PART
II- ENVIRONMENTALISM’S SECOND WAVE
The ‘Green Agenda’ of the first waves was relegated to
the margins of public life by an event of a global consequence— ‘The Second
World War’ (political situation across the world-victory of ‘Good’
(democracy) over ‘Evil’ (authoritarian fascist) India’s freedom-other nations
too). There was a pre-occupation with ‘productivity and
production,-developed/developing nations)
1941-American President (Roosevelt) Franklin R. spoke
of a world founded on 4 essential freedoms- freedom of expression and worship,
freedom from want and fear- a decade later it seemed as if the 4 freedoms most
cherished by the ‘Affluent Society' were:
§ Freedom to produce,
§ Freedom to consume,
§ Freedom to get rich,
§ Freedom to get richer!
The goal in developing countries was removal of
poverty- Leaders like Nehru in India, Sukarno in Indonesia, Nasser in
Egypt believed in development- rapid Industrialization would end poverty and unemployment
and make for a strong and self-reliant society. Thus called for intensive use
of nature and natural resources—“the earth is infinitely blessed with
natural riches” (Henry Morgenthau U.S Secretary of Treasury 1945 at
the time of founding the World Bank)
In this way the prospect of unending Economic growth
promised to the people of North and the prospect of becoming like America,
offered to developing and under developed countries.- ‘Science’ looked
upon as an “endless frontier” ‘technology’ as an inexhaustible
resource.
A discordant voice came from Berkeley Geographer Carl
Sauer “We have not learnt the difference between Yield and loot”
F.F Schumacher: German Economist believed that the ideology of
economic expansion had legitimized the exploitation of non-renewable resources
such as coal and oil. Man had lived off his income and is now forcing himself
into nature’s larder and emptying it out with increasing speed every
year. This would surely lead to self- destruction. (Mumford) he deplored the
rule of ‘power, prestige, profit’. Love must take the lead only then
will the earth and life on it be safe again.
Mira Behn (Madeline Slade) Gandhiji’s discipline her primary concern was with
the rehabilitation of the village economy but was worried by the way in which
nature was being plundered and despoiled and disorganized by man. She stressed
the need to understand and study nature’s balance and develop our lives
within her laws, if we have survive as a physically healthy and morally decent
species. This phase of ‘Ecological innocence’ stretched from the end
of S.W.W to the last quarter of 1962.
THE ECOLOGY OF AFFLUENCE.
It was in this year the second wave took off the
medium being a book (1962) described as a ‘Bible’ and a founding event of
modern environmentalism. This landmark book ‘SILENT SPRING’ was the work
of Rachael Carson a biologist. It was a book on pesticide
pollution.-The central problem was the contamination of man’s total environment
that can cause great harm. These chemicals such as D.D.T
(Dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane) an insecticide that had found favor among
farmers and scientists. Though used for a worthy purpose to increase food
production by eliminating pests, these had now become ‘elixirs of death”.
Chemicals applied to plants and trees, slowly leached into the soil and water
thus entering the food chain-passing from one organism to another-from insects
and birds to fish and animals, they went on to enter the human body in small
doses. Thus these chemicals posed a danger to diverse forms of life. The title
“Silent Spring” refers to the death of the ‘Robin’ (birds) in parts of New
England. They heralded the coming of spring. Now spring comes unheralded, early
mornings are silent. She speaks of the Eagle kills (American national bird) and
the Salmon deaths before arriving finally at the threat to human life though
chemical ingestion, illustrated by the increasing incidence of cancer. ‘Silent
Spring’ helped environmentalist that, “nature was an intricate web of life
whose interwoven strands lead from microbes to man”. This called for a modest,
gentle and cautious attitude towards nature. The book made people rethink-The
federal Government outlawed the use of D.D.T and a Pesticide Control Act was
passed in 1972 and a Toxic substances control Act 1974 which monitored the use
of chemicals. The impact of this book was not confined to the US alone. It was
translated into 12 languages and there was a resurgence of environmentalist in
Europe. Rachael Carson wrote ‘Silent Spring’ as if unaware of the first wave of
environmentalism and the important contributions from Marsh, Muir, and Leopold.
Therefore it is referred to as the Age of Ecological Innocence, which
seems to have effectively wiped away the memory and heritage of the first wave
of environmentalism.
WAVES WITHIN THE WAVE.
Carson inspired a lot of environmental debated in the
1960’s and 1970’s and several biologist wrote extensively on varied aspects,
The Destruction of California (Dasmann), The population bomb
(Ehrlich), The tragedy of the Commons (Hardin), in the UK the
first to ring alarm bells were F.Fraser Darling, C.H. Waddington, Eric Ashby
and Julian Huxley all biologists with an interest in protecting the
environment. An Economist E.F. Schumacher in 1973 published ‘Small is
Beautiful’ which expressed the need to use machines where the production
process would be cheap, use little energy and be sensitive to the environment.
