The Environmental Movement in the US

1

• The Environmental Movement in the US
• Increasing Awareness of Environmental Issues
• Extensive scientific scrutiny
• Intense media coverage
• Global communication technology
• New Technology
• Satellite-based sensors
• Automated monitoring equipment
• Powerful computers
• Real-time communication

2

• Recent Environmental Trends
• Increasing concentrations of atmospheric carbon
  dioxide
• Reduction in thickness of ozone layer over the
  poles
• Warming of troposphere and surface waters in
  ocean rise in sea level
• Environmental accidents at Three Mile Island,
  Chernobyl, Bhopal, Gulf of Mexico, Fukushima
  Daiichi nuclear plant, etc.
• Declining populations of many species
• Loss of forests and other habitats to development
• Increasing global population of humans

3

• No Clear Cut Issues
• How do we know that increasing CO2
  concentrations, ozone holes and global warming
  are abnormal?
• Accidents are inevitable the benefits of nuclear
  power and modern chemicals outweigh the costs
• Nobody really knows how many species there are on
  earth, and population declines or extinctions are
  part of a natural process
• Forests are far from gone, and responsible
  logging and replanting of trees makes good use of
  an important, renewable resource
• How do we judge whether or not there are too many
  people on earth?

4

• Hyperbole
• Extravagant exaggeration, often to make a point
• Why use hyperbole? Why not just stick to the
  unembellished facts?
• Because your opponents are using it
• Because the ends justify the means
• Many environmentalists feel that they cant
  afford to lose, even once

5

• Is There an Environmental Crisis?
• YES
• Global environmental problems are placing natural
  and human systems at risk
• Development is displacing and destroying critical
  ecosystems (e.g. wetlands, forests)
• Large areas of public land, including national
  forest, arent being managed sustainably
• Fresh water sources are being consumed and
  contaminated at an alarming rate
• Overfishing is critically depleting our most
  important commercial fisheries

6

• Is There an Environmental Crisis?
• YES
• Cleanup and disposal of waste has become
  increasingly difficult
• Indirect sources of pollution (e.g. runoff) have
  become progressively worse
• Farmlands are suffering from a loss of soil and
  excessive use of chemicals (leads to salt
  buildup, decreasing fertility, etc.)
• Fresh water aquifers are being consumed and
  contaminated at an alarming rate
• Dead Sea level dropping by 1 m y-1
• Colorado River

7

• Is There an Environmental Crisis?
• NO
• Humans are living longer and healthier lives than
  ever
• Manufacturing processes of all kinds are more
  efficient and less wasteful than before
• Air and water quality are good and improving
• Costs of goods and services are at all-time lows
• Estimates of species extinction rates and climate
  change are overstated and unfounded
• The earth is rich in resources with many still
  undiscovered

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• Criteria for Crisis
• Overpopulation
• PROBLEM
• From beginning of human species to end of World
  War II gt10,000 generations to reach a world
  population of a little more than 2 billion people
• Past 67 years global population has gone from
  just over 2 billion to an estimated 7.04 billion,
  and in another 38 years its projected to exceed
  9 billion!
• Global population currently increasing at a rate
  of 8900 people per hour!

PopClock
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• Criteria for Crisis
• Overpopulation
• PROBLEM
• Worlds developed nations contain lt25 of global
  population but use more than 75 of worlds raw
  material consumption annually
• Over their lifetime, an American child born today
  will have more than 30 times the environmental
  impact of a child born in India

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• Criteria for Crisis
• Overpopulation
• NO PROBLEM
• On average, people are living longer and eating
  better than ever (Simon, Lomborg)
• A smaller percentage of people is dying from
  famine than ever before
• Main problem isnt overpopulation, its limited
  access to resources
• Prices of food and commodities are lower now than
  ever before, indicating greater resource
  availability, not scarcity

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I US, UK, Canada, Aus, NZ
II Japan
III France, Germany, Netherlands, Scandinavia
IV Rest of W. Europe, E. Europe, Latin America, Former Soviet Union
V Asia (except Japan), Africa
http//minneapolisfed.org/pubs/region/04-05/figure
3.cfm
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• Criteria for Crisis
• Overpopulation
• NO PROBLEM
• Long-term increases in population lead to
  advances in technology that result (in the long
  run) in lower prices (Simon, Lomborg)
• People create resources
• Population Increase ? Increased Demand ? Resource
  Shortage ? Price Increase ? Entrepreneurism and
  Technological Innovation ? Increased Resource
  Availability ? Price Decrease
• The Ultimate Resource

