books
Antienvironmental Backlash Reviewed by Ralph J. Cicerone
M
edia stories that are skeptical about environmental problems are cropping up everywhere. I see, for example, a growing number of books that purport to show that humans are not causing the ozone layer to thin or that there's no reason to be concerned about global climate change. And there is increasing coverage of those who deny the reality of these problems. Like others involved in atmospheric chemistry research, I've been amazed by this turn of events. Why is it that years after compelling evidence showed otherwise, we are now hearing that chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) cannot rise into the upper atmosphere, that chlorine released from CFCs is unimportant compared with natural chlorine from volcanoes and sea spray, and that ozone-layer losses—if they are occurring at all—are purely natural? How can anyone believe that the Montreal protocol to regulate and end CFC usage arose from a conspiracy between large chemical companies and National Aeronautics & Space Administration scientists? Why does a ranking congressman call global warming "liberal claptrap"? Paul and Anne Ehrlich have watched this trend as well, and have responded ambitiously by writing "Betrayal of Science and Reason: How Anti-Environmental Rhetoric Threatens Our Future." They call the problem environmental "brownlash," which they describe as a backlash against "green" policies. They provide examples, analyze contributing events and causes, and warn of consequences. The book covers topics as diverse as human population and food supplies, mineral and energy resources and consumption, biological diversity and endangered species, air pollution, ozone depletion and global climate change, toxic substances, environmental economics, politics, and how the media work. This hugely ambitious scope is matched by extraordinarily extensive documentation of where brownlash statements have appeared. This thoroughness provides the underpinning for the Ehrlichs' claims and complaints.
I can think of no one else with the combination of intellect, experience, and motivation needed to write this book. Anne Erhlich is a senior research associate in biological sciences at Stanford University, where Paul is a professor of popNASA photo
False color image from satellite data of Antarctic ozone hole, September 1992.
Political polarization on environmental issues can override science, at least in the short term 'Betrayal of Science and Reason: How Anti-Environmental Rhetoric Threatens Our Future," by Paul R. Ehrlich and Anne H. Ehrlich, Island Press, 1718 Connecticut Ave., N.W., Suite 300, Washington, D.C. 2(K)09, 1996, 334 pages, $24.95 (ISBN 1-55963-483-9)
ulation studies and biological sciences. Both are also environmental activists, writers, and press-sawy international figures who are experienced in public policy debates and know how to interact with economists. The Ehrlichs approach environmental problems with scientific rigor and encyclopedic knowledge but also argumenta-
tively, with a strong point of view. They (especially Paul) have long been principal targets of antienvironmental writers and politicians. Paul's 1968 book, "The Population Bomb," attracted enormous attention and admiration, on the one hand, but also disagreement and disdain. Much of the criticism of this book came many years after it was published, when it was realized that worid fertility rates, at modern highs in the mid-1960s, actually began to decline around 1968. I'm glad the Ehrlichs wrote this book because I also sense some danger from environmental backlash, and I see a stable of causes behind it. The polarization that now characterizes many environmental discussions (and much of society) stems mostly, I think, from economics and ideology. Increasingly, however, advocates of opposing positions claim to use science to justify their positions. The news media feel obliged to publicize these "scientific" disagreements, even when the weight of evidence is mostly on one side. Another factor polarizing discussions has been the proliferation of organizations with environmental interests. Twenty years ago, reporters covering environmental problems usually sought comments from independent scientists with environmental expertise, and advocacy groups had to react to initial coverage that was generally unbiased. By 10 years ago, both environmental groups and affected industries had acquired in-house scientific experts whose job was to issue press releases and get media attention. Now reporters rarely seek out researchers unaffiliated with interest groups, and the public mostly hears strong positions from opposing sides. It's a situation pleasing to lawyers, perhaps, but it's not designed to bring scientific objectivity to environmental issues. Another trend I notice is that since about 1993, perhaps in conscious reaction to having a prominent environmentalist as vice president of the U.S., some news media seem to have minimized the importance they give to environmental issues that earlier had great prominence. Another factor contributing to the backlash may be general antigovernment sentiment that makes any government regulation—and even its research supportsuspect in some minds. In addition, the international character of global environmental issues means that they are engaging the attention of the United Nations, an agency that attracts significant criticism, some of it unfair. APRIL 7, 1997 C&EN 55
