Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-mkpzs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T08:20:52.408Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Thoughts on Some Conceivable Ecodisasters

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 August 2009

Nicholas Polunin
Nicholas Polunin
Affiliation:
Secretary-General, International Conferences on Environmental Future; Founder and Editor of Environmental Conservation, etc., 15 Chemin F.-Lehmann, 1218 Grand-Saconnex, Geneva, Switzerland
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Even if, as many of us believe, ‘there is time to avoid the abyss’ of non-survival, there is no time for complacency. Rather is there need for eternal vigilance, scientific monitoring, international legal and other enlightened controls, and often very costly action. For Man is inexorably changing the world, though often insidiously and quite unintentionally. Already he has the knowledge and wherewithal to control his numbers, effects, and very destiny, maintaining the biosphere for himself and to some extent for Nature; but has he the collective wisdom? And what are the limits of his folly? It might be thought that many of our chosen items touched on above are either local or not concerned with the environment as a whole, and hence would not constitute real ecodisasters; but when we look just a little ‘below the surface’, we realize that they could engender in the long run quite disastrous effects on the habitat and life support system of Man which, with his present all-too-heavy impress, could mean the far wider environment of Nature and even the entire biosphere. Meanwhile Man's objective in this age of ecological enlightenment should surely be to maintain optimum diversity in the biosphere—with due emphasis on the ‘optimum’ having regard to the direct needs of Nature as well as of himself.

With Man now the unquestioned superdominant of the world, yet continuing to increase his numbers to the extent of projected doubling in 30–40 years and doubling again thereafter, there are thrust upon us an ever-increasing number and burden of conceivable ecodisasters, many of which we have touched on above. Others can already be foreseen and yet others will doubtless emerge. None seems inevitable in itself, at least in widespread magnitude, and few appear to be at all likely; but still something has got to happen to check the projected mounting demomass, and it seems reasonable to expect it to be one or more of cur listed conceivabilities. Which this may turn out to be, presumably sparking otheis and altogether changing the world even more precipitously than has been the case of late, we can only conjecture.

Type
Main Papers
Information
Environmental Conservation , Volume 1 , Issue 3 , Autumn 1974 , pp. 177 - 189
Copyright
Copyright © Foundation for Environmental Conservation 1974

