The Rhine: An Eco-biography, 1815-2000 (Weyerhaeuser Environmental Books)
In 1815, the Congress of Vienna placed the Rhine under an  "international regime" and, seeking to promote free trade among  the nations along its banks, established the Rhine Commission to  manage it. From an economic standpoint, the scheme worked, but  from an ecological perspective, the same engineering feats that  made the river profitably navigable also sapped its natural  dynamism, making it "Europe's romantic sewer." As demonstrated  by historian Cioc (Pax Atomica: The Nuclear Defense Debate in  West Germany during the Adenauer Era), the defilement of the  Rhine is a case study in the tragedy of unintended consequences.  But it is also a fascinating story because the river today is  the product of the complex interplay among all of the major  forces that shaped modern European history-industry, technology,  economy, politics, and, finally, ecology. As such, its story is  similar to those that could be told about many other major  rivers. (At present, under the oversight of the Rhine Protection  Commission, the river's environmental health is making modest  but measurable progress.) This piece of impressive scholarship  is suitable for academic libraries.Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.