TAKING SIDES: CLASHING VIEWS ON CONTROVERSIAL ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES TENTH EDITION THEODORE D. GOLDFARB and THOMAS A.

EASTON

Introduct on En! ron"#nta$ I%%u#%: T&# N#!#r'End n( D#)at# One of the courses I teach is Environmentalism: Philosophy, Ethics, and History. I begin by e plaining the roots of the !ord ecology, from the "ree# oikos $house or household%, and assigning the students to !rite a brief paper about their o!n household. Ho! much, I as# them, do you need to #no! about the place !here you live& 'nd !hy& (he ans!ers vary. )ome of the resulting papers focus on people*roommates if the household is a dorm room, spouses and children if the students are older, parents and siblings if they live at home*and the needs to cooperate and get along, and perhaps the need not to overcro!d. )ome pay attention to houseplants and pets, and occasionally even bugs and mice. )ome focus on economics*possessions, services, and their costs, !here the chec#boo# is #ept, !here the bills accumulate, the importance of paying those bills, and of course the importance of earning money to pay those bills. )ome focus on maintenance*cleaning, cleaning supplies, repairs, !hom to call if something ma+or brea#s. ,or some the emphasis is operation*garbage disposal, grocery shopping, ho! to !or# the lights, stove, fridge, and so on. ' very fe! recogni-e the presence of to ic chemicals under the sin# and in the medicine cabinet and the need for precautions in their handling. )adly, a fe! seem to be oblivious to anything that does not have something to do !ith entertainment. .ot surprisingly, some students ob+ect initially that the e ercise seems trivial. /hat does this have to do !ith environmentalism& they as#. 0et the course is rarely very old before most are saying, 'h1 I get it1 (hat nice, homey microcosm has a great many of the features of the macrocosmic environment, and the multiple !ays people can loo# at the microcosm mirror the !ays people loo# at the macrocosm. It2s all there, as is the 3uestion of priorities: /hat is important& People or fello! creatures or economics or maintenance or operation or !aste disposal or food supply or to ics control or entertainment& Or all of the above& 'nd ho! do you decide& I try to illuminate this 3uestion by describing a parent trying to teach a teenager not to sit on a !oodstove. In 4uly, the #id ans!ers, /hy& and continues to perch. In 'ugust, li#e!ise. 'nd still in )eptember. 5ut in October or .ovember, the #id yells Ouch1 and +umps off in a hurry. (hat is, people seem to learn best !hen they get burned.

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(his is surely true in our homely oikos, !here !e may not reali-e our fello! creatures deserve attention until houseplants die of neglect or coc#roaches invade the cupboards. Economics comes to the fore !hen the phone gets cut off, repairs !hen a pipe ruptures, air 3uality !hen the air conditioner brea#s or strange fumes rise from the basement, garbage disposal !hen the bags pile up and begin to stin#. (o ics control suddenly matters !hen a child or pet gets into the rat poison. In the larger oikos of environmentalism, such events are paralleled by the loss of a species, or an infestation by another, by floods and droughts, by la#es turned into cesspits by ra! se!age, by air turned foul by industrial smo#estac#s, by ground!ater contaminated by to ic chemicals, by the death of industries and the loss of +obs, by famine and plague and even !ar. If nothing is going !rong, !e are not very li#ely to reali-e there is something !e should be paying attention to. 'nd this too has its parallel in the larger !orld. Indeed, the history of environmentalism is in important part a history of people carrying on !ith business as usual until something goes obviously a!ry. (hen, if they can agree on the nature of the problem $6id the floor cave in because the +oists !ere rotten or because there !ere too many people at the party&%, they may learn something about ho! to prevent recurrences. THE *UESTION OF +RIORITIES (here is of course a crucial if in that last sentence: If people can agree It is a truism to say that agreement is difficult. In environmental matters, people argue endlessly over !hether anything is actually !rong, !hat its eventual impact !ill be, !hat if anything can be done to repair the damage, and ho! to prevent recurrence. .ot to mention !ho2s to blame and !ho should ta#e responsibility for fi ing the problem1 Part of the reason is simple: 6ifferent things matter most to different people. Individual citi-ens may !ant clean air or !ater or cheap food or a convenient commute. Politicians may favor sovereignty over international cooperation. Economists and industrialists may thin# a fe! coughs $or !orse% a cheap price to pay for !ealth or +obs. .o one no! seems to thin# that protecting the environment is not important. 5ut different groups*even different environmentalists *have different ideas of !hat environmental responsibility means. (o a paper company cutting trees for pulp, it may mean leaving a screen of trees $a beauty strip% beside the road and minimi-ing erosion. (o hi#ers follo!ing trails through or !ithin vie! of the same tract of land, that is not enough7 they !ant the trees left alone. (he hi#ers may also ob+ect to seeing the users of trail bi#es and all8terrain8vehicles on the trails. (hey may even ob+ect to hunters and anglers, !hose activities they see as diminishing the !ilderness e perience. (hey may therefore push for protecting the land as limited8access !ilderness. (he hunters and anglers ob+ect to that, of course, for they !ant to be able to use their vehicles to bring their game home, or to bring their boats to their favorite rivers and la#es. (hey also argue, !ith some +ustification, that their license fees support a great deal of environmental protection !or#. (o a corporation, dumping industrial !aste into a river may ma#e perfect sense, for alternative !ays of disposing of !aste are li#ely to cost more and diminish profits. Of course, the !aste renders the !ater less useful to !ildlife or do!nstream humans,