He was influenced by Gandhiji.
Thus in both Europe and North America there was a lot
of environmental concern, many works, some scholarly others passimate. Many
environmental activists were considered by the dominant ruling ideologies as
“backward-looking reactionaries, ‘prophets of doom’ (the Socialists and
Economists). Ecologist Barry Commoner wrote that economic motivation
resulted in anti-ecological changes in technology and production since the
Second World War. Spanish scholar Juan Martinez Alier coined the term
‘effluents of affluence’ to refer to the changes that have turned the nation’s
factories, farms, vehicles and shops into seed-beds of pollution: e.g. nitrates
from fertilizers, phosphates from detergents, toxic residues from pesticides.
THE ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT: From Ideas to Activism: in the US and
Europe.
From 1969 there is a change in activism and the
approaches adopted. Earlier activists used the power of their words to persuade
people to join or follow them. Some worked closely with politicians and public
officials. Contemporary environmentalism tended to resort to more
militant forms of action. There were several movements each having a
distinct identity: Feminist movements, Civil rights movement, environmental
movements. There were marches and processions. Earth Day was held on April 22nd
1970 described as the ‘largest organized demonstration in human history’.
Swedish sociologist Andrew Jamison has written about the new social movements
that were the work of the young people impatient with the political methods of
the elders it was a “Revolt of the Young”.
Environmentalism steadily grew in support and
influence. As affluent societies grew, its members wanted more food to
consume. There was a shift to the 5 day week. Consumers had both money and
means to travel. There was a growing interest in the wild and beautiful to
relax, ‘nature’ being viewed as one more good to be consumed. In 1970’s
and 1980’s environmentalists relied on lawyers and scientists who would work
with, rather work against the industry and government. Legislations were
drafted to protect nature or control effluents. Over a period of time the
routinization and professionalization has in recent years generated a
counter-movement---a struggle to return environmentalism to its confrontational
past. In US, this radical reaction was given by Dave Foreman, founder of
Earth First! According to him many environmentalists had begun to resemble
bureaucrats and this needed to change. In Britain, Chris Maile
influenced by Gandhiji returned to their half forgotten tradition of dissent
and moral authority.
RADICAL AMERICAN
ENVIRONMENTALISM.
There are two legitimate claimants to the ‘radical’
(purity and militancy) label. The first strand in the wilderness movement
is known as “DEEP ECOLOGY”. Its origin dates to an essay by a Norwegian;
Arné Naess (1972) who urged environmentalists to embrace an ethic termed
“biospheric egalitarianism” that places humans on a more or less equal
footing with other species. This would be truly a ‘deep ecology’ in contrast to
the ‘shallow’ ecology which is only concerned pollution and resource depletion.
This ethic found followers with the scholarly community. A new journal
‘Environmental Ethics’ influenced a lot of debates in the academic
discipline of philosophy. Several activists also took it up very
enthusiastically. (North America)- The Canadian province of British Columbia
(militant efforts to defend the wild)→blockaded logging roads, with fallen
trees, boulders and then own bodies, dangling from trees 100 feet off the
ground etc. Deep ecologists considered themselves as the intellectual,
spiritual and political vanguard of American environmentalism. However then,
critics accused them of ignoring problems of social inequality both within the
countries of the North and between the North and the South. They speak of a
more radical strand the Second strand→ “Environmental Justice Movement”
while Deep ecology was rooted in the wild. Environmental justice was firmly
rooted in human inhabitations. The threats it fears are toxic waste dumps and
landfills, excretions of the affluence e.g. Love Canal (New York) recipient of
43 million pounds of waste produced by Hooker Chemicals. Love Canal passes
through a white area but the toxic waste sites are located in areas inhabited
by the minority communities. African-American has been put at risk due to the
waste dumps and landfills.
Sociologist Robert Bullard was the first to raise his voice against this problem
of effluent discriminations. He found that in the city of Houston where Whites
outnumber the Blacks, 3 out of 4 disposal sites had been placed in Black
neighborhoods. This did give rise to movements, protests, demonstrations,
campaigns and lawsuits against the dangerous dump-sites and landfills often
making industry and government accountable. Women have played a leading
role for which the health of their children was not a “negotiable category”. A coordinating
body ‘Citizens Clearing House for Hazardous Waste’ (CCHW) along with activist
Lois Gibbs outlined alternatives to production and dispersal of toxics, the FOUR
R’s--- Recycling, Reduction, Reuse and Reclamation,
leading to a new reorientation of American environmentalism. The new
anti-toxics movement was rooted in people’s immediate experience and comprised
of the working classes and low income people. The principle of Social
Justice became important.
