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*** ***** ***Msc* ***** ** ***** * ***** ** ******* *********** ***** Co N.., C., 141 Environment and Development: CI W Building Sustainable Societies DOCUMENT RESUME ED 305 218 SE 050 380 AUTHOR Meine, Curt, Ed.; And Others TITLE Environment and Development: Building Sustainable Societies. Lectures from the 1987 Summer Forum at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Report 135. Report 135. INSTITUTION Wisconsin Univ., Madison. Inst. for Environmental Studies. PUB DATE Nov 88 NOTE 119p. AVAILABLE FROMInstitute for Environmental Studies, Office of Publications, Information, and Outreach, 550 N. Park Street, 15 Science Hall, Madison, WI 53706 (free in limited quantities while supply lasts). PUB TYPE Speeches/Conference Papers (150) -- Information Analyses (070) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC05 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Air Pollution; Ctservation (Environment); Crowding; Energy Conservation; Environment; Environmental Education; *Environmental Influences; *Environmental Standards; Forestry; Natural Resources; Pollution; Population Education; *World Problems ABSTRACT The argument over economic development and environmental sustainability took center stage in the late 1960s and early 1970s as many believed the capacity of the earth to sueport the population was being reached. In the early 1980s the arguments receded but have reemerged as atmospheric problems and petroleum supplies are again hot topics. The purpose of this forum was to discuss whether environmental crises will cause a reversal in world development and how should development of the world proceed. Eight papers are included: (1) "Development Pressures on the World's Peasants: Environmental Trends and Development Lessons from the Bottom Up" (Timothy C. Weiskel); (2) "Environmental Opportunities and Limits for Development" (Reid A. Bryson); (3) "Global Sustainability and Food Production" (Robert L. Clodius); (4) "The Red Queen Syndrome: Running Faster--Going Nowhere?" (John E. Ross); (5) "Environmental Criteria and World Bank Loans" (Robert J. A. Goodland); (6) "Decline of the World's Tropical Forests" (James D. Nations); (7) "In Defense of Development" (Julian L. Simon); and (8) "Global Balances in the 21st Century" (Russell W. Peterson). (MVL) ** ******** *** ***** ***** ******It ***** ********* ***** ** ******** **** ******** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that an be made from the original document. ************ *** ***** ***MSc* ***** ** ***** * ***** ** ******* *********** ***** co N.., c., 141 Environment and Development: CI W Building Sustainable Societies Lectures from the 1987 Summer Forum at the University of Wisconsin-Madison John E. Ross, Coordinator U S DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATIO4 CENTER (ERIC) This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it Mmor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality Points of view or opinions stated in this docu- ment do not necessarily represent official OE RI position or policy "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY -Jos, t(I)41,-hcad-:- TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)" Institute for Environmental Studies Report 135 University of Wisconsin-Madison 2 Environment and Development: Building Sustainable Societies Lectures from the 1987 Summer Forum at the University of Wisconsin-Madison John E. Ross, Coordinator Institute for Environmental Studies Report 135 November 1988 Institute for Environmental Studies University of Wisconsin-Madison OND 3 Copy Editors: Curt Meine, Tom Sinclair Editorial Assistant: Greta French This rwort was published by the Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Additional copies are available free in limited quantities. For further information, contact: Institute for Environmental Studies Office of Publications, Information, and Outreach 550 N. Park Street, 15 Science Hall Madison, WI 53706 Phone: (608) 263-3185 First printing: November 1988 Printed in the USA 2 4 Contents Preface 5 The Speakers 6 Introduction 9 John E. Ross Development Pressures on the World's Peasants: Environmental Trends and Development Lessons from the Bottom Up 18 Timothy C We Lad Environmental Opportunities and Limits for Development 45 Reid A. Bryson Global Sustainability and Food Production 59 Robert L Clodius The Red Queen Syndrome: Running Faster -- Going Nowhere? 