Comment M The loss of innocence any have said that the world changed on the morning of September 11 when the twin towers of the World Trade Center were attacked and then crumbled in a massive cloud of dust and debris. Many have said that the events on that day signaled the beginning of a war. As in all wars of the past, this is one that is portrayed as good against evil, civilization versus barbarism, and right against wrong. We are prone under these circumstances to draw perhaps too many conclusions, to extrapolate from the simple to the complex, from the provincial to the global. Those who carry some long-abiding grudge bring it out and connect it in some way to the events on September 11, attaching to the highjackings more symbolism than they deserve. Perhaps, in principle, they are no different than a mugging on a street corner, or a senseless murder of an innocent person by a deranged criminal. On the other hand, perhaps it is too soon to know the significance of these few hours. Perhaps indeed they will be seen someday as a turning point in human history. Like you, I have contemplated this possibility but I cannot yet fully deal with it. I cannot comprehend my feelings about these events, the terrorists, or know how I should proceed. I do feel, however, that many issues that I thought were important are not so important to me now. This is the effect of illness or death when it happens to those whom you love; it brings into clear focus our essential human traits to survive and to protect those who are closest to us. This is not the time for us to be egalitarian or to seek out new pathways; it is a time to hunker down close to home. This is not a time to be frivolous. This is a time to be cautious.
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© 2001 American Chemical Society
In this setting, one wonders how we as a nation, or as a society, will deal with our obligations to the environment, to endangered species, and to endangered people. Will there be a tendency for us to put these issues away, at least for now? In the light of the terrorism against New York and Washington, will drilling in the arctic wilderness lose the symbolism that it had on September 10? Will whether dioxins are human carcinogens seem so trivial when compared with the prospect of a massive anthrax attack that we will lose interest in the question? Will the question of 10 versus 50 ppm of arsenic in drinking water seem comical when compared to the growing awareness of the poverty and massive suffering in Afghanistan that we see on CNN almost daily? Will our need to draw our families close to us for protection make us forget about the extinction of tigers or the loss of wetlands? Who will care if these and other treasures of nature are lost if we feel subconsciously that we may be faced with our own extinction? When the crumbling towers stabbed massive pieces of steel superstructure through the streets at the base of the World Trade Center, was it in fact our hearts that were stabbed? Did we lose that day some of the innocence and humanity that was the font of the environmental movement? Only time will tell.
William H. Glaze, Editor (
[email protected])
NOVEMBER 1, 2001 / ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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