Tilting At Mills: Green Dreams, Dirty Dealings, and the Corporate Squeeze

by Lis Harris

Overview

It is New York City in 1992. Unaware of the heartbreak he will encounter, the veteran environmentalist Allen Hershkowitz proposes developing a major recycled-paper mill in the city. He's tired of being outgunned too often by industry lobbyists in legislative battles and wants to develop an environmentally friendly and profitable business that will bring jobs to one of the city's poorest neighborhoods. What's more, the project could become a national model.
But Hershkowitz quickly finds himself pitted against surprising forces. To the idealist's surprise, neighborhood activists fiercely resist outsiders, and he must confront byzantine politics and powerful industry hostility. The project may be outstanding environmentally and socially, but often that's not what matters. From beginning to end, Tilting at Mills reveals what can occur in attempted alliances between big business and environmentalists and is filled with shocking stories of what really happens behind the scenes in major deal-making.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780547595597
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	03/11/2003
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
File size:	229 KB

About the Author

Lis Harris originally researched the project for an article she wrote while a staff writer at The New Yorker. The author of the much-admired Holy Days and Rules of Engagement and a professor of writing at Columbia University, Harris has won numerous grants and fellowships.

Table of Contents

Contents Acknowledgments vii 1 Rules of the Game 1 2 First Steps 18 3 Who’s Driving This Car? 30 4 The Harlem River Railyard 48 5 Communitas 65 6 Banana Kelly: Slipping from Grace 83 7 Looking for Mr. Good Paper 97 8 Incrementalism and a Simple Lesson in Economics 121 9 Dancing with New Partners 131 10 Once More into the Fray 145 11 All Hands on Deck 161 12 A Rolls-Royce with a Flat 171 13 Signed, Sealed, and Deconstructed 186 14 The New Order 207 Appendix: Dramatis Personae 237