0.24 Issues and options  (Page 12/6)

Issues and options

Introduction

Environmental issues are a concern of many, if not most, Americans. However, there is considerable disagreement on how such issues should be handled. Different people can interpret even a very general issue such as conservation very differently. Some believe that conservation means limiting the use of resources to allow a resource to last longer. Others see the conservation of resources as a way to maximize benefits to humans. This utilitarian approach to conservation policy, would place no value on saving endangered species that provide no direct benefit to humans. At the other extreme, some envision conservation as meaning the protection of resources without regard to profit or material benefit to humans. This view places the preservation as being of the utmost importance, and is sometimes viewed as elitist.

Even the simplest strategies for dealing with environmental issues cannot be carried out without the expenditure of time, effort and money. It follows that environmental policy decisions that are adopted by a country are usually made within the context of the level of affluence and education of that country. This is especially true when it comes to conservation issues. A developed country like the United States can afford to set aside and manage wilderness areas or place restrictions on timber cutting, mining and oil drilling on public lands. However, a developing country must contend with insufficient funds to meet the basic needs of its people. This often leads to short-sighted decisions that allow exploitation of its forests and other natural resources. The need for hard cash overrides the need to conserve.

The development and promotion of a platform on environmental issues requires careful planning and well-conceived education programs. Political backing is a necessity for implementing such a platform, as well as for garnering the legislative powers to enforce rules and guidelines. Politicians were for the most part disinterested in environmental issues until the 1970’s. The main reason for this was that issues such as conservation were perceived as long-term issues, and political concerns are mostly short term, changing as the administrations changed. However, politicians realized that they had to formulate some medium or long-term strategies, when a rise in international environmental activism forced them to consider these issues.

Resource use

Before the arrival of European settlers, the indigenous people of the North American continent lived in relative harmony with their environment. Although they hunted animals and some raised crops using slash and burn techniques, they had little impact on the environment because their populations were relatively small. This situation changed after European colonists settled what is now the eastern coast of the United States. As their numbers grew, they moved westward. The settlers clear cut forests as they moved through the frontier regions, leaving denuded landscapes. Farmers grew crops until the soil became infertile and then moved on to other locations. People used water resources freely without giving much thought to conservation. The common approach was that of exploitation of the seemingly endless natural resources the country offered.