THE GERMAN GREENS:
Origin can be traced to the 1960’s. After the Second
World War, the ruling Christian Democratic Union urged people to forget the
past and work to building an ‘affluent society’. In 1979 a Green party was
formed. In 1978 a group of environmentalists taking part in elections in
Germany put forward candidates under the “Green List”. The German Greens stand
out for their political victories and for the moral challenge they offer to the
governing beliefs of Industrial civilization. Indian Scholar Saral Sarkar
a resident of Germany observes that the BI’s (Burger Initiative- Citizens
actions) passed through 3 distinct phases:
i)
From
1969-1972 they operated as “one point actions” ( local efforts to stop
damaging industries rehabilitate battered women and drug addicts, construct
schools, playgrounds without waiting for the Government to do so
ii)
After
oil price hike in 1973, Western Germany expanded is nuclear industry. Theme was
Ecology- controversy over nuclear power (fears of the contribution of nuclear
plants to pollution, their links to the armament industry and the secrecy
around them). There was opposition to Atomic energy.
iii)
From
1977 efforts resulted in an ‘Alternative Political Alliance’ (Green Party). The
Greens have contributed by drawing attention to the rights of
other nations and future generations and the disadvantaged section
of their society i.e. Women industrialized nations were urged to curb
their voracious appetite (they consume ¾ of the world’s energy and resources)
and allow the southern nations to grow out of poverty. The Green Party (Green
Femminism included) has transformed the political landscape of Germany. This is
considered to be the finest achievement of the second wave of environmentalism.
THE
SOUTHERN CHALLENGE:
Societies of the third world (developing nations)
though far flung and richly varied among themselves are united by the poverty
of the masses of their people’s:
1)
Penan-
Malaysia (community of hunters and farmers)- their forests were encroached by
commercial loggers, their rivers,
exposed their soils and destroyed plants and animals. Penan struggle support
from Green peace, Rainforest action network.
2)
Sardar Sarovar Dam- (Narmada) 460 feet (Medha Patkar)
3)
Thailand (1970) - forest department initiated conversions of
acres of natural forests into mono-cultural plantations of eucalyptus- peasants
opposed these plantations.
4)
Nigeria (1995) military dictatorship hung 9 dissenters for
drawing attention on the impact of oil-drilling by Royal- Shell on the Ogoni
tribe.
5)
Kenya’s Green
belt movement- founded by Waangari Matthai (her country’s first woman
professor) urged women to protect and improve their environment. Starting with
7 saplings planted on 5th June 1977 (World Environment Day) the
movement had distributed 7,000,000 saplings by 1992 in 22 districts (Kenya).
There were varied other forms of social action---struggles of dam displaced
people (Narmada) peasants, fisher folk against environmental degradation. There
were also struggle for environmental renewal, soil conservation etc. Most
struggles and movements highlighted the problems and consequences on the local
communities as it was a fact that environmental degradation often
intensities Economic deprivation. In India social protests took
various forms---‘Dharna’ (sit down strike) ‘Pradarshan’ mass processions,
‘Hartal’ (general strike) ‘Rasta Roko’ (transport blockade) ‘Bhook Hartal’
(hunger strike), Gherao, Jail Bharo Andolan.
One important feature of the environmentalism of the
poor was the role of women (India, Malaysia, Brazil, Kenya, Mexico) -
Women and nature (Eco-feminism).
March 27th 1973. (Chipko Movement) Mandal
(a remote Himalayan village in the Upper Gangetic plain) episode (India)
In Brazil- Amazon by Francisco ‘Chico’ Mendes- labor organizer who
achieved international fame for promoting the ‘Ecology of Justice’ in a
region devastated by economic exploitation. From the Mid 1970’s the rubber
tappers have their union. In 1987 they joined the inhabitants of the Amazon to
form a ‘Forest People’s Alliance’ to defend the forest and land rights of its
members. In December 1988 (22nd) Chico Mendes was shot dead.
1)
The Northern
Environmentalism highlighted the significance of value change (shift to
post materialism), The southern movements seem to be rooted in material
conflicts with claims to economic justice (rights to natural resources of
poorer communities)
2)
The Southern
groups have been more adversarial with regard to their government (opposing
laws and policies considered unjust and destructive). While the northern groups
have been constructive i.e. they have worked with their governments in
promoting benign laws and policies
3)
Northern
Greens have been attentive to the rights of the victimized or endangered
species (animals and plants), whilst the Southern Greens have been very
alert to the rights of the less fortunate members of their own species (human
beings).