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!ho may !ell ob+ect. 0et telling the corporation it cannot dump may be seen as depriving it of property. ' similar problem arises !hen regulations prevent people and corporations from using land*and ma#ing money88as they had planned. 9onservatives have claimed that environmental regulations thus violate the ,ifth 'mendment to the :.). 9onstitution, !hich says .o person shall ; be deprived of ; property, !ithout due process of la!7 nor shall private property be ta#en for public use, !ithout +ust compensation. One might thin# the dangers of such things as dumping industrial !aste in rivers are obvious. 5ut scientists can and do disagree, even given the same evidence. ,or instance, a chemical in !aste may clearly cause cancer in laboratory animals. Is it therefore a danger to humans& ' scientist !or#ing for the company dumping that chemical in a river may insist that no such danger has been proven. 0et a scientist !or#ing for an environmental group such as "reenpeace may insist that the danger is obvious since carcinogens do generally affect more than one species. )cientists are human. (hey have not only employers but also values, rooted in political ideology and religion. (hey may feel that the individual matters more than corporations or society, or vice versa. (hey may favor short8term benefits over long8 term benefits, or vice versa. 'nd scientists, citi-ens, corporations, and government all reflect prevailing social attitudes. /hen 'merica !as e panding !est!ard, the focus !as on building industries, farms, and to!ns. If problems arose, there !as vacant land !aiting to be moved to. 5ut !hen the e pansion !as done, problems became more visible and less avoidable. People could see that there !ere trade8offs involved in human activity: more industry meant more +obs and more !ealth, but there !as a price in air and !ater pollution and human health $among other things%. .o!here, perhaps, are these trade8offs more obvious than in Eastern Europe. (he former )oviet :nion !as infamous for refusing to admit that industrial activity !as anything but desirable. 'nyone !ho spo#e up about environmental problems ris#ed +ail. (he result, !hich became visible to /estern nations after the fall of the Iron 9urtain in <==>, !as industrial -ones !here rivers had no fish, children !ere sic#ly, and life e pectancies !ere reduced. (he fate of the 'ral )ea, a vast inland body of !ater once home to a thriving fishery and a ma+or regional transportation route, is emblematic: 5ecause the )oviet :nion !anted to increase its cotton production, it diverted the rivers !hich delivered most of the 'ral )ea2s fresh !ater supply for irrigation. (he )ea then began to lose more !ater to evaporation than it gained, and it rapidly shran#, e posing sea8bottom so contaminated by industrial !astes and pesticides that !ind8borne dust is no! responsible for a great deal of human illness. (he fisheries are dead, and freighters lie rusting on bare ground !here once !aves lapped. THE ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT (he t!entieth century sa! immense changes in the conditions of human life and in the environment that surrounds and supports human life. 'ccording to historian 4. ?. @c.eill, in Something New Under the Sun: An Environmental History of the wentieth!"entury #orld $/. /. .orton, A>>>%, the environmental impacts that resulted from the interactions of burgeoning population, technological development, shifts in

