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Lovnois- Block Stor
in the Western world, as a result, has
been achieved only at a tremendous cost
to the environment.
Reported Dr. Commoner:
"Our technology is cnormously suc–
cessful
in
producing material goods, but
too often
is
disastrously incompatible
with the natural environmental systems
AIR POLLUTION 15 AN INTER–
NATIONAL PROBLEM:
Far left,
a chemical factory in Colombia
spews forth pollutants into the
air. Above photo shows air pol–
lution problem in a highly indus–
trialized section of Tokyo, Jopan.
left, a daisy spotted with rain
and industrial grime from the air
in New York.
that support not onJy human life, but
technology itself."
Commoner stated that mankind
and tbe Unitcd States in particular -
has embarked on a "suicida! course"
and our ability to recover becomcs
harder and hardcr with each passing
year. He suggested that President Nixon
should declare a statc of national emcr–
gency and reassess national priorities in
order to solve our "grim" ecological
problems.
In a panel session someone in the au–
dience asked Dr. Commoner, "How
long do we have?"
5
The biologist replied that in 1956 he
"would not have had the nerve" to raise
the elementary "question of survival."
Now, however, he contended that
unless we decide to act decisively in this
decade, "we have had it."
Massive Cbanges Necessary
President Nixon's own Science Ad–
viser, Dr. Lee DuBridge, kcynoted the
opening session of the UNESCO con–
ference. His worcls, too, were grave:
"It is our whole plaoet that
is
in dan–
ger of deterioration....
"Surely mankind has reached a turn–
ing point in history. He must do
some–
thing now - to reverse the deteriorat–
ing environmental trends - elsc our
children and grandchildren will find the
earth quite uninhabitable, and it will
even be increasingly more unpleasant
and unhealthy for us."
Dr. DuBridge, for sorne unknown
reason, did not read before the asscm–
bled delegatcs the condusion of his
printed text, which was released ahead
of time to the press. The final unspokcn
paragraph packed a wallop.
lt
read:
"The problem [of pollution
J
is
a huge
onc.
It
involves nothing less than
changing thc habits of billions of
people and the adoption of wholly new
attitudes and very expensive new tech–
nologies by our whole worldwide indus–
trial system."
Those words bear sorne reflectton.
Changing the habits of
billionJ
of
people - virtually the entire carth's
population?
Wholly new attitudes of people
toward what constitutes progress m
human activity?
Very expensivc new technologics by
our whole worldwide industrial system?
How?
The gigantic task of effecting such
wholesaJc economic, social and political
changes on a worldwide basis - and
within the cruciaJ ten years of the Sev–
enties -
graphically illustrates the
enormity of the global pollution crisis.
Information Gap
Informing the public of tbc gravity
of the pollution crisis is no easy task
- even with the current, nearly fool–
ish, excitcmcnt over the topic.
Said James Day, President of National