Today marks the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day. The day that we are suppose to be aware of our non-stewardship of Mother Earth will lead to our downfall. When Earth Day started 40 years ago several predictions were made to help promote the cause. Chris Baker, morning talk show host on 100.3 FM, placed these statements made by Earth Day predictors on his blog today of which he obtained from reason.com:
"We have about five more years at the outside to do something."
• Kenneth Watt, ecologist
"Civilization will end within 15 or 30 years unless immediate action is taken against problems facing mankind."
• George Wald, Harvard Biologist
"We are in an environmental crisis which threatens the survival of this nation, and of the world as a suitable place of human habitation."
• Barry Commoner, Washington University biologist
"Man must stop pollution and conserve his resources, not merely to enhance existence but to save the race from intolerable deterioration and possible extinction."
• New York Times editorial, the day after the first Earth Day
"Population will inevitably and completely outstrip whatever small increases in food supplies we make. The death rate will increase until at least 100-200 million people per year will be starving to death during the next ten years."
• Paul Ehrlich, Stanford University biologist
"By…[1975] some experts feel that food shortages will have escalated the present level of world hunger and starvation into famines of unbelievable proportions. Other experts, more optimistic, think the ultimate food-population collision will not occur until the decade of the 1980s."
• Paul Ehrlich, Stanford University biologist
"It is already too late to avoid mass starvation."
• Denis Hayes, chief organizer for Earth Day
"Demographers agree almost unanimously on the following grim timetable: by 1975 widespread famines will begin in India; these will spread by 1990 to include all of India, Pakistan, China and the Near East, Africa. By the year 2000, or conceivably sooner, South and Central America will exist under famine conditions….By the year 2000, thirty years from now, the entire world, with the exception of Western Europe, North America, and Australia, will be in famine."
• Peter Gunter, professor, North Texas State University
"Scientists have solid experimental and theoretical evidence to support…the following predictions: In a decade, urban dwellers will have to wear gas masks to survive air pollution…by 1985 air pollution will have reduced the amount of sunlight reaching earth by one half…."
• Life Magazine, January 1970
"At the present rate of nitrogen buildup, it's only a matter of time before light will be filtered out of the atmosphere and none of our land will be usable."
• Kenneth Watt, Ecologist
"Air pollution…is certainly going to take hundreds of thousands of lives in the next few years alone."
• Paul Ehrlich, Stanford University biologist
"We are prospecting for the very last of our resources and using up the nonrenewable things many times faster than we are finding new ones."
• Martin Litton, Sierra Club director
"By the year 2000, if present trends continue, we will be using up crude oil at such a rate…that there won't be any more crude oil. You'll drive up to the pump and say, `Fill 'er up, buddy,' and he'll say, `I am very sorry, there isn't any.'"
• Kenneth Watt, Ecologist
"Dr. S. Dillon Ripley, secretary of the Smithsonian Institute, believes that in 25 years, somewhere between 75 and 80 percent of all the species of living animals will be extinct."
• Sen. Gaylord Nelson
"The world has been chilling sharply for about twenty years. If present trends continue, the world will be about four degrees colder for the global mean temperature in 1990, but eleven degrees colder in the year 2000. This is about twice what it would take to put us into an ice age."
• Kenneth Watt, Ecologist
Now the scare tactics have been used in recent years to push for tougher gasoline standards, cleaner coal, and the use of alternative fuel sources. Debate has raged over the Al Gore's global warming mantra while hackers attempted to provide evidence of data manipulation. It is interesting to read these statements and compare them to some of the more recent conversation on global warming and man's dire need to curb greenhouse gases. The question is did any of these predictions come true? I do not see people in New York, LA, Chicago or Miami wearing gas masks to walk around. I just filled up my car, paid $2.81 a gallon, yesterday even though Kenneth Watt claimed by 2000 we'd be on the brink of having none; it's 2010.
