EARTH DAY
Author provides readers upbeat
outlook on environment’s future
(APjAftiv 25 years of Earth Day warnings from envi
ronmentalists about pending ecological doom, author
Gregg Easterbrook has a refreshingly different me*,
sage for those who care about the planet Cheer up
On April 22. rfs expected that millions of Americans
will celebrate Earth Day's silver anniversary by plant
ing trees, cleaning up beaches and attending ral
lies It's also expected that thousands of commentators
will use the day to reflect on a quarter-century of green
activism and the challenges ahead.
Easterbrook has emerged as a prominent voice
m the latter endeavor. A contributing editor to
Newsweek, he has written a book called A Moment
On The Earth The Coming Age ot Environmental
Optimism
The 745-page book, extensively researched ami
doggedly upbeat, reviews more than three decades
ot environmental doom-saying, from Rachel Carson's
Silent Spring in 1962 to current alarms about global
warming.
In nearly all cases. Easterbrook writes, things have
turned out much better than predicted by what he calls
the "environmental orthodoxy "
Easterbrook makes some sweeping predictions ot
his own — that pollution in the Western world will end
"almost painlessly" within our lifetimes, that most envi
ronmental catastrophes, such as runaway global
warming, are almost certain to be avoided.
For support, he cites many environmental success
stories
—Air U S. smog has declined by about a third since
1970, even though 85 percent more vehicles are now
on the road Airborne levels of lead have declined 98
percent, annual emissions ot carbon monoxide are
down 24 percent, and sulfur dioxide, the chief cause
of acid rain, is down 30 percent
— Water. In 1972, only a third ot all U S bodies ot
water were sate lor tishing and swimming Today,
almost two-thirds are sate.
—Recycling. From humble beginnings, recycling
has become big business Nationwide, more than 22
percent ot all municipal solid waste is recovered tor
recycling or composting.
Easterbrook's book, scheduled for release April 20
by Viking, already has received considerable atten
tion. Excerpts have appeared m mapr newspapers,
and Easterbrook summarized his mam points in a
3,000-word piece tor The New Yorker magazine.
Easterbrook said he wrote the book because good
news is suppressed by both sides ot the environmental
debate Liberal environmentalists don't like good news
because it hurts their agenda of creating the appear
ance of a crisis in need ot immediate action, he said
Conservative opponents, meanwhile, don't want to
admit that environmental laws actually work
But they do work, Easterbrook has concluded
"Not only is the Western worid getting better, it's
taking place spectacularly fast by natural standards,”
he said in a telephone interview from his home in
Arlington. Va
“I think the public will support future environmen
tal initiatives much more readily it they're convinced
that the programs are working and conditions are
good If you constantly scare people to death, it you
constantly tell them things are falling apart — and
things never fall apart — then you lose credibility "
I. . ..—---I
‘Not only is the Western world
getting heller, it's taking place
spectacularly fast by natural
standards
Gretix l asttrbmak.
author
happens almost aulomaltcally He calls it "organic
so# adaptation sex reacting just .is nature would
to sett-correct a resource imbalance "
But those closer to the struggle say the sell-cor
rectoon rarefy comes easily Indeed, they note that the
alarmist rhetoric F astertxook cntici/es is wti.it helped
achieve most at the environment*!! progress he pr.us
es
Earth Day in 1970 ratlaKl public support against
entrenched industrial powers, s.ud Denis Hayes, an
organizer of that original celebration and now three
tor of a Seattle-based environmental foundation
"We were almost unstoppable lor a lew years,"
Denis Hayes said "That didn't last For the last 20
years, it has been a struggle every inch of the way to
gel good Mis passed ."
He is decidedly less cheerful than Easterbrook
“In 25 years, we've made some terrific strides m
cleaning up the air and water and removing tones."
Hayes Mid But there are serious issues out there
that need attention."
U S environmentalists who say they might have
welcomed Eastnrbrook's celebratory tone last year
are now bracing tor battles with Republican con
gressmen who want to weaken environmental laws
And struggles in American politics are small pota
toes compared to global environmental challenges
While Easterbrook points out that the United States
now treats virtually 100 percent oI its sewage, others
look to the Third World, where only 2 percent is treat
ed.
Hayes worries about the loss ol biological diverse
ty through habitat destruction, and says progress
toward heading off global warming by reducing car
bon dioxide emissions has been "a huge disap
pointment."
For more discouraging news, consider world pop
ulation, which drives many environmental problems
Since 1970, global population has grown from 3 7
billion to 5.7 billion, and it continues to increase by
about 90 million people a year By Ihe lime you finish
reading this article, there will be about 1.700 more
mouths to feed on the planet than when you began
Developed nations have cut thoir growth rates, tot
they're still growing nonetheless
"The rates can go down and people think we don't
have to worry anymore But the base numbers are
still huge," said Susan Weber, executive director ol
Zero Population Growth.
"In terms ol environmental impact, we re still Ho. t
— and everyone wants to be like us," she said
Easterbrook says optimism should not become
complacency, and he worries that anti-envtronmen
talists will pluck passages from his book out ol con
text to argue against environmental protections
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