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energy use, politics, and economics in that period are unprecedented in both degree and #ind. 0et a !orse impact may be that !e have come to accept as normal a very temporary situation that is an e treme deviation from any of the durable, more Bnormal,2 states of the !orld over the span of human history, indeed over the span of earth history. /e are thus not prepared for the inevitable and perhaps drastic changes ahead. Environmental factors cannot be denied their role in human affairs. .or can human affairs be denied their place in any effort to understand environmental change. 's @c.eill says, 5oth history and ecology are, as fields of #no!ledge go, supremely integrative. (hey merely need to integrate !ith each other. (he environmental movement, !hich gre! during the t!entieth century in response to increasing a!areness of human impacts, is a step in that direction. 0et environmental a!areness reaches bac# long before the modern environmental movement. /hen 4ohn 4ames 'udubon $<CDE8<DE<%, famous for his bird paintings, !as young, he !as an enthusiastic slaughterer of birds $some of !hich he used as models for the paintings%. Fater in life, he came to appreciate that birds !ere diminishing in numbers, as !ere the 'merican bison, and he called for conservation measures. His !as a minority voice, ho!ever. It !as not till later in the century that 4ohn @uir $<DGD8<=<H7 founder of the )ierra 9lub% began to call for the preservation of natural !ilderness, untouched by human activities. In <D=>, "ifford Pinchot $<DIE8 <=HI% found the nation ; obsessed by a fury of development. (he 'merican 9olossus !as fiercely intent on appropriating and e ploiting the riches of the richest of all continents. :nder President (heodore ?oosevelt, he became the first head of the :.). ,orest )ervice and a strong voice for conservation $not to be confused !ith preservation7 "ifford2s conservation meant using nature but in such a !ay that it !as not destroyed7 his aim !as the greatest good of the greatest number in the long run%. 5y the <=G>s, 'ldo Feopold $<DDC8<=HD%, best #no!n for his concept of the land ethic and his boo#, A Sand "ounty Almanac, could argue that !e had a responsibility not only to maintain the environment but also to repair damage done in the past. (he modern environmental movement !as #ic#started by ?achel 9arson2s Silent Spring$ In the <=E>s, she reali-ed that the use of pesticides !as having unintended conse3uences*the death of non8pest insects, foodchain accumulation of poisons and the conse3uent loss of birds, and even human illness*and meticulously documented the case. /hen her boo# !as published in <=I<, she and it !ere immediately vilified by pesticide proponents in government, academia, and industry $notably including the pesticides industry%. (here !as no problem, the critics said, the effects if any !ere !orth it, and she*a !oman1 'nd a nonscientist to boot*couldn2t possibly #no! !hat she !as tal#ing about. 5ut the facts !on out. ' decade later, 66( !as banned and other pesticides !ere regulated in !ays unheard of before 9arson spo#e out. Other issues have follo!ed or are follo!ing a similar course. (he situation before ?achel 9arson and Silent Spring is nicely captured by 4udge ?ichard 9udahy, !ho in 9oming of 'ge in the Environment, Environmental %aw& /inter A>>>, !rites, It doesnJt seem possible that before <=I> there !as no Benvironment288or at least no environmentalism. I can even remember the (hirties, !hen !e all heedlessly thre! our trash out of car !indo!s, burned coal in the home furnace

