"This book presents a history of radioecology, from World War II through to the critical years of the Cold War, finishing with a discussion of recent developments and future implications for the field. Drawing on a vast array of primary sources, the book reviews, synthesizes and discusses the implications of the ecological research supported by the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) of the United States government, from World War II to the early 1970s. This was a critical period in the history of ecology, characterized by a transition from the older, largely descriptive studies of communities of plants and animals to the modern form of the science involving functional studies of energy flow and mineral cycling in ecosystems. This transition was in large part due to the development of radioecology which was a byproduct of the Cold War and the need to understand and predict the consequences of a nuclear war that was planned but never occurred. The book draws on important case studies, such as The Pacific Proving Grounds, The Nevada Test Site, El Verde in Puerto Rico, The Brookhaven National Laboratory and more recent events such as the nuclear disasters at Chernobyl and Fukashima. By revisiting studies and archived information from the Cold War era this book offers lessons from the history of radioecology to provide background and perspective for understanding possible present-day impacts from issues of radiation risks associated with nuclear power generation. This is a timely contribution given the rising potential of nuclear warfare among world powers, the periodic accidents that occur at nuclear power plants and society's long-term failure to effectively dispose of nuclear wastes that continue to accumulate. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of radioecology, environmental pollution, environmental technology, bioscience and environmental history"