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Attiwill, Peter M. (1971). Atmospheric carbon dioxide and the biosphere. Environmental Pollution, 1(4), pp. 249–61, 1 fig.Google Scholar
Benthem, Roelof J. (1973). Recreational and environmental planning. Biological Conservation, 5 (1), pp. 1–5.Google Scholar
Bockris, John O'M. (in press). The coming energy crisis and solar sources. Environmental Conservation.Google Scholar
Bryson, Reid A. (1972 a). Climatic modification by air pollution. Pp. 133–55 and 12 fig in The Environmental Future (Ed. Polunin, Nicholas, q. v.).Google Scholar
Bryson, Reid A. (1972 b). [Intervention.] Ibid. pp. 162–3.Google Scholar
Cloudsley-Thompson, J. L. (1974). The expanding Sahara. Environmental Conservation, 1(1), pp. 5–14, 7 figs.Google Scholar
Earl, Cook (1971). Ionizing radiation. Pp. 254–78 in Murdoch (q.v.)Google Scholar
Jacques-Yves, Cousteau (1971). Statement on global marine degradation. Biological Conservation, 4(1), pp. 61–5.Google Scholar
Kai, Curry-Lindahl (1974 a). Conservation problems and progress in equatorial African countries. Environmental Conservation, 1(2), pp. 111–22, map.Google Scholar
Curry-Lindahl, Kai (1974 b). Conservation problems and progress in northern and southern African countries. Environmental Conservation, 1(4), [in proof].Google Scholar
Edsall, John T. (1974). Hazards of nuclear fission power and the choice of alternatives. Environmental Conservation, 1(1), pp. 21–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ehrlich, Paul R. (1969). Eco-catastrophe. Ramparts, 8, September, pp. 24–8.Google Scholar
Ehrlich, Paul R. (1974). Human population and environmental problems. Environmental Conservation, 1(1), pp. 15–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ehrlich, Paul R. & Ehrlich, Anne H. (1972). Population, Resources, Environment: Issues in Human Ecology (2nd edn). Freeman, W. H., San Francisco: xiv + 509 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Ehrlich, Paul R., Ehrlich, Anne H. & Holdren, John P. (1973). Human Ecology: Problems and Solutions. Freeman, W. H., San Francisco: xi + 304 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Fao, (1972). Annual Fertilizer Review. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome: xviii + 191 pp.Google Scholar
Frankel, Sir Otto H. (1970). Genetic conservation of plants useful to Man. Biological Conservation, 2(3), pp. 162–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fremlin, J. H. (1964). How many people can the world support? New Scientist, 24, pp. 285–7, illustr.Google Scholar
Geoffrey, Fryer (1972). Conservation of the Great Lakes of East Africa: a lesson and a warning. Biological Conservation, 4(4), pp. 256–62, 4 figs.Google Scholar
Goldman, Marshall I. (1972a). [Intervention.] Pp. 240–2 in The Environmental Future (Ed. Polunin, Nicholas, q.v.).Google Scholar
Goldman, Marshall I. (1972 b). The Spoils of Progress: Environmental Pollution in the Soviet Union. MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass., & London, England: xi + 372 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Edward, Goldsmith (1973). Ecologistes de tous les pays, battezvous! Gulliver: Forum des lettres, des arts et de la vie quotidienne, No. 6, pp. 32–9.Google Scholar
Ilmo, Hela (1972). Marine productivity and pollution. Pp. 249– 72 in The Environmental Future (Ed. Polunin, Nicholas, q.v.).Google Scholar
Julia, Henderson (1972). [Chairman's comment.] P. 568 in The Environmental Future (Ed. Polunin, Nicholas, q.v.).Google Scholar
Thor, Heyerdahl (1971). Atlantic Ocean pollution and biota observed by the ‘Ra’ Expeditions. Biological Conservation, 3(3), pp. 164–7, map.Google Scholar
Thor, Heyerdahl (1972). Addendum. Pp. 286–9 in The Environmental Future (Ed. Polunin, Nicholas, q.v.).Google Scholar
Hirsch, Robert L. & Rice, William L. R. (in press). Nuclear fusion power and the environment. Environmental Conservation.Google Scholar
Brenda, Horsfield & Stone, Peter B. (1972). The Great Ocean Business. Hodder & Stoughton, London: x + 360 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Max, Howard & Michael, Treshow (MS.). Impact of Ozone on Reproductive Potential. Typescript, 17 pp.Google Scholar
Hutchinson, T. C. & Whitby, L. M. (1974). Heavy–metal pollution in the Sudbury mining region of Canada, I. Soil and vegetation contamination by nickel, copper, and other metals. Environmental Conservation, 1(2), pp. 123–32, map.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnson, Francis S. (1970). The balance of atmospheric oxygen and carbon dioxide. Biological Conservation, 2(2), pp.83–9CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stanley, Johnson (1970), Life Without Birth: A Journey Through the Third World in Search of the Population Explosion. Heinemann, London: xiii + 364 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Johnston, Harold S. (1972). Catalytic reduction of stratospheric ozone. Pp. 175–7 in The Environmental Future (Ed. Polunin, Nicholas, q.v.).Google Scholar
Johnston, Harold S. (1974). Pollution of the stratosphere. Environmental Conservation, 1(3), pp. 163–176, illustr.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kassas, M. (1972). Ecological consequences of water development projects. Pp. 215–35 (and following Discussion) in The Environmental Future (Ed. Polunin, Nicholas, q.v.).Google Scholar
Kovda, Viktor A. (1972). The world's soils and human activity. Pp. 359–81 in The Environmental Future (Ed. Polunin, Nicholas, q.v.).Google Scholar