Don't get me wrong I am not advocating the raping of Mother Earth. It does make sense for us to look for cheaper, cleaner ways of producing energy. If we did not move society forward we'd all be stuck riding horses still to get around. We do need to be good stewards of Mother Earth or she will erupt another volcano and more than likely it will be bigger than the one in Iceland; bye bye California. Take time toward to honor Mother Earth and the bounty she offers us. At the same time be aware of the global warming craze or our children will be looking back in 40 years talking about all the dire predictions as noted above.
"We do need to be good stewards of Mother Earth or she will erupt another volcano and more than likely it will be bigger than the one in Iceland;" What in the world does this even mean? Are you suggesting that humans caused or can cause a freaking volcano?
ReplyDeleteAnd maybe some of those statements are extreme, but it's also possible that behavior changes and technological advancement helped prevent some of what was feared.
I don't know how much I can comment: I'm terrible at recycling.
ReplyDeleteBut.
I will say this. I don't know if these statements were "scare tactics" so much as people just making predictions about the earth based on the current state of the nation at the time. Do you remember in elementary school being told to go home and check your mom's can of hairspray because it may contain CFC's?
I mean, I also remember the predictions that we'd have flying cars by the year 2000.
Predictions are just that: predictions. But it is fun to see what people said "way back when". : )
And we do need to cut greenhouse gases. Whether you believe global warming is real or not, spewing toxic gas into the air isn't good for anyone. There will be, at some point, an effect.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure Chris Baker and yourself did your due dilligence by also searching for predictions that were, as it turned out, accurate, or those that doubted anything would happen that have now been proven wrong.
ReplyDeleteI'm curious why none of those "predictions" have dates associated with them. For all I know they could just as easily have been said last week as last century.
ReplyDeleteAnd Chris, I don't think you're one to complain about scare tactics with some of the highly demagogic language you use here with regards to Healthcare reform, Taxes, etc.
How is saying that 75% of all animals will be extinct in 25 years any worse than your having said "Obama administration is intent on controlling our lives" (both are paraphrased)?
This is no different than the predictions that Bush wanted to set up a theocracy and usurp the constitution. (Stated during the Bush administration by secularists) Doom and gloom gets headlines because it scares you and fear makes you act. Ever watch the history channel lately? Hell they had an apocalypse week a few months back.
Fear is a tool but it destroys reason and logic. If you choose to buy into any of it, you've let yourself be manipulated by fear. It's pretty sad to see how many american's fall into this category in every aspect of our culture and on every side of the aisle.
Not only do we not know when they were said, but we don't know what percentage of the overall predictions made are stated above and how they were received when they were made. Were they given any credability? Did other experts refute the claims? Were these people challenged? Were they made on the predication that we fail to act?
ReplyDeleteThrowing together quotes means nothing without context.
All the quotes took place in 1970 and most took place the day of the first Earth day. I thought it would be interesting to see what was being said on the first Earth Day. And how we still hear similar things now.
ReplyDeleteAlso, if you want to read the article from which the quips were taken from go here: http://reason.com/archives/2000/05/01/earth-day-then-and-now
ReplyDeleteYou asked what I meant by, "We do need to be good stewards of Mother Earth or she will erupt another volcano and more than likely it will be bigger than the one in Iceland;” The phrase is not to be taken literally rather to be interpreted as a spiritual uprising by Mother Earth. Perhaps one my Wicca or Earth bound pagan friends will expand.
ReplyDeleteKevin
ReplyDeleteMy statement that Obama's intent is to control our lives is evidnet by the actions and legislation he is signing into law. It is bad enough that our Government is growing at a rate that the CBO states is unsustainable. To which Obama's own actions and policies is leading us down that road. In order to reverse that trend we need deep cuts and probably an increase, as you pointed out, in taxes.
The health care mandate is another example of Obama's intent on controlling our lives. To tell me that I must buy a product or face fine/imprisonment is not the role of Government.
I understand the power of fear over the meak and how it does derail reason and logical debate.