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$if !e could afford to buy any%, and used a lot of lead for everything from fishing sin#ers and paint to no8#noc# gasoline. (hose !ere the days !hen belching blac# smo#e meant a !elcome end to the 6epression and little else. Historically, humans have felt that their o!n !ell8being mattered more than anything else. (he environment e isted to be used. :nused, it !as only !ilderness or !asteland, a!aiting the human hand to improve it and ma#e it valuable. (his is not surprising at all, for the natural tendency of the human mind is to appraise all things in relation to the self, the family, and the tribe. 'n important aspect of human progress has lain in enlarging our sense of tribe to encompass nations and groups of nations. )ome no! ta#e it as far as the human species. )ome include other animals. )ome embrace plants as !ell, and bacteria, and even landscapes. (he more limited standard of value remains common. 'dd to that a sense that !ealth is not +ust desirable but a sign of virtue $the Puritans brought an e plicit version of this !ith them !hen they coloni-ed .orth 'merica7 see Fynn /hite, 4r., K(he Historical ?oots of Our Ecological 9risis,K Science, <=IC%, and it is hardly surprising that humans have used and still use the environment intensely. /e also resist any suggestion that !e should restrain our use out of regard for other living things. Our o!n needs, !e insist, come first. (he unfortunate conse3uences include the loss of other species. Fions vanished from Europe about A>>> years ago. (he dodo of @auritius !as e tinguished in the <I>>s $see the 'merican @useum of .atural History2s account at http:LL!!!.amnh.orgLe hibitionsLe peditionsLtreasureMfossilL(reasuresL6odoLdodo.html& dinos %. (he last of .orth 'merica2s passenger pigeons died in a 9incinnati -oo in <=<H $see http:LL!!!.amnh.orgLe hibitionsLe peditionsLtreasureMfossilL(reasuresLPassengerMPige onsLpigeons.html&dinos %. 9oncern for such species !as at first limited to those of obvious value to humans. In <DC<, the :.). 9ommission on ,ish and ,isheries !as created and charged !ith finding solutions to the decline in food fishes and promoting a3uaculture7 the first federal legislation designed to protect game animals !as the Facey 'ct of <=>>. Only in <=CG !as the :.). Endangered )pecies 'ct adopted to shield all species from human impacts. Other unfortunate conse3uences have included dramatic erosion, air and !ater pollution, oil spills, accumulations of ha-ardous $including nuclear% !aste, famine and disease. )ome of the many hot stove incidents that have caught public attention have been: (he 6ust 5o!l88!ind ble! soil from drought8stric#en farms in O#lahoma all the !ay to /ashington, 697 9leveland2s 9uyahoga ?iver, !hich caught fire in the <=I>s7 (he 6onora, Pennsylvania, smog crisis88in one !ee# of October <=HD, A> died and over C>>> !ere sic#ened7 (he Fondon smog crisis $6ecember <=EA*H>>> dead%, (he (orrey 9anyon and E on Nalde- oil spills, !hich fouled shores and #illed seabirds, seals, and fish7 Fove 9anal, !here industrial !astes seeped from their burial site into homes and contaminated ground !ater7

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:nion 9arbide2s to ics release at 5hopal, India $GD>> dead, up to <>>,>>> ill, according to :nion 9arbide7 others claim a higher toll%7 (he (hree @ile Island and 9hornobyl nuclear accidents7 (he decimation of elephants and rhinoceroses to satisfy a mar#et for tus#s and horns7 (he loss of forests $in <==C, fires set to clear )outheast 'sian forest lands produced so much smo#e that regional airports had to close%7 Ebola, a virus !hich #ills nine tenths of those it infects, apparently first struc# humans because gro!ing populations reached into its native habitat7 /est .ile ,ever, a mos3uito8borne virus !ith a much less deadly record, !as brought to .orth 'merica by travelers or immigrants from Egypt7 Fess visible have been acid rain, global climate change, and o-one depletion, all caused by substances released into the air by human activities.

(he alarms have been cried by many more than ?achel 9arson. ,or instance, in <=ID $!hen !orld population !as only a little over half of !hat it is today%, Paul Ehrlich2s he 'opulation (om) described the ecological threats of a rapidly gro!ing population and "arrett Hardin2s influential essay, (he (ragedy of the 9ommons described the conse3uences of using self8interest alone to guide the e ploitation of publicly8o!ned resources $such as air and !ater% $in <=CH, Hardin introduced the unpleasant concept of lifeboat ethics, !hich says that if there are not enough resources to go around, some must do !ithout%. In <=CA, a group of economists, scientists, and business leaders calling themselves (he 9lub of ?ome published he %imits to *rowth, an analysis of population, resource use, and pollution trends that predicted difficult times !ithin a century7 the study !as redone as (eyond the %imits to *rowth in <==A, using more po!erful computer models, and came to very similar conclusions. /hat has been accomplished in response to the alarms sho!s in the follo!ing list of selected :.). and :... la!s, treaties, conferences, and reports: <=IC (he :.). 'ir Ouality 'ct set standards for air pollution. <=ID (he :... 5iosphere 9onference discussed global environmental problems. <=I= (he :.). 9ongress passed the .ational Environmental Policy 'ct, !hich among other things re3uired federal agencies to prepare Environmental Impact )tatements for their pro+ects. <=C> (he first Earth 6ay demonstrated so much public concern that the Environmental Protection 'gency $EP'% !as created7 the Endangered )pecies, 9lean 'ir, and )afe 6rin#ing /ater 'cts soon follo!ed. <=CA (he :... 9onference on the Human Environment, held in )toc#holm, )!eden, recommended government action and led to the :... Environment Programme. <=C< (he :.). Environmental Pesticide 9ontrol 'ct gave the EP' authority to regulate pesticides.

