Title: Growth vs. environment.

POPLINE Document Number: 075226

Author(s):

Smith ET

Source citation:

BUSINESS WEEK, 1992 May 11;:66-75.

Abstract:

The environmental issues in preparation for the June 1992 UN Summit in Rio de Janeiro are presented. The thesis is best expressed in Donella and Dennis Meadows' book "Beyond the Limits," which states that human activity has precipitated conditions that have pushed the earth beyond its ecological limits. Inaction will ultimately lead to global catastrophe. These ideas were ridiculed 20 years ago, but now the emotional response is worry. The vision of UN agencies and think tanks is to promote sustainable development as a way to balance human activity with nature's ability to renew itself. Closed-loop manufacturing that emits no discharges, reducing customer-use patterns of toxic products, manufacturing with recyclables or choosing the least harmful materials, and more efficient products are all being considered or implemented by industry. Companies such as Royal Dutch/Shell Group; AT&T Bell Laboratories; Gyproc, a wallboard maker; Dow Chemical; 3M; Du Pont; and Monsanto are involved in such efforts. Their activities are described. Meetings preliminary to the UN Conference have been conducted and volumes of background material generated. A change to less destructive industrialization will require a fundamental restructuring of economies, revisions in regulatory and economic policies, and new global cooperation between rich and poor nations. Rich nations would have to give billions in aid and share the latest technology and industries would have to shift from resource-intensive production systems to ones consuming fewer resources and to systems cutting pollution. Developing nations must practice environmentally responsible agriculture, industrialize with care, and reduce birth rates. Among nondoomsayers are those who believe that market forces, new technology, and population stabilization will be sufficient; others believe that redistribution of wealth is the only way to avoid ecological disaster. Sustainable development challenges entrenched interests, and conflicts among nations over food, water, and land and migration may occur. The UN book "Our Common Future" relates that prosperity is at stake, unless "ecoefficiencies" are used, conservation of tropical forests ensured, and limits set. Solutions are proposed. Japan and other countries have begun to take advantage of the opportunities for industry. The agenda for the Summit and the difficulties in obtaining consensus on some basic tenets are highlighted, e.g., US refusal to cut back emissions of carbon dioxide.

Keywords:

Global
Critique
Environment
Population Growth
Economic Development
Ecology
Industrialization
Industry
Program Design
Policy Development
UN
Changes
Population Dynamics
Demographic Factors
Population
Economic Factors
Macroeconomic Factors
Programs
Organization and Administration
Planning
International Agencies
Organizations
Social Change