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Table 21.2Resource Prices Indexed to Wages, 1950-90(Relative to 1990 Baseline) Table 21.2Resource Prices Indexed to Wages, 1950-90(Relative to 1990 Baseline) Table 21.2Resource Prices Indexed to Wages, 1950-90(Relative to 1990 Baseline) Table 21.2Resource Prices Indexed to Wages, 1950-90(Relative to 1990 Baseline) Table 21.2Resource Prices Indexed to Wages, 1950-90(Relative to 1990 Baseline) Table 21.2Resource Prices Indexed to Wages, 1950-90(Relative to 1990 Baseline) Table 21.2Resource Prices Indexed to Wages, 1950-90(Relative to 1990 Baseline)
Resource 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 Change ()1950-90
Fooda 386 210 145 161 100 -74
Lumber 170 114 95 126 100 -41
Paper 139 121 97 104 100 -28
Mineralsb 194 147 179 217 100 -48
Energyc 184 126 74 138 100 -46
SOURCE Moore, pp. 18-19, 23, 30-31, 40.aIncludes barley, broilers, carrots, cattle, corn, cotton, eggs, milk, oats, oranges, rice, sorghum, soybeans, wheat and wool.bIncludes aluminum, antimony, copper, lead, magnesium, manganese, mercury, nickel, platinum, silver, tin, tungsten and zinc.cIncludes coal, electricity, natural gas and oil. SOURCE Moore, pp. 18-19, 23, 30-31, 40.aIncludes barley, broilers, carrots, cattle, corn, cotton, eggs, milk, oats, oranges, rice, sorghum, soybeans, wheat and wool.bIncludes aluminum, antimony, copper, lead, magnesium, manganese, mercury, nickel, platinum, silver, tin, tungsten and zinc.cIncludes coal, electricity, natural gas and oil. SOURCE Moore, pp. 18-19, 23, 30-31, 40.aIncludes barley, broilers, carrots, cattle, corn, cotton, eggs, milk, oats, oranges, rice, sorghum, soybeans, wheat and wool.bIncludes aluminum, antimony, copper, lead, magnesium, manganese, mercury, nickel, platinum, silver, tin, tungsten and zinc.cIncludes coal, electricity, natural gas and oil. SOURCE Moore, pp. 18-19, 23, 30-31, 40.aIncludes barley, broilers, carrots, cattle, corn, cotton, eggs, milk, oats, oranges, rice, sorghum, soybeans, wheat and wool.bIncludes aluminum, antimony, copper, lead, magnesium, manganese, mercury, nickel, platinum, silver, tin, tungsten and zinc.cIncludes coal, electricity, natural gas and oil. SOURCE Moore, pp. 18-19, 23, 30-31, 40.aIncludes barley, broilers, carrots, cattle, corn, cotton, eggs, milk, oats, oranges, rice, sorghum, soybeans, wheat and wool.bIncludes aluminum, antimony, copper, lead, magnesium, manganese, mercury, nickel, platinum, silver, tin, tungsten and zinc.cIncludes coal, electricity, natural gas and oil. SOURCE Moore, pp. 18-19, 23, 30-31, 40.aIncludes barley, broilers, carrots, cattle, corn, cotton, eggs, milk, oats, oranges, rice, sorghum, soybeans, wheat and wool.bIncludes aluminum, antimony, copper, lead, magnesium, manganese, mercury, nickel, platinum, silver, tin, tungsten and zinc.cIncludes coal, electricity, natural gas and oil. SOURCE Moore, pp. 18-19, 23, 30-31, 40.aIncludes barley, broilers, carrots, cattle, corn, cotton, eggs, milk, oats, oranges, rice, sorghum, soybeans, wheat and wool.bIncludes aluminum, antimony, copper, lead, magnesium, manganese, mercury, nickel, platinum, silver, tin, tungsten and zinc.cIncludes coal, electricity, natural gas and oil.
http//www.cato.org/pubs/chapters/marlib21.html