Current Problems And The Legacy Of The Past

Conservation of architecture - and the conversation of Modern architecture in particular – has assumed new challenges. Rather than attempting to return a Modern building to its resumed original state, the challenge of these proceedings is to revalue the essence of the manifold manifestations of Modern architecture and redefine its meanings in a rapidly changing world of digital revolution, worldwide mobility and environmental awareness. This volume aims to provide a variety of platforms for the exchange of ideas and experience. A large, international group of architects, historians, scholars, preservationists and other parties involved in the processes of preserving, renovating and transforming Modern buildings has been invited to investigate the paradox of the Modern monument, and to reflect on the manifold dilemmas of change and continuity. The general theme is elaborated through five sub-themes. The sub-theme ‘Change and Continuity’ addresses the tensions between change and continuity from a historical-theoretical perspective. ‘Restructuring Cities and Landscapes’ focuses on the larger scale of city and landscape, while ‘Shifts in Programme and Flexibility’ draws attention to the scale of the building or building complex, and questions limits of re-use and flexibility. The fourth sub-theme deals with education and the fifth sub-theme ‘Progress, Technology and Sustainability’ considers specific issues of techniques and materials.

Oil and gas well completion and stimulation technologies to develop unconventional hydrocarbon resources in the United States have evolved over the past several decades, particularly in relation to the development of shale oil and shale gas. Shale oil and shale gas resources and the technology associated with their production are often termed "unconventional" because the oil and gas trapped inside the shale or other low-permeability rock formation cannot be extracted using conventional technologies. Since about 2005, the application of these technologies to fields in the U.S. have helped produce natural gas and oil in volumes that allowed the country to reduce its crude oil imports by more than 50% and to become a net natural gas exporter. The regional and national economic and energy advances gained through production and use of these resources have been accompanied, however, by rapid expansion of the infrastructure associated with the development of these fields and public concern over the impacts to surface- and groundwater, air, land, and communities where the resources are extracted. The intent of the first day of the workshop of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's Roundtable on Unconventional Hydrocarbon Development was to discuss onshore unconventional hydrocarbon development in the context of potential environmental impacts and the ways in which the risks of these kinds of impacts can be managed. Specifically, the workshop sought to examine the lifecycle development of these fields, including decommissioning and reclamation of wells and related surface and pipeline infrastructure, and the approaches from industry practice, scientific research, and regulation that could help to ensure management of the operations in ways that minimize impacts to the environment throughout their active lifetimes and after operations have ceased. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions from the workshop.

Joseph Mali shows how modern thinkers were inspired by Vico to create their own theories of human life and history.

"Limerick is one of the most engaging historians writing today." --Richard White The "settling" of the American West has been perceived throughout the world as a series of quaint, violent, and romantic adventures. But in fact, Patricia Nelson Limerick argues, the West has a history grounded primarily in economic reality; in hardheaded questions of profit, loss, competition, and consolidation. Here she interprets the stories and the characters in a new way: the trappers, traders, Indians, farmers, oilmen, cowboys, and sheriffs of the Old West "meant business" in more ways than one, and their descendents mean business today.