A History of Large-Scale Environmental-Engineering Projects in Russia

俄罗斯大型环境工程项目的历史

• 批准号: 1534860
• 负责人: Paul Josephson
• 金额: $ 8.63万
• 依托单位: Colby College
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2015-08-01 至 2017-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1534860&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: History; Large; Scale; Environmental; Engineering

General Audience Summary This project uses historical methods to evaluate the extent and relative costs of Russian nature transformation activities from 1900 to the present. It is situated at the intersection of history of science and technology on the one hand, and environmental history on the other. It will study various projects embraced by Russian leaders to transform nature in the effort to improve economic performance, military preparedness, agricultural production, and industrial growth. Such projects include the building of huge hydroelectric-power stations, irrigation systems, transport and water transfer canals, and the draining wetlands. Many of the projects had significant social and environmental costs, such as the loss of hundreds of thousands of prisoners who were forced into the Stalinist gulag laborers in large-scale public works projects; and many ecosystems in Russia continue to suffer degradation from the projects to this day. The project is relevant to contemporary issues; under Vladimir Putin, Russia has again embraced many large scale, and potentially environmentally unsound projects. By considering the way in which Russian officials responded to the public in areas of critical technological choices, the project will shed light on the keys to reaching proper decisions about whether and where to pursue major pubic works projects, and how to balance environmental risks with the public good.Technical Summary This study will contribute to understandings of human-nature interactions in comparative perspective, and of the influence of political, ideological, cultural, financial, and other factors on these interactions. Due to the closed nature of Soviet and Russian society, little is known of the motivations for Russian nature transformation projects, nor the extent of their short- and long-term costs. Nor have specialists considered at length the evolution of scientific ideas and concepts used in these projects. In addition, they have been little compared with other such efforts, for example, massive hydroelectricity projects in Brazil, China and India, or water basin transfer projects in the US, South Africa, and Australia. The study will enable more complete comprehension how the sciences and engineering connected with the projects developed over time. It will enable better comprehension of the way in which governments and citizens come together to carry out massive public works projects, how funding evolves, and the nature of the scientific and engineering organizations who undertake them. It will also reveal something of the interaction between scientists and the public, and not only in the former Soviet Union, but in such transitional regimes like Russia. Finally, it will provide awareness of the costs and benefits of various projects advanced to ensure material comfort, safety, and productivity of citizens.

该项目使用历史方法来评估从1900年至今俄罗斯自然改造活动的程度和相对成本。它处于科学技术史和环境史的交叉点上。它将研究俄罗斯领导人为改善经济表现、军事准备、农业生产和工业增长而改造自然的各种项目。这些项目包括建设大型水力发电站、灌溉系统、交通和调水运河以及排水湿地。其中许多项目都付出了巨大的社会和环境代价，例如在大型公共工程项目中，数十万囚犯被迫进入斯大林主义的古拉格劳动力;俄罗斯的许多生态系统至今仍在遭受这些项目的退化。该项目与当代问题有关;在弗拉基米尔普京的领导下，俄罗斯再次接受了许多大规模的、可能对环境有害的项目。通过考察俄罗斯官员在关键技术选择领域对公众的回应方式，本项目将揭示在是否以及在何处实施重大公共工程项目以及如何平衡环境风险与公共利益等问题上做出正确决策的关键。技术总结本研究将有助于从比较的角度理解人与自然的相互作用，以及政治、意识形态、文化、金融等因素对这些互动的影响。由于苏联和俄罗斯社会的封闭性，人们对俄罗斯自然改造项目的动机知之甚少，也不知道其短期和长期成本的程度。专家们也没有详细考虑这些项目中使用的科学思想和概念的演变。此外，与其他类似的努力相比，这些努力微不足道，例如巴西、中国和印度的大规模水电项目，或美国、南非和澳大利亚的流域转移项目。这项研究将使人们能够更全面地理解科学和工程如何与随着时间的推移而开发的项目相联系。它将使人们更好地理解政府和公民共同开展大规模公共工程项目的方式，资金如何演变，以及承担这些项目的科学和工程组织的性质。它还将揭示科学家与公众之间的互动，不仅在前苏联，而且在俄罗斯这样的过渡政权中。最后，它将提供对各种先进项目的成本和效益的认识，以确保公民的物质舒适性，安全性和生产力。