In the early days of the last century, the city of New York faced a serious horse-manure crisis. “Experts” were predicting that by 1930, the stuff would be piled three stories high in the streets. But ...

When city officials speak of the country as “wasting away,” they are not punning. Waste—the uncontrolled proliferation of garbage, trash and scrap—is threatening to bury many U.S. cities. A serious ...