Viper, pollution is not even close to today what it was in 1970...why? Because of things like Earth Day.
ReplyDeleteI cannot account for some of the rhetoric that was stated in 1970, but some of those predictions seemed perfectly reasonable given the amount of pollution that had ratched up since the start of the industrial revolution.
While the EPA was formed in the same year and provided a regulatory effect, things like Earth Day were created primarly as a grass-roots effort to promote enviromentalism. And it was successful. No shame in that.
Because of Earth Day and other grass-roots efforts, industry used enviromentalism as a selling point. Cars sold on the amount of fuel-efficency, etc.
You make these points to bash individuals who make wacky predictions...but if we didn't change our course on the enviroment, maybe some of those would've been true.
Ardent Viper, please choose either A or B:
ReplyDeleteThe predictions made by some in 1970 did not come to pass because:
A) They were completely baseless and without merit and the people making them were completely wrong; or
B) People took action to improve the environment and were successful in averting the disasters described.
"The phrase is not to be taken literally rather to be interpreted as a spiritual uprising by Mother Earth." And how the heck would anyone know that? Seriously, how else would you expect people to read that
ReplyDeleteAnon
ReplyDeleteI pick option C as changes did take place with the Clean Air Act, Cleaner Coal, use of Nuclear Power, changes in aerosal cans, recycling, and changes in gas mileage requirements. At the same time I do not see the basis for widespread famine, air masks being worth, mass starvation or the amount of sunlight being cut in half by 1985.
As to the other Anon regarding the interpretation of my phrase. Yes, I do believe that people could have understood that my state was spiritual in context. Just as there are many interpretations to Christ rising. Some believe that Mary actually saw Christ while others see it as a spiritual awakening.
"We do need to be good stewards of Mother Earth or she will erupt another volcano and more than likely it will be bigger than the one in Iceland; bye bye California." Yeah, how did I miss all of the spiritual basis here. It's so obvious now. Especially, the bye bye California part.
ReplyDelete"My statement that Obama's intent is to control our lives is evidnet by the actions and legislation he is signing into law."
ReplyDeleteThis has about as much accuracy of "intent" as did Bush's theocracy attempts according to the left because he started "faith based initiatives".
Again, it seems odd that you would mock on some level the fear used by the left to motivate people to do "good" for the environment but then not see that you use the same tools to incite the right?
Anon..the bye bye California part has merit. For decades it has been discussed that the "Big One" is looming and only a matter of time. California's Eastern border is on a major fault line and if the shift is large enough it will make California an island or the next Atlantis.
ReplyDeleteI did not expect everyone to gain the spiritual perspective from that sentence but I am confident that the pagans and other Earthly bound religious folk did. People of Western faiths through around terms like Mother Nature as just that without understanding the deeper meaning many adhere or follow.
Kevin..How can you not argue that the Obama administration is attempting to control more and more of our lives? Yes, TARP was started by Bush, passed by a Democrat controlled Congress, and the Patriot Act both paved the roadway to further intrusion into our businesses and lives. Obama is taking that foundation to new heights. The first is by mandating all Americans purchase health care insurance. The next is his attempt to create a slush fund for the Fed to dissolve companies deemed "Too Big To Fail".
Obama's Stimulus package is full of handouts with the intent to further the co-dependancy on the government. The extentsion of employee unemployment benefits, the notion of a second stimulus package, and the constant cash for [fill in the blank].
I am well aware of both the fault, the big one, and you reference, rather my issue is with how carelessly you through things around and never seem to understand why others take issue.
ReplyDeleteWhy do you say I carelessly through around things? I expect people to take issue with what I write about. The purpose of the blog is for people to take issue so we can find common ground to make things better for our society. I find it humorous that people are more concerned with the Federal budget when we have the same problem locally...case in point the LGA blog.
ReplyDeleteThe Fed budget is a great concern don't get me wrong but the recklessness is not just at that level and the greatest impact on our individual lives will be the budgets closet to home.