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(he 9onvention on International (rade in Endangered )pecies of /ild ,auna and ,lora $9I(E)% restricted trade in threatened species7 because enforcement !as !ea#, a blac# mar#et flourished. <=CI (he :.). ?esource 9onservation and ?ecovery and (o ic )ubstances 9ontrol 'cts established control over ha-ardous !astes and other to ic substances. <=C= (he 9onvention on Fong8?ange (ransboundary 'ir Pollution addressed problems such as acid rain $recogni-ed to cross national borders in <=CA%. <=DA (he Fa! of the )ea addressed marine pollution and conservation. <=DA (he second :... 9onference on the Human Environment $the )toc#holm P<> 9onference% rene!ed concerns and set up a commission to prepare a global agenda for change, leading to the <=DC 5rundtland ?eport $+ur "ommon ,uture%. <=DG (he :.). Environmental Protection 'gency and the :.). .ational 'cademy of )cience issued reports calling attention to the prospect of global !arming as a conse3uence of the release of greenhouse gases such as carbon dio ide. <=DC (he @ontreal Protocol $strengthened in <==A% re3uired nations to phase out use of chlorofluorocarbons $9,9s%, the chemicals responsible for stratospheric o-one depletion. <=DC (he 5asel 9onvention controlled cross8border movement of ha-ardous !astes. <=DD (he :... assembled the Intergovernmental Panel on 9limate 9hange, !hich !ould report in <==E, <==D, and A>>< that the dangers of global !arming !ere real, large, and increasingly ominous. <==A (he :... 9onvention on 5iological 6iversity re3uired nations to act to protect species diversity. <==A (he :... 9onference on Environment and 6evelopment $(he Earth )ummit, held in ?io de 4aneiro, 5ra-il% issued a broad call for environmental protections. <==A (he :... 9onvention on 9limate 9hange urged restrictions on carbon dio ide release to avoid climate change <==H (he :... 9onference on Population and 6evelopment $held in 9airo, Egypt% called for stabili-ing and reducing global population gro!th, largely by improving !omen2s access to education and health care. <==C (he Qyoto Protocol attempted to strengthen the <==A 9onvention on 9limate 9hange by re3uiring reductions in carbon dio ide emissions, but :.). resistance limited success. A>>> (he (reaty on Persistent Organic Pollutants re3uired nations to phase out use of many pesticides and other chemicals. A>>A (he :... /orld )ummit on )ustainable 6evelopment, held in 4ohannesburg, )outh 'frica, brought together representatives of governments, nongovernmental organi-ations, businesses, and other groups to e amine difficult challenges, including improving peopleJs lives and conserving our natural resources in a !orld that is gro!ing in

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population, !ith ever8increasing demands for food, !ater, shelter, sanitation, energy, health services and economic security. ?achel 9arson !ould surely have been pleased by these responses, for they suggest both concern over the problems identified and determination to solve those problems. 5ut she !ould +ust as surely have been frustrated, for a simple listing of la!s, treaties, and reports does nothing to reveal the endless !rangling and the !ay political and business forces try to bloc# progress !henever it is seen as interfering !ith their interests. 'greement on banning chlorofluorocarbons !as relatively easy to achieve because 9,9s !ere not seen as essential to civili-ation and there !ere substitutes available. ?estraining greenhouse gas emissions is harder because !e see fossil fuels as essential and though substitutes may e ist, they are so far more e pensive.