67 John E. Ross Environmental Criteria and World Bank Loans 79 Robert J. A. Goodland Decline of the World's Tropical Forests 88 James D. Nations In Defense of De elopment 100 Julian L. Simon Global Balances in the 21st Century, 110 Russell W. Peterson 3 Preface In the summer of1987the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Institute for Environmental Studies and Division of Summer Sessions cosponsored a forum titled,Environment and Development: Building Sustainable Societies. The forum featured eight speakers with varying views on one of the significant issues of our time. The speakers, in order of their lectures, were Timothy C. Weiskel, Reid A. Bryson, Robert L. Clodius, John E. Ross, Robert J. A. Good land, James D. Nations, Julian Simon, and Russell W. Peterson. Their biographical sketches appear on the pages following this preface. The argument over economic development and environmental sustainability took center stage in the late1960sand early1970s,propelled by a series of global modeling studies that forecast economic decline and even collapse because, it was believed by many, we are overreaching the capacity of the earth to support us. In the early1980sthe arguments receded, certainly in part because of the decline in petroleum prices. Then, when global atmospheric problems emerged and the perception that petroleum supplies are finite became more obvious, the global sustainability debaters moved back to center stage. There is no consensus among the debaters about whether environmental crises will cause a reversal in world development. On tie other hand, encouraging new technologies sit on the horizon. But there are also storm clouds and the dull sound of thunder out there. The argument is not really whether economic development should be deliberately halted, because problems of the disadvantaged are still acute. Rather, it is about how development should procede -- and at what rate -- to maintain sustainable societies across the generations. There is a general recognition that current policies aad instruments do not do all we want them to do in maintaining a viable environment. It is in the spirit of open debate on an extremely complex issue that the forum was convened. This volume includes edited versions of the eight lectures, preceded by an introduction designed to set the parameters of the debate as it evolved in the forum. 5 6 The Speakers Timothy C. Weiskel, an economic anthropologist, is a Henry Luce fellow at Harvard University. He has studied the historical evolution of agroecosystems in the Third World, particularly Wes: Africa, where he analyzed peasant reactions to colonial and postcolonial development schemes in French-speaking countries. Weiskel's work has combined economic and ecological anthropology with emphasis on documenting historical transformations in relations between rural people and the land. His concern about global trends of resources depletion in agroecosystems has prompted him to focus on the political economy of tropical deforestation, soil erosion, and plant genetic collapse. Weiskel has a B.A. in anthropology and history from Yale and completed graduate degrees in both fields at Oxford University as a Danforth fellow and Rhodes scholar. He has taught anthropology at Williams College, Yale, and Harvard. Reid A. Bryson, emeritus professor of environmental studies, meteorology, and geography at UW-Madison, is an internationally known climatologist who has devoted much of his scientific career to understanding the history of climate change and perfecting long-range climate forecasting. In his nearly 40 years as a member of the UW-Madison faculty, Bryson founded the Department of Meteorology and served as the first director of the Institute for Environmental Studies. Now retired from the faculty, he continues to conduct research in paleoclimatology and to write. He has written 200 professional articles and written or coauthored five books. A fellow of the National Association for the Advancement of Science, he has served on committees for the National Academy of Science/National Research Council, the National Science Foundation, and other scientific organizations. Agencies ranging from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization to Environment Canada have sought his expertise as a consultant. Born in Detroit, Bryson earned his B.A. in geology at Denison University and a Ph.D. in meteorology from the University of Chicago. Robert L Clodius is widely recognized for his work in agricultural policy and economics. Former editor of the the Journal of Farm Economics. he has been a consultant to the U.S. departments of State and Agriculture, the Ford and Rockefeller foundations, the University of East Africa, and the government of Sierra Leone. He al:has served as chairman of the advisory committee for the National Center on Agricultural Policy at Resources for the Future. Since 1978, he has been president of the National Association of State Universties and Land-Grant Colleges, which represents 145 of the nation's major public universities. Earlier, he served 28 years as a faculty member and administrator at UW-Madison, where he was a professor of agricultural economics, economics, and educational administration. He directed an overseas university development project in Indonesia
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