Sustain-ablility

Sustainable development of wastewater infrastructure, GT Daigger, D Burack, V Rubino

Wastewater management and sustainability, GT Daigger, D Burack, V Rubino

Pollution prevention applies to wastewater treatment, KN Irvine, TR Hersey Jr, MC Rossi, J Caruso, JE Jordan

Educating for sustainability, A Ahmadi

Energize with state-of-the-art technologies, BR Klett, RJ Wilson

Sustainability for New York's drinking water, TA Endreny

The “greening” of the building industry, MA Stallone

Water conservation in a water-intensive industry, G. Wainwright

Sustainable design at NYCDEP, P Zimmerman, J Tyler, VJ DeSantis,N Ramanan

People and places

Fall 2001 — Vol. 31, No. 3

 . . . to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

—UN World Commission On Environment and Development
(The Brundtland Commission), Our Common Future, 1987
 

How reasonable. Yet, how insubstantial! The issue of a sustainable environment too often comes down to the too simplistic preserve everything (make it all roadless and send in the wolves) vs. let the market rationalize resources, with the preservationists clearly believing they have the moral high ground while business unquestionably believes that only it is in tune with reality.

Neither position is tenable. Unmitigated exploitation leads to the tragedy of the commons. Unrelieved preservation would give humans few resources to use—something that would be felt first and most acutely in developing nations.

Surely it is necessary to steer a middle course and to avoid following the dead hand of alarmists who predict the exhaustion of all resources and the “invisible hand” of entrepreneurs who say that the market will allocate resources well.

Remember the bet between economist Julian Simon and biologist Paul Ehrlich? In 1980, Simon offered Ehrlich a bet that the price of common metals—any five Ehrlich cared to choose—would be lower 10 years on. Ehrlich disagreed and thought prices would be higher because, according to his thinking, they would become increasingly scarce. Ehrlich chose copper, chrome, nickel, tin, and tungsten. Ehrlich lost. In 1990, the price of each was lower than it had been a decade earlier, even without adjusting for inflation.  See the price comparison.

The reasonable course

Sustainability is important as much for how it is implemented as for what it promotes. Progress will be made when human ingenuity is free to act within a reasonable framework. A measured response to extreme positions could be:

 . . . we are not unaware that our natural resources are either unreplacable or in need of carefully-laid replacement plans. This awareness is present at both governmental and individual levels; it is only necessary to integrate all of the existing interests in resources conservation into one constructive program. Any movement which pits one element against the other tends to dissipate the good efforts of those interested in preserving and using natural wealth resources most effectively and wisely.

Those words came from the New York State Joint Legislative Committee on Natural Resources. The year was 1952.

——Editor