Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - April 22, 1990, Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg free press april 1990 Page the end of the world As we now know it by Michael Clow special to the free press in the Wake of the collapse of communist regimes in Eastern Europe some apologists of free Enterprise Are proclaiming the Triumph of capitalism and the end of to seems a bit lenins Experiment with a planned Industrial Economy under the leadership of the communist party is in ruins because it failed to achieve sustained economic West Ern Industrial society is becoming increasingly threatened by the con sequences of its Success in main Taining economic productive economic activity is but a process in which human work produces from paper clips to space out of the re sources the global ecosystem and the earths crust offer in we depend on the global ecosystem to absorb our wastes and thrown away presuming that it will use them to reproduce the re sources we want and dispose harm Lessly of the heavy radioactive materials and artificial chemicals we dug up from the earths crust or cooked up in our it is now Clear that the biosphere cannot endlessly perform these miracles for we Are rapidly destroying what remains of the global network of living things and the water and soil cycles that create both our renew Able resources and the planetary conditions necessary for our As the slow and horrible Realiza Tion that our Earth is dying sinks there has been a search for some Good news that there is some Way we can sustain economic growth without destroying Many have seized on the Brundtland re ports rhetoric of sustainable devel the our common has a Basic it contains the quite erroneous Assumption that our environmental problems Are the result of society mistakes rather than an inevitable Conse Quence of our Success at producing such immense quantities of As we have production does not occur from thin but from the we Are simply eat ing up and be fouling the earths fragile biosphere in which we Good things Brundtland Environ mental Calls for technical solutions to our econ oms destruction of the measures such As improved pollution extensive increased Energy the production of longer lasting the integration of economic Deci Sion making and environmental better and the aggressive rebuilding of renewable these Are All Good and necessary things in them selves and must be they can help us get better value out of what we draw from the biosphere or lower our demands on the ecosystem at a Given level of but they do not get to the Root of our which is that increasing production necessarily Means consuming and Pollut ing Shore and More of an ecosystem which is already disrupted and fall ing technical measures to get More from less cannot Stop the Lon term degradation that results if we attempt to continue with eco nomic an insistence on growth will mean increased de Mand on the ecosystem once the technically possible and financially practical margin of technical improvement is unbridled economic activity necessarily Means killing the the Goose that lays the Golden and killing so Why do we persist in pursuing economic growth for Adam Smith economic growth was driven by unlimited human for economic growth was driven by the accumulation of wealth by capitalists in one round of investment and profit making after whether one accepts his politics or it has to be admitted that Marxs is the greater insight into the motivation of business people and the roots of economic the Point of corporate profits is not luxury con sumption but to accumulate wealth for investment in order to survive the Competition in the global mar advertising has to be used to constantly Stoke consumer demand and create new consumer new opportunities but nothing is More obvious to business people than the need for new investment the Endeavor of business people has been to maintain the accumulation of capital and compete with each other for As a consequence almost everything has been sacrificed if it stood in the Way of an Opportunity to have Money make More thus the resistance of business to even modest Environ mental measures and a Blind Refus Al to accept the end of the Era of general growth in economic Active the hard is that the Jig is we can Only clean up our environmental mess and sur Vive by reorganizing and downsizing our we have to Stop the growth of our economic activities and reduce them so As to produce Only As much As the eco system on an ongoing Supply us and we have to refrain completely from All those activities which nature cannot healthily absorb and like nuclear Power and much of the chemical the Days when we could Hope for endless eve greater exploitation of and Ever expanding accumulation of capital Are economic expansion is reaching its no matter under what or economic in As much As economic growth has defined the world we the end of the world As we know it is the better shape the ecosystem is in the larger Economy it can prompt moves toward limiting economic activity and adopting Brundtland technical measures to reduce our Burden on the eco sys will mean that a genuinely sustainable society can have a High Standard of in historical the More we Hesi the less we will have to work with when we Bow to the in Evita in As much As capital