Environment In Peril

E /\J'I Edited by Anthony B. Wolbarst Archbishop Mitty High School Library 5000 Mitty Way San Jose, CA 95129 Smithsonian Institution Press Washington and London 7 Copyright © r99r by the Smithsonian Institution. All rights are reserved. Chapter rr, copyright r990 by Carl Sagan. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Environment in Peril / edited by Anthony B. Wolbarst. p. cm. ISBN 1-56098-092-3 l. Man-Influence on nature. 2. Environmental protection. 3. Environmental policy. 4. Population. 5. Pollution. 6. Conservation of natural resources. I. Wolbarst, Anthony B. GF75.E56 1991 383.7-dc20 91-17500 CIP British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data is available. @The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials 239.48-1984. Printed in the United States of America 4 3 10 9 8 7 6 200 99 98 97 96 95 94 93 For permission to reproduce individual illustrations appearing in this book, please correspond directly with the owners of the images, as stated in the picture captions. The Smithsonian Institution Press does not retain reproduction rights for these illustrations individually or maintain a file of addresses for photo sources. Contents Vll lX THOMAS E. LOVEJOY Foreword ANTHONY B. WOLBARST AND RICHARD J. Preface RALPH NADER The Management of Environmental Violence: Regulation or Reluctance! JOHN KENNETH GALBRAITH The Economic Case for the Environment BARRY COMMONER The Failure of the Environmental Effort JAMES GUSTAVE SPETH "Can the World Be Saved!" JAY o. HAIR Should EPA Have Cabinet Status! JACQUES cousTEAu A Global View of Environmental Problems PAUL EHRLICH Can We Respond to the Growing Environmental Threat to Civilization! MICHAEL H. ROBINSON Environmental Problems in the Tropics GUIMOND 2 26 38 64 82 96 no 140 V 154 LESTER BROWN The Battle for the Planet: A Status Report 188 202 vi The End of the Beginning CARL SA GAN Croesus and Cassandra: Policy Response to Global Change RUSSELL PETERSON I ! Foreword It is hardly news that the environment is in peril, but what is constantly new is what people are doing about it. The Smithsonian in association with the Environmental Protection Agency takes pride in publishing presentations by some of the most eloquent American voices in the field of environment, with all the spontaneity that EPA's seminar series was intended to foster. The contributors to this volume represent no Greek chorus, but rather a medley of creative individual offerings. Those who have worked as long and hard as these authors might well have become hardened and cynical, ultimately naught but voices of the Apocalypse. Rather, these are profound optimists, perennially engaging and engaged in what Ralph Nader terms the "battle for people's minds." The book reflects the relative homogeneity of the profession of environmental protection although that is changing. Most of us, myself included, are male and privileged by education. I do not raise this to detract in any sense from these individuals, but rather to emphasize that we need all the help we can get. Environment will neverrise to its truly proper place on the national agenda until it is a high priority for us all. The press of human numbers and the accelerating toll we are taking on the environment constitute a challenge of overpowering magnitude. Time is short indeed, and society is seriously entrenched in its ways. How possibly can a bureaucracy such as EPA maintain the flexibility and openness necessary to cope? One way is to continually refresh by listen­ ing to unfettered viewpoints from outside. That is what this volume is