However
all environmentalists have had to intend with the anti-environmental lobby. In
the US it’s the businessman and Industrialist whilst in India and Malaysia they
are joined by state officials and technocrats, with both private and public
promoters of development attacking environmentalists as motivated by
foreigners, as creating law and order problems.
SOCIALISM
AND ENVIRONMENTALISM
Early
Soviet Environmentalism
1st
World countries comprised
the affluent societies of Europe and North America along with Japan, Australia
and New Zealand.
3rd
World: Poor
nations---Africa, Asia, Latin America
2nd
World: Neither rich nor
poor, who before the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989, were committed to the Ideology
of State Socialism: e.g. Soviet Union.
After the Bolshevik Revolution (1917) the
leaders believed that in order to catch up with the affluent societies they
needed massive Industrialization. Joseph Stalin wanted this to be
achieved in 10 years. In 1920’s technology dominated nature, planning helped to
extract from nature all that man required and perhaps even more. In the first
10 years of communist rule a conservation
movement began to take shape. Soviet scientists were asking for sites
of virgin nature to be selected on ecological criteria, to act as a
‘baseline’ from which to judge the suitability of human intervention in other
unprotected areas. (Zapovedniki or protected areas)
1920’s seem to be the “Golden Age” for
soviet science and for soviet environmentalism as well. This got a set back in
1929-1934 (1st five year plan). Ecologists and Conservationists were
attacked and criticized, “no need for a Saccharine—sentimental approach to
nature” as it prohibited further development of socialism.
China:
the Three Gorges Project—In
1920’s—A dam across 3 Gorges on the Yangtze river (185 meters high i.e. 620
feet) communist China punished dissenters. (In 1989 scholars-journalists
published a book- Yangtze! Yangtze! which criticized the project)
Even in 1993 (August) villagers in Gansu
province protested against contamination of their water by a chemical plant,
leading to death of fish and livestock and causing respiratory illness. Their
complaints were disregarded and when the peasants took to the streets, police
were called. They killed two protestors and injured several others. Several
attempts at creating awareness and creation of non-political groups of nature
lovers have not been fruitful. “Affirmative voices are allowed to be heard
but the negative voices are often suppressed”.
Several protests and movements did take
place in Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Romania and later once again in Soviet
Union when Mikhail Gorbachev came to power with his policies of ‘Glasnost’
(openness in 1985). From the mid 70’s writers and scientists slowly criticized
the foul smelling residues of unchecked industrialization. This criticism
increased in the 80’s (accident at the Chernobyl) nuclear plant—biggest
disaster in planned development Green Movements have been strong in India and
most influential in the United States and Western Europe where there is a great
commitment to political democracy.
ONE WORLD OR TWO?
·
The
World Wildlife Fund celebrated its 25th anniversary in September
1986 in a novel way in a small town in Italy—Assisi. It brought together
representative of five of the world’s great religions—Christianity, Islam,
Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism—to harness these diverse and widespread energies
towards a collective goal. The protection of ‘One Earth’ which is the abode for
us all.
·
By
1970’s environmentalism had emerged as a world wide movement
·
By
1980’s to the list of regional and local problems were added those that were
global. (Climate changes, green house effect, emissions) etc.
·
In
1989- ‘Time’ magazine chose the Earth as the ‘Planet of the Year’
calling for protecting the earth—a universal crusade to save the planet
·
1987-
Norwegian Prime Minister Go. Harlem Brundtland presented a report on
Sustainable development.
·
1992—
Earth Summit was held in Rio De Janeiro (June) —United Nations Conference on
Environment and Development (UNCED) —180 countries participated. It was the
largest international conference ever held
Three major problems were discussed
1)
Deforestation.
2)Climate Change 3) Loss of Biodiversity
The question of climate change was very
significant and it was recommended that each country agree to stabilize its carbon
emissions by an agreed cut-off date say 2015. This was attacked by southern
environmentalists—Anil Agarwal, Sunita Narain. (Centre for Science and
Environment, New Delhi) They made a distinction between “Survival Emissions” of
the poor and “Luxury Emissions” of the rich.
The summit was also said to be a ‘Forest
convention’ which sought to strengthen global control over forest
resources. There were differences between the Northern and Southern
environmentalists, while:
I)
The
Northern environmentalists were in favor of an international management regime.
Their southern counterparts insisted that National control must make way for
local control.
II)
Disputes
arose over a proposed biodiversity treaty which was considered to be favorable
to the northern activists.
III)
Many
felt that the environmental crisis was precipitated by the wasteful and
excessive consumption of the North (80% resources being used by 20% population
in Europe, North America, Oceania and Japan).
Despite
all the views and differences at Rio there is something that unites different
kinds of environmentalists— ‘The Idea of Restraint’.