THE GLOBALI,ATION OF THE ENVIRONMENT 0ears ago, it !as possible to see environmental problems as local. ' smo#estac# belched smo#e and made the air foul. ' city sul#ed beneath a layer of smog. 5ison or passenger pigeons declined in numbers and even vanished. ?ats flourished in a dump !here burning garbage produced clouds of smo#e and runoff contaminated streams and ground!ater and made !ells unusable. )e!age, chemical !astes, and oil #illed the fish in streams, la#es, rivers, and harbors. (o ic chemicals such as lead and mercury entered the food chain and affected the health of both !ildlife and people. 5y the <=I>s, it !as becoming clear that environmental problems did not respect borders. )mo#e blo!s !ith the !ind, carrying one locality2s contamination to others. /ater flo!s to the sea, carrying se!age and other !astes !ith it. 5irds migrate, carrying !ith them !hatever to ins they have absorbed !ith their food. In <=CA, researchers !ere able to report that most of the acid rain falling on )!eden came from other countries. Other researchers have sho!n that the rise and fall of the ?oman Empire can be trac#ed in "reenland, !here glaciers preserve lead8containing dust deposited over the millennia*the amount rises as ?ome flourished, falls !ith the 6ar# 'ges, and rises again !ith the ?enaissance and Industrial ?evolution (oday !e #no! that pesticides and other chemicals can sho! up in places $such as the 'rctic% !here they have never been used, even years after their use has been discontinued. (he <=C= 9onvention on Fong8?ange (ransboundary 'ir Pollution has been strengthened several times !ith amendments to address persistent organic pollutants, heavy metals, and other pollutants. /e are also a!are of ne! environmental problems that e ist only in a global sense. O-one depletion, first identified in the stratosphere over 'ntarctica, threatens to increase the amount of ultraviolet light reaching the ground, and

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thereby increase the incidence of s#in cancer and cataracts, among other things. (he cause is the use by the industriali-ed !orld of chlorofluorocarbons $9,9s% in refrigeration, air conditioning, aerosol cans, and electronics $for cleaning grease off circuit boards%. (he effect is global. /orse yet, the cause is rooted in northern lands such as the :nited )tates and Europe, but the !orst effects may be felt !here the sun shines brightest, in the tropics, !hich are dominated by developing nations. ' serious issue of +ustice or e3uity is therefore involved. ' similar problem arises !ith global !arming, !hich is also rooted in the industriali-ed !orld and its use of fossil fuels. (he e pected climate effects !ill hurt !orst the poorer nations of the tropics, and perhaps !orst of all those on lo!8lying )outh Pacific islands, !hich are e pecting to be !holly inundated by rising seas. 5oth the developed and the developing !orld are a!are of the difficulties posed by environmental issues. In Europe, green political parties play a gro!ing part in government. In 4apan, some environmental regulations are more demanding than those of the :nited )tates. 6eveloping nations understandably place dealing !ith their gro!ing populations high on their list of priorities, but they play an important role in :. conferences on environmental issues, often demanding more responsible behavior from developed nations such as the :nited )tates $!hich often resists these demands7 it has refused to ratify international agreements such as the Qyoto Protocol%. /estern scholars have been #no!n to suggest that developing nations should forgo industrial development because if their huge populations ever attain the same per8capita environmental impact as the populations of !ealthier lands, the !orld !ill be laid !aste. It is not at all hard to understand !hy the developing nations ob+ect to such suggestions, for they too !ant a better standard of living. .or do they thin# it fair that they suffer for the environmental sins of others. 're global environmental problems so threatening that nations must surrender their sovereignty to international bodies& )hould the :) or Europe have to change energy supplies to protect )outh Pacific nations& )hould developing nations be obliged to reduce birth rates or forgo development because their population gro!th is seen as e acerbating pollution or threatening biodiversity& Ouestions such as these play an important part in global debates today. (hey are not easy to ans!er, but their very e istence says something important about the general field of environmental studies. (his field is based in the science of ecology, a !ord !hose root is that same oikos !ith !hich I began. Ecology focuses on living things and their interactions !ith each other and their surroundings. It deals !ith resources and limits and coe istence. It can see problems, their causes, and even potential solutions. 'nd it can turn its attention as easily on human beings as on deer mice. 0et human beings are not mice. /e have economies and political systems, vested interests, and conflicting priorities and values. Ecology is only one part of environmental studies. Other sciences*chemistry, physics, climatology, epidemiology, geology, and more*are involved. )o are economics, history, la!, and politics. Even religion can play a part.