Meadows, Dennis L. (1973). Nuclear energy and growth. Science, 179, pp. 855–6.Google Scholar
Meadows, Donella H., Meadows, Dennis L., Randers, Jorgen & Behrens, William W. III (1972). The Limits to Growth. A Report of the Club of Rome's Project on the Predicament of Mankind. A Potomic Associates Book, Universe Books, New York: 205 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Ronald, Melville (1970). Plant conservation and the Red Book. Biological Conservation, 2(3), pp. 185–8.Google Scholar
Menzel, David W., Judith, Anderson & Ann, Randtke (1970). Marine phytoplankton vary in their response to chlorinated hydrocarbons. Science, 167, pp. 1724–6, fig.Google Scholar
Murdoch, William W. (Ed.) (1971). Environment: Resources, Pollution & Society. Sinauer Associates, Stamford, Connecticut: vii + 440 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Nace, Raymond L. (1967). Water resources: A global problem with local roots. Environmental Science and Technology, 1(7), pp. 550–60, illustr.Google Scholar
National Academy of Sciences/National Academy of Engineering [as NAS/NAE] (1973). Biological Impacts of Increased Intensities of Solar Ultraviolet Radiation. National Academy of Sciences/National Academy of Engineering, Washington, D.C.: vii + 46 pp., 4 figs.Google Scholar
Odum, Howard T. (1971). Environment, Power, and Society. Wiley–Interscience, New York etc: ix + 331 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Odum, William E. (1970). Insidious alteration of the estuarine environment. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society, 99(4), pp. 836–47.Google Scholar
Odum, William E. (1974). Potential effects of aquaculture on inshore coastal waters. Environmental Conservation, 1(3), pp. 225–30.Google Scholar
Nicholas, Polunin (1971). Vegetation and the animal habitat. Le Naturaliste Canadien (Travaux dédiés à la mémoire du Professeur Jacques Rousseau, 1905–1970), 83(3), pp. 515–28.Google Scholar
Polunin, Nicholas (Ed.) (1972). The Environmental Future. Macmillan, London & Basingstoke, and Barnes & Noble, New York: xiv + 660 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Nicholas, Polunin [as ‘N.P.’] (1973). Editorial: Scientists relieved. Biological Conservation, 5(3), p. 159.Google Scholar
Polunin, Nicholas (1974). One World and Its Biosphere. Invitational paper delivered to 25th Annual Meeting of the British Student Health Association, held at Cambridge, England, 5–10 July 1973, and published in its Proceedings, pp. 23–31.Google Scholar
Polunin, N. V. C. & Frazier, J. G. (1974). Diving reconnaissance of 27 western Indian Ocean coral reefs. Environmental Conservation, 1(1), pp. 71–2, 3 figs.Google Scholar
President's Science Advisory Committee (1967). The World Food Problem. Report of the Panel on the World's Food Supply, the White House, Washington, D.C.: Vol. I, xxv + 127 pp., figs; Vol. II, xxi + 772 pp., figs.; Vol. Ill, xxi + 332 pp., figs.Google Scholar
Price, A. R. G. (1974). A further look at pollution in the Atlantic Ocean. Biological Conservation, 5(4), pp. 297–8, map.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harvey, Price & Michael, Treshow (1972). Effects of Ozone on the Growth and Reproduction of Grasses. Proc. Internat. Air Pollut. Conf., Melbourne, Australia, pp. 275–80.Google Scholar
Carleton, Ray (1970). Ecology, law, and the ‘marine revolution’. Biological Conservation, 3(1), pp. 7–17, fig. (Reprinted with permission at least twice elsewhere.)Google Scholar
Schofield, Eileen K. (1973). Galápagos flora: the threat of introduced plants. Biological Conservation, 5(1), pp. 48–51, 4 figs.Google Scholar
Scientific American (1971). Man and the Ecosphere. Readings from Scientific American with commentaries by Paul R. Ehrlich, John P Holden & Richard W. Holm. W. H. Freeman, San Francisco: vii + 307 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Michael, Treshow (1968). The impact of air pollutants on plant populations. Phytopathology, 58, pp. 1103–13.Google Scholar
Michael, Treshow (1970). The Environment and Plant Response. McGraw-Hill, , New York: xv + 422 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Michael, Treshow & Dennis, Stewart (1973). Ozone sensitivity of plants in natural communities. Biological Conservation, 5(3), pp. 209–14, illustr.Google Scholar
Vallentyne, John R. (1972). Freshwater supplies and pollution: Effects of the demophoric explosion on water and Man. Pp. 181–99 in The Environmental Future (Ed. Polunin, Nicholas, q.v.).Google Scholar
Daniel, Weber (1971). Pinta, Galápagos: une île á sauver. Biological Conservation, 2(2), pp. 125–8, 4 figs.Google Scholar
Wendland, Wayne M. & Bryson, Reid A. (1970). Atmospheric dustiness, Man, and climatic change. Biological Conservation, 2(2), pp. 125–8, 4 figs.Google Scholar
Woodwell, G. M. (1970). Effects of pollution on the structure and physiology of ecosystems. Science, 168, pp. 429–33.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Worthington, E. Barton (1972). Sustained biological productivity. Pp. 397–411 in The Environmental Future (Ed. Polunin, Nicholas, q.v.).Google Scholar
Wurster, Charles F., Jr (1968). DDT reduces photosynthesis by marine phytoplankton. Science, 159, pp. 1474–5, 2 figs.Google Scholar
Wurster, Charles F. Jr., (1969). Chlorinated hydrocarbon insecticides and the world ecosystem. Biological Conservation, 1(2), pp. 123–9.Google Scholar
Wurster, Charles F., Jr (1972). Effects of insecticides. Pp. 293–310 and fig. in The Environmental Future (Ed. Polunin, Nicholas, q.v.).Google Scholar