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More discontent about environmental protection arises because it costs money, at least in the short term. Installation of emission-control devices on cars attracted complaints, at first, mostly over costs. By now, though, the benefits of reducing air pollution and engineering changes that have improved performance and contained costs seem to have satisfied most people. In the early debates about CFCs, most citizens were willing to give up aerosol spray cans, products that owed much of their sales to heavy advertising. Now it's refrigerators and air conditioners that must be replaced or retrofitted for substitute fluids. Some price gouging is occurring, and some consumers are complaining. It's hard for the public to understand a crisis that was averted, especially when the indications that the crisis was ever real came from scientific instruments, rather than naked eyes. Conservative economist P. C. Roberts has written angrily in Business Week about agreements to ban CFCs. He seems to say that because it costs money to replace CFCs, the underlying science must be wrong. This kind of failure to understand the difference between scientific research and subsequent political and business decisions contributes to the polarization of society over the environment. The Ehrlichs systematically examine "brownlash" and antiscience rhetoric. Environmental scientists have ignored some of the good news about the environment, they admit. But they also identify and assault a number of fables that are being propagated. Among these are the idea that population growth does not cause environmental damage; that humanity is on the verge of abolishing hunger, rather than that food scarcity is indicative of overpopulation; that natural resources are superabundant, if not infinite; that global warming and acid rain are not serious threats to humanity; that stratospheric ozone depletion is a hoax; that risks from toxic substances are vastly exaggerated; and that environmental regulation is wrecking the economy. The Ehrlichs' presentations are well researched, at least on the issues within my ken. In this book, the Ehrlichs take on some very broad issues like how environmental protection requires that traditional economics be modified. They outline how common measures of economic activity like the gross national product and gross domestic product miss the mark by failing to place value on natural services such as
pollination by wild bees or on irreplacable biological species. They plow some fairly new ground when they provide estimates of the high value of the natural environment and its services to humans. I doubt that it will be easy for the world to agree on new methods of "green accounting," but it's clear that needless destruction of parts of the environment must carry costs, even if they are not obvious today. Recall Aldo Leopold's reminder that for a person to be a successful tinkerer requires, at a minimum, that all the parts be saved. Science can enable us to sort through problems of population, consumption, and environmental quality that we face today. When we fail to use science, we're in trouble because the default position is to have poorly informed but forceful advocates battle over ideology and settle disputes solely by compromise or political might. Although political judgments often have—and should have—the last word, the steady application of science to these issues offers us so much because of science's self-correcting nature. My own annoyance with political polarization is that it can override the scientific process, at least in the short term. The Ehrlichs are right when they reserve their strongest ire for brownlashers who misuse, distort, or ignore scientific process and data. The 1996 elections show that Americans do value the environment and expect the government to prevent its trashing. The brownlashers whom the Ehrlichs confront have made a few valid points, but they would be wise to adopt more responsible and less adversarial positions from now on. To the Ehrlichs, there seems to be a continuum on any issue that flows from scientific analysis through policy actions. Most scientists see a separation and consciously avoid crossing the boundary into policy debates. The Ehrlichs urge more— indeed, all—scientists to enter the public fray. There may not be room for many scientists to be as active as the Ehrlichs are. I think the Ehrlichs themselves realize this, because they suggest a wide spectrum of actions from mild to very pointed that scientists can undertake to express concern about environmental issues. This is a book that aims to convince its readers, not to entertain them. Ralph J. Cicerone, dean ofphysical sciences at the University of California, Irvine, is Daniel Aldrich Professor of Earth System Science and of Chemistry.^
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