5 posts tagged “p”

In this wider perspective it is clearly far too soon to judge whether modern industrialized societies, with their very high rates of energy and resource consumption and high pollution levels, and the rapidly rising human population in the rest of the world are ecologically sustainable. Past human actions have left contemporary societies with an almost insuperably difficult set of problems to solve

 Clive Pointing in A Green History of The World, 1991

The fact that a breakdown has not so far occurred does not guarantee that it will not happen. Many societies in the past believed that they had a sustainable way of life only to find some time later that it was not so and that they were unable to make the social, economic and political changes necessary for survival. The problem for all human societies has been to find a means of extracting from the environment their food, clothing and shelter and other goods in a way that does not render it incapable of supporting them. Some damage is clearly inevitable. Some depradation is tolerable. The challenge has been to anticipate or recognise at what point the environment is being badly degraded by the demands placed upon it and to find the political, economic and social means to respond accordingly. Some societies have succeeded in finding the right balance, some have failed.

In the wider perspective it is clearly far too soon to judge whether modern industrialised societies, with their very high rates of energy and resource consumption and high pollution levels, and the rapidly rising human population in the rest of the world are ecologically sustainable. Past human actions have left contemporary societies with an almost insuperable difficult set of problems to solve.

Clive Ponting in A Green History of The World, 1991

Finally, we should try other solutions than those presented by the current rulers as the one and only possibility and thus as truth. Will anything be a truth because it always was so? How would you prove a truth, without risking to try something or somehow different? It cannot presently be expressed more beautiful than by the minister Karl Marti in his short poem:

Where would we end,

when everybody said:

Where would we end,

and nobody went

looking for the end

available where we may go.

We should go and look! Would you join?

            Hans A Pestalozzi: Nach uns die Zukunft (After us the Future), 1979

The claim is often made that human beings are rational creatures, that people are capable of planning ahead and regulating their affairs accordingly, and that the world can be shaped to satisfy all human desires. But the evidence calls thee beliefs into question. Population explosions and associated overshoots of the carrying capacity of the environment have been common throughout human history, and the cancerous growth of the industrial society casts considerable doubt on the notion that the situation has fundamentally changed. What is now needed is a bold new step in social evolution that will put man’s favourable view of himself to the test. To make this step, a preferred and ecologically sound human future must be outlined, and social efforts and expectations must be modified to conform to it. This is not an impossibility, but it will required marshalling the intellectual resources of all societies and the acceptance of some sacrifices on the part of many individuals, especially in the overdeveloped countries.

The alternatives for mankind are now very clear. People can continue to ignore the dangerous consequences of present behaviour and painfully adjust to the inevitable through a series of crises. Or mankind can face up to the challenges and begin now to manage the future of the planet and the ecosphere. There can be no doubt that mankind must eventually come to terms with environmental imperatives; the only question that remains is which path will be taken.

            Dennis C Pirages and Paul R Ehrlich: Ark II – Social Response to Environmental Imperatives, 1974

Therefore, we must start now to make the slow transition from our dependence on fossil fuels to the development of solar energy power as our major energy resource. For the to be self-sustaining in solar energy, given our land, water, and biological resources, our population should be less than 100 million – significantly less than the current level of 252 million. If, however, the current population level is sustained, a drastic reduction in standards of living will follow.

With a population of forty to one hundred million, the USA could become self-sustaining on solar energy while maintaining a quality environment, provided that sound energy conservation and environmental policies were in effect to preserve soil, water, air and biological resources that sustain life. With these far-reaching changes, we feel confident that future generations of Americans would be able to enjoy prosperity and have a high standard of living. Starting to deal with the future before it reaches crisis-level is the only way we will be able to avert real tragedy for our children’s children. Through education, fail population control, sound resource policies, the support of scientific research, and the effort of all people, we will be able to face the future with optimism and pride.

            David and Marcia Pimentel in Lindsey Grant (Ed.): Elephants in the Volkswagen, 1992