accumulation defines the particular social Endeavor of business the end of the world As we know it will be hardest on their Resis Tance to the inevitable will be the most determined it will How humanity has survived the end of the social endeavours of other societies leading and it can survive the end of this this generation and the next faces As great a social transformation As that from feudalism to Capi but we have no real Choice except to face up to the the upheaval this requires is in finitely preferable to the real end to and is our Only other Michael Clow teaches at Saint Thomas University in my Vav protecting the environment its time that we stopped passing the Buck by Murray Weidenbaum los Angeles times it takes a fairly hard hearted person to say anything negative about today Celebration of the 20th anniversary of Earth of we All want a cleaner and safer it strikes this observer that april 1990 May provide Opportunity for buc passing on a massive to be celebrating Earth Day is a great Way for individual citizens to ease their consciences on environmental matters by retaking their vows to support All Good eco logical of it is a lot of fun to Point the Finger of guilt at someone else preferably a impersonal organization that is an inviting the obvious candidates for Public chastise ment Are greedy corporations and foot dragging government buried a car in any my favorite cartoon on the subject is one showing some one throwing Beer cans out of the window while driving to a meeting of some environmental the vehicle is a Toyota display ing a bumper sticker save Boycott japanese we can recall a few years ago the Case of the environmental Genius who buried a new car to show in a dramatic fashion his disapproval of pollution belching Gas currently we have these friends of the Earth who Hammer nails into Trees better to deface them be fore the loggers and other bad Guys get to but being inconsistent about the environment is not limited to a few isolated last the Roper poll surveyed a representative Sample of the Public on environmental predict nearly three fourths agreed that business has a definite responsibility to reduce its air and water but what about the individual consumer an Over whelming 80 per cent replied that they never buy recycled paper an uncomfortably Large 66 per cent said they never use degradable plastic garbage bags 64 per cent never Recycle new spa the old trite Guttrue saying comes to mind dont do As i do As i of there Are Many dedicated people who reflect in their Day today actions a sincere con Cern for the but far larger numbers find it easier merely to impose their views of Good civic behaviour on the other the ultimate source of Environ mental problems is very easily found just look in the the hard fact is that it is much easier to talk about the evils of pollution than to take the Tough actions that will really help to clean the serious question is How to proceed in this difficult task in the most sensible and effective it is the life style of the average citizen that generates the demand for the goods and services that give Rise to pollution in its various i do not mean to let business or any other Large organization off the but if we would not buy All those pollution intensive items in the first companies would not make and if they made they would find that they could not sell those the serious Point ignored by most discussions of Earth Day Why do companies and others pollute we can dismiss out of hand the silly notion that they pollute because they obtain positive enjoyment from a unhealthy Environ on the most Pollut ers be they municipalities or you and me pollute because it is easier or cheaper or useful contribution economists at this Point have something useful to contribute to the most economists will not urge that we develop a More eloquent or heartrending plea to get Many people to change their habits by using items that generate less pollution when distributed and disposed on the we will urge changing the underlying incentives so that it be comes More expensive to contrary to economists really do care about the Environ we even breathe the same air and drink the same water As real to update shake Speare if we Are do we not cough economists care much More about results than As a practical there Are several ways of reducing pollution the most satisfying approach is to alter property rights so that people cannot use the nations water or surface As a free they will have to pay for the privilege via a fee or tax on the very act of pollution fees or taxes Are not a licence to no matter what the greens May Rais ing the Cost of an item that generates Large amounts of pollution creates incentives to shift product Ion and ultimately to goods and services that generate much less and even if we cannot find an acceptable alter a we will try to use less of the item whose Price has gone that would mean less pol without prolonging this lesson in elementary the Point that needs to be underscored is that we do not promote a better ecological environment by appealing to patriotism or attacking the virtue of the that highly desirable goal is More Likely to be achieved by imposing sensible Bur Dens on each of us in an Effort to get us to change our life Basic source by the i am still waiting for