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:nfortunately, no one field sees enough of the !hole to predict problems $the chemists !ho developed 9,9s could hardly have been e pected to reali-e !hat !ould happen if these chemicals reached the stratosphere%. Environmental studies is a field for teams. (hat is, it is a holistic, multidisciplinary field. (his gives us an important basic principle to use !hen evaluating arguments on either side of any environmental issue: 'rguments that fail to recogni-e the comple ity of the issue are necessarily suspect. On the other hand, arguments that endeavor to convey the full comple ity of an issue may be impossible to understand7 a middle ground is essential for clarity, but any reader or student must reali-e that something important may be being left out. CURRENT ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES In A>><, the .ational ?esearch 9ouncil2s 9ommittee on "rand 9hallenges in Environmental )ciences published *rand "hallenges in Environmental Sciences $.ational 'cademy Press, A>><% in an effort to reach a +udgment regarding the most important environmental research challenges of the ne t generation*the areas most li#ely to yield results of ma+or scientific and practical importance if pursued vigorously no!. (hese areas include: 5iogeochemical cycles $the cycling of plant nutrients, the !ays human activities affect them, and the conse3uences for ecosystem functioning, atmospheric chemistry, and human activities% 5iological diversity 9limate variability Hydrologic forecasting $ground!ater, floods;% Infectious diseases ?esource use Fand use ?einventing the use of materials $recycling%

)ome of these "rand 9hallenges are covered in this boo#. (here are of course a great many other environmental issues88many more than can be covered in any one boo# such as this one. I have not tried to deal here !ith invasive species, the Endangered )pecies 'ct, the removal of dams to restore populations of anadromous fishes such as salmon, the depletion of a3uifers, floodplain development, urban planning, or many others. @y sample of the variety available begins !ith the more philosophical issues. ,or instance, I said above that many people believed $and still believe% that nature has value only !hen turned to human benefit. One conse3uence of this belief is that it may be easier to convince people that nature is !orth protecting if one can someho! calculate a cash value for nature in the ra!. )ome environmentalists ob+ect to even trying to do this, on the grounds that economic value is not the only value, or even the value that should matter. $)ee Issue <.%

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/hat other values might !e consider& Perhaps nature has a value all its o!n, or a right to e ist unmolested. Perhaps human property rights should ta#e precedence $see Issue G%. Perhaps !e should strive for social +ustice $Issue H%. (here is also considerable debate over the precautionary principle, !hich says in essence that even if !e are not sure that our actions !ill have unfortunate conse3uences, !e should ta#e precautions +ust in case $see Issue E%. (his principle plays an important part in many environmental debates, from those over the value of preserving biodiversity $Issue A% or the !isdom of opening the 'rctic .ational /ildlife ?efuge to oil drilling $Issue I% to the folly $or !isdom% of burying nuclear !aste under 0ucca @ountain in .evada $Issue <H%. )hould !e be concerned about the environmental impacts of specific human actions or products& Here too !e can consider opening the 'rctic .ational /ildlife ?efuge to oil drilling $Issue I%, as !ell as the conflict bet!een the value of 66( for preventing malaria and its impact on ecosystems $Issue C%, the hormone8li#e effects of some pesticides and other chemicals on both !ildlife and humans $Issue =%, and the ha-ards of air pollutants $Issue <>% and global !arming $Issue <<%. "enetic engineering promises to do !onders for food production, but some !orry about effects on ecosystems $Issue D%. /aste disposal is a problem area all its o!n. It encompasses not only nuclear !aste $Issue <H%, but also ha-ardous $Issue <A% and municipal !aste $Issue <G%. ' ne! angle on ha-ardous !aste comes from the popularity of the personal computer*or more specifically, from the huge numbers of P9s that are discarded each year. /hat solutions are available& )ome are specific to particular issues, as recycling is to !aste handling $Issue <G%. )ome are more general, as !e might e pect as soon as !e hear someone spea# of population gro!th as a primary cause of environmental problems $Issue <E% $there is some truth to this, for if the human population !ere small enough, its environmental impact*no matter ho! sloppy people !ere*!ould also be small%. )ome analysts argue that !hatever solutions !e need, government need not impose them all. Private industry can be trusted to find and implement enough solutions voluntarily to reduce the need for regulations $Issue <C%. (his can be aided, perhaps, if government can find a !ay to motivate industry, as !ith the idea of tradable pollution rights $Issue <I%. (he overall aim, of course, is to avoid disaster and enable human life and civili-ation to continue prosperously into the future. (he term for this is sustainable development $see Issue <D%, and it !as the chief concern of the :... /orld )ummit on )ustainable 6evelopment, held in 4ohannesburg, )outh 'frica, in 'ugust A>>A. On the other hand, there are people !ho thin# this is a non8issue, for today people are better off than ever before in history and environmentalism might more honestly be called e aggerationism $see Issue <=%. (homas '. Easton (homas 9ollege

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

INTRODUCTION

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