celebrities and sex and sports and TV and movies and lots of other things. My only objection is that I don't think it has to be a "bathroom" book. Maybe it should just have been a trivia and humor book.
"Could not put it down".......2001-11-14
I just read a great new book, "Greta Garbage's Outrageous Bathroom Book." This is one bathroom book that you can read in any room in the house. Full of fascinating facts, shocking stories, terrific trivia, and hilarious humor. If you are looking for a gift for someone that they will enjoy for sometime to come, you have found your answer.
Be sure to read "Small penis Rule, and check out what is so unique about Preparation "H". Guaranteed to make you top dog around the water cooler.
Books:
- A Game as Old as Empire: The Secret World of Economic Hit Men and the Web of Global Corruption (BK Currents)
- A New Brand World: Eight Principles for Achieving Brand Leadership in the Twenty-First Century
- Age of Propaganda: The Everyday Use and Abuse of Persuasion
- Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation
- Carried Away: A Selection of Stories (Everyman's Library)
- Casino Operations Management
- Civil Engineering Reference Manual for the PE Exam, 10th Edition
- Civilization One: The World Is Not as You Thought It Was
- Codependent No More: How to Stop Controlling Others and Start Caring for Yourself
- Cultural Criticism: A Primer of Key Concepts (Feminist Perspective on Communication)
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- History: Fiction or Science
- Chinese Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica, Third Edition
- The Making of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith
- Ultimate Chinese
- Why Did They Kill
- Breaking Free from Boomerang Love: Getting Unhooked from Borderline Personality Disorder Relationshi
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Organic
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The Worm Book: The Complete Guide to Worms in Your Garden
Easy Composters You Can Build
Worms Eat Our Garbage: Classroom Activities for a Better Environment
Let it Rot!: The Gardener's Guide to Composting (Third Edition) (Storey's Down-to-Earth Guides)
Recycle With Earthworms: The Red Wiggler Connection
Recycling to the Max.......2007-06-09
Eyeless in Gaza.......2007-03-07
