Perspectives on Conservation
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RESOURCES FOR THE FUTURE LIBRARY COLLECTION RESOURCES FOR THE FUTURE LIBRARY COLLECTION NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT Essays on America’s Natural Resources Perspectives On Conservation Perspectives On Conservation Essays on America’s Natural Resources Henry Jarrett Downloaded by [University of Defence] at 21:27 09 May 2016 )3". RFF Press strives to minimize its impact on the environment Henry Jarrett Content Type: Black & White Paper Type: White Page Count: 278 File type: Internal Natural Resource Management Vol 5.qxd 9/17/2010 2:28 PM Page i RESOURCES FOR THE FUTURE LIBRARY COLLECTION NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT Volume 5 Perspectives on Conservation Essays on America’s Natural Resources Downloaded by [University of Defence] at 21:27 09 May 2016 Natural Resource Management Vol 5.qxd 9/17/2010 2:28 PM Page ii Full list of titles in the set NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT Volume 1: New Deal Planning Volume 2: America’s Renewable Resources Volume 3: Land Use and the States Volume 4: Comparisons in Resource Management Volume 5: Perspectives on Conservation Volume 6: The World Copper Industry Volume 7: Conservation and Economic Efficiency Downloaded by [University of Defence] at 21:27 09 May 2016 Perspectives on Conservation Essays on America's Natural Resources Henry Jarrett Downloaded by [University of Defence] at 21:27 09 May 2016 ~RFFPRESS - RESOURCES FOR THE FUTURE New York • London First published in 1958 by The johns Hopkins University Press for Resources for the Future This edition first published in 2011 by RFF Press, an imprint of Earthscan First edition ©The johns Hopkins University Press 1958 This edition © Earthscan 1958, 2011 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, except as expressly permitted by law, without the prior, written permission of the publisher. 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 USA 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Earthscan publishes in association with the International Institute for Environment and Development ISBN: 978-1-61726-055-1 (Volume 5) ISBN: 978-1-61726-006-3 (Natural Resource Management set) ISBN: 978-1-61726-000-1 (Resources for the Future Library Collection) A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Publisher's note The publisher has made every effort to ensure the quality of this reprint, but points out that some imperfections in the original copies may be apparent. At Earthscan we strive to minimize our environmental impacts and carbon footprint through reducing waste, recycling and offsetting our C02 emissions, including those created through publication of this book. Downloaded by [University of Defence] at 21:27 09 May 2016 PERSPECTIVES ON CONSERVATION ~ Essays on America's Natural Resources Downloaded by [University of Defence] at 21:27 09 May 2016 Essays on America's natural resources by JOHN KENNETH GALBRAITH, ERNEST S. GRIFFITH, LUTHER GULICK, EDWARD S. MASON, THOMAS B. NOLAN, GILBERT F. WHITE Bushrod W. Allin, Robert C. Cook, Harry A. Curtis, Samuel 'f. Dana, Charles M. Hardin, Henry C. Hart, Robert W. Hartley, Philip M. Hauser, Samuel P. Hays, Joseph L. Intermaggio, Minor S. Jameson, Jr., Downloaded by [University of Defence] at 21:27 09 May 2016 Robert E. Merriam, Sigurd F. Olson, William Pincus, Paul B. Sears, Byron 'f. Shaw, Abel Wolman PUBLISHED FOR Resources for the Future, Inc. PERSPECTIVES ~ on CONSERVATION EDITED BY HENRY JARRETT Downloaded by [University of Defence] at 21:27 09 May 2016 B Y 'fhe Johns Hopkins Press BALTIMORE RESOURCES FOR THE FUTURE, INC. 1755 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036 Board of Directors: WilliamS. Paley, Chairman, Robert 0. Anderson, Harrison Brown, Erwin D. Canham, Edward J. Cleary, Joseph L. Fisher, Luther H. Foster, Charles J. Hitch, Hugh L. Keenleyside, EdwardS. Mason, Frank Pace, Jr., Laurance S. Rockefeller, Stanley H. Ruttenberg, Lauren K. Soth, John W. Vanderwilt, P. F. Watzek. Honorary Directors: Horace M. Albright, Reuben G. Gustavson, Otto H. Liebers, Leslie A. Miller. President: Joseph L. Fisher Vice President: .Michael F. Brewer Secretary-Treasurer: John E. Herbert Resources for the Future is a non-profit corporation for research and education in the development, conservation, and use of natural resources. It was established in 1952 with the cooperation of the Ford Foundation and its activities since then have been financed by grants from that Foundation. Part of the work of Resources for the Future is carried out by its resident staff, part supported by grants to universities and other non-profit organizations. Unless otherwise stated, interpretations and conclusions in RFF publications are those of the authors; the organization takes responsibility for the selection of significant subjects for study, the competence of the researchers, and their