just one of the ecological enthusiasts who used to enjoy attacking capitalism so vigorously As the Basic source of pollution to have decency to admit that the nist countries Are the worst Pollut in contrast to the dying forests and filthy Rivers of Eastern it is the capitalistic nations of the West that have the resources to devote to improving the physical and they do Murray Weidenbaum is Mallinckrodt distinguished University professor and director of the Centre for the study of american business at Washington University in ducks unlimited plan offers window on wildlife with growing awareness of the need to protect the environment and ensure natural resources Are not sacrificed on the altar of economic there is a growing need for Public education and i vol efforts to create More Public awareness of the environment can Lead to that is what is occurring in regard to ducks unlimited Canadas plan for Oak Hammock the organization is a nonprofit corporate network of waterfowl Conser vation specialists and its goal is to increase waterfowl Popula Tion through preserve creation and management of prime since it began operating in Manitoba in the organization has been responsible for More than million Worth of development in about 600 ducks unlimited is also a partner id the development of Manitoba Heri Tage Oak Hammock located 20 Kilometres North of is one of those work began in 1972 to create a wildlife management now under the dome Arlene Billinkoff spread Over it sup ports More than 260 kinds of 25 species of animals and a wide Range of other while restoring the habitat was the initial ducks unlimited believes teaching people How to co exist with nature is equally import therefore it proposed a Conser vation Centre at Oak which would incorporate a natural history museum with a living environment immediately along with new Headquarters for the organization and its the Centre was touted As a living providing firsthand observation facilities for scientists and serving As a resource Centre for elementary and secondary schools and a tourism it was expected to attract people a compared to the current the Cost was estimated at with million for the conservation to be financed by the Federal and provincial governments and ducks and another million for the office to be totally funded by the total land requirement for the Complex was estimated at four Hect ares and careful consideration was Given to the design and which would be on Marsh fringe in an area already crisscrossed by roads and most human activity would be concentrated immediately adjacent to the the organization maintained All aspects of construction and operation would focus on protecting wildlife and maintain the surround ing construction was scheduled to Start in with completion by late various did not want any construction and worked to arouse Public some focussed on the alleged inappropriate Ness of including the organization Headquarters in the while others attacked the environmental according to the Manitoba environment proponents of the development must conduct an assessment and submit it to the environment department before any licence can be that which was done by a biologist for systems concluded that despite some air surface vegetation and wild life would not be significantly affect it estimated that Only three or four hectares of available wetland would be spoiled by the construct that was not Good enough for who insisted the study was biased because the author was a Volunteer with ducks the Manitoba naturalists society maintained the project would be a serious threat to wildlife habitat and violated existing letters were sent to various re questing the province scrap the because of mounting environment minister Glen cum mings asked the clean environment commission to hold Public hearings on the insisting the opposition was primarily ducks unlimited officials remained confident their plan would withstand the the indicated very Strong Al though the Manitoba wildlife federation endorsed the the naturalist society and others argued that potential dangers had not been thoroughly examined and called for More review or rejection of this there were also charges that ducks unlimited wanted to develop the concept in order to get More donations or had Only added the educational element As a Concession to get approval for the office com Send a Clear message that such development is environmentally and socially said one Ecol after numerous the hearings ended in late March and the commission was expected to present its recommendations in eral if it rules the Environ mental impacts Are project will not but is there definite proof one Way or another proponents say the Complex will be a vital tool to Public support for conserving life opponents insist Only Way to protect the habitat be for most people to stay away the Complex would attract people and proper controls must in place to ensure the habitat is negatively at the it can have beneficial today is Earth a world wider Celebration to raise Public aware1 Ness of environmental there be any greater awareness people learning firsthand than from books and photos about what must be protected and con served for the next generation More measures May be required to ensure the natural habitat will not negatively but the concept is ;