freedom of inquiry. Director of RFF publications, Henry Jarrett; editor, Vera W. Dodds; associate editor, Nora E. Roots. Downloaded by [University of Defence] at 21:27 09 May 2016 Copyright © 1958 by The Johns Hopkins Press, Baltimore, Maryland 21218 All rights reserved Manufactured in the United States of America Originally published, 1958 Second printing, 1961 Third printing, 1966 Fourth printing, 1968 CONTENTS Editor's Introduction, vn I. The First Fifty Years ERNEST S. GRIFFITH: Main Lines of Thought and Action, 3 sA M u E L T • D A N A : Pioneers and Principles, 24 H E N R Y c . H A R T : The Changing Context of the Problems, 34 sA M u E L P • HAYs : The Mythology of Conservation, 40 II. Science, Technology, and Natural Resources THOMAS B. NOLAN: The Inexhaustible Resource of Technology, 49 BYRON T. SHAW: Technology on the Land, 67 R o B E R T c . c o o K : Malthus' Main Thesis Still Holds, 72 H A R R Y A • c u R T Is : The Barrier of Cost, 79 Ill. Resource Demands and Living Standards JOHN KENNETH GALBRAITH: How Much Should a Country Consume? 89 Downloaded by [University of Defence] at 21:27 09 May 2016 P HILI P M • H Au s E R : The Crucial Value Problems, 100 PAUL B. SEARS: Ethics, Aesthetics, and the Balance of Nature, 106 IV. Urban Growth and Natural Resources LUTHER GULICK: The City's Challenge in Resource Use, 115 v vi Contents JOSEPH L. INTERMAGGIO: Some Problems in City Planning, 138 SIGURD F. OLSON: Our Need of Breathing Space, 144 ABEL WOLMAN: Selective Opportunism, the Surest Way, 150 V. Some Determinants of Resource Policy EDWARD S. MASON: The Political Economy of Resource Use, 157 ROBERT W. HARTLEY: The Broadening Base of Resource Policy, 187 MINORS. JAMESON, JR.: Policy Criteria for Petroleum, 191 B USHROD W. ALLIN: The Waning Role of Laissez Faire, 196 VI. Organizing for Conservation and Development GILBERT F. WHITE: Broader Bases for Choice: The Next Key Move, 205 CHARLES M. HARDIN: Can We Still Afford a Separate Resources Policy? 227 R 0 BERT E. MERRIAM : The Plus Side of the Record, 233 WILLIAM PINCUS: The Federal Responsibility for Leadership, 240 Index, 249 Downloaded by [University of Defence] at 21:27 09 May 2016 EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION The use and enjoyment of natural resources is everybody's concern. Enough food, clothing, materials to make things with, energy for homes, factories, and transportation, pure water, fresh air, elbow room in natural surroundings for sport or contemplation, and other resource products sustain life and make it worth living. Everyone wants enough of these good things for his own family and those who will come after. Also, at least in a democracy, the ultimate decisions on how to use resources are everybody's responsibility. In exercising their responsibility, however, the people more often than not have to rely on specialists of various kinds. There are com plex technologies of forestry, mining, oil and gas extraction, water de velopment, and other fields that largely determine how much of a resource product is available and how it can be used. There are com plicated economic factors that influence production and consumption and help determine who pays the costs and who reaps the benefits. There are other important, sometimes highly technical, considerations including those of political and social organization and population growth. Specialist and layman are mutually dependent in the modem world and have a lot to learn from each other, particularly, it sometimes Downloaded by [University of Defence] at 21:27 09 May 2016 seems, in the field of resource conservation and development. In no field, certainly, is there greater need of bringing the two together. The aim of this book, as of the Resources for the Future Forum on which it is based, is to bring expert opinion to bear upon a few re source problems of wide interest and significance. The informed sec tion of the general public to which the essays are addressed is itself a large and diverse group, for in this age of specialization the authority in one field is the layman in another. Specifically, the book seeks to vii viii Editor's Introduction shed light on some of the resource conservation problems of the next fifty years from the vantage point of a critical review of the past fifty. Reckoning from 1908 when Theodore Roosevelt convened the first Governors' Conference to consider resource problems, the idea of conservation has been a strong influence in the national life for half a century. The origins of the movement are much older than that. In the earlier years of Roosevelt's presidency there had been a spreading ferment and some notable accomplishments; and these, in tum, had been preceded by a chain of developments running well back into the nineteenth century. But it was at the time of the Governors' Confer ence that the conservation idea emerged fully and unmistakably as a conscious, widely recognized force in American thought and action.