21 st Century Environmentalism ?

1. 21st Century Environmentalism ? • Timeline of some key events re-iterated • UK perspectives on growth of environmentalism and people-environment relations • Lomborg (2001) The Skeptical Environmentalist • The Environmentalists Fight Back – but is it working? • Public scepticism – are we “bovvered”?

2. Example Essay Q • From 2002 Exam – • Critically analyse the global environmental views outlined by Lomborg (2001) that "Mankind's lot has vastly improved in every significant measurable field and is likely to continue to do so". • Feel free to do, and/or plan, and submit to me for comments

3. 1960s • Rachel Carson’s ‘Silent Spring’ 1962 • Kenneth Boulding’s ‘Spaceship Earth’ 1966 • Paul Ehrlich’s ‘Population Bomb’ 1968 • Friends of the Earth 1969

4. 1970s • First Earth Day 1970 • Greenpeace 1971 • Polluter Pays Principle ‘OECD’ 1971 • UN Conference on Human Development, 1972 • Limits to Growth 1972 • Worldwatch Institute 1975

5. 1980s ‘The Disasters’ • 1984 - Bhopal, India – Union Carbide toxic chemical leak 10,000 dead 300,000 injured • 1984 - Ethiopian drought led to a famine with 250,000 – 1 million dead • 1986 - Chernobyl, toxic radioactive explosion • 1989 - Exxon Valdez dumps 11 million gallons of oil into Prince William Sound in Alaska

6. Rise of Green Power in 1980s • Environmental Groups • UK membership went from 2 to 5 million between 1980-88 • Green Party • gained 15 % of vote at European elections in 1989 • John Elkington and Julia Hailes, 1988 • ‘Green Consumer Guide’

7. 1990s ‘Business Changes’ • 1992 • Business Council for Sustainable Development representation at Earth Summit • 1995 • Shell linked with death of Ken Saro-Wiwa • World Trade Organisation established • 1996 ISO14001 EMS • 1997 Marine Stewardship Council founded • 1998 Monsanto GMO crisis • 1999 Global Sustainability Index

8. Summary • 1960s birth of new consciousness, movement, groups • 1970s tense battle ground between economists and environmental movement • 1980s Introduction of sustainable development • 1990s Realising SD • 2000s ?? - Skepticism and WSSD places emphasis on Poverty and Partnerships (not environment) – nation states taking more control (away from UN etc.) post 9/11

9. The Skeptical Environmentalist Its Impacts and Critique • The Questioning of Environmentalist Assumptions of Crisis (Lomborg, 2001) • The Scientific / Environmentalist Fightback • Further Reading to assess its’ impact

10. Lomborg (2001) - The Skeptical Environmentalist • Statistical analysis of major indices of global environmental state and well-being that concludes - • “Mankind's lot has vastly improved in every significant measurable field and is likely to continue to do so" • Argues many environmental concerns are created and perpetuated by environmental movement • Suggests global budgets would be better spent on reducing poverty (and enabling adaptability to climate change) than on costly anti-pollution measures • www.lomborg.org • See also Preface reading

11. Media Response / Portrayal • Very widely (and positively) reported as key questioning to many environmental wisdoms: • “The Skeptical Environmentalist is a triumph” The Economist 6/9/01 • “Probably the most important book on the environment ever written” The Daily Telegraph, 27/8/01 • “A magnificent achievement” The Washington Post, 21/10/01 • “The reader should be wary in particular of Lomborg's passion for global statistics: overarching averages can obscure a lot of important detail” The Guardian, 1/09/01

12. Environmentalists Fight Back • Scathing reviews published in Scientific American (Jan 02), Nature and Science • Based on statistical fallacies and economic indicators (rather than detailed scientific research) • Weaknesses in global data sets • He has limited scientific credentials and portrayed as an oddball • “Reads like a compilation of term papers from one of those classes from hell where one has to fail all students” • Pimm and Harvey (2001, Nature 414, 8) • www.anti-lomborg.com

13. Lomborg’s Rise and Fall ? • Widely quoted by leading global politicians and sold many millions copies of book • March 2002 – appointed as Director of Denmark’s Environmental Assessment Institute • January 2003 – Found guilty by Danish Government Committee of “scientific dishonesty” who stated that “[he] has clearly acted at variance with good scientific practice” • Increasingly viewed by scientific community that although controversial, is also incompetent in analysis and interpretation

14. Lomborg’s Rise, Fall and Rise Again? • April 2004 – named one of world’s 100 most influential people by Time magazine • November 2004 – named a Young Global Leader by World Economic Forum • Co-ordinated the Copenhagen Consensus with ten world-leading economists assessing options on key global crises • Published Global Crises, Global Solutions based on cost-benefit analyses of different policy options on global problems BUT .. • “Junk economics done by Nobel laureates is simply distinguished junk economics” – Tom Burke, Guardian 23/10/04

15. Implications of Lomborg debates to Modern Environmental Science • Too simplistic to discount as an ‘incompetent oddball’ as has changed socio-political view of environmental science • Need to increase rigour of scientific analyses to counter the views that all is ok with global environment • Need to clearly identify social, cultural and political causes and implications of environmental changes • Has focused more of the Climate Change debate on people’s adaptability (and vulnerability) rather than just mitigation options

16. Ongoing Public Debates • Continued public scepticism that global environmental arguments being mis-used to detriment of local communities & environment • Other leading ‘environmentalists’ speaking out against scientific consensus – e.g. David Bellamy attacks ‘scam of global warming’ • Continued push for various ‘public good’ moves based (partly) on environmental benefits they provide – e.g. local, organic food; anti 4x4 campaigns; Debt relief / ‘Make Poverty History’

17. Local Food – Environmental and Social (health?) benefits • Has Green movement been co-opted – reduced its radical ideas and taken over by middle classes? E.g. • German Greens once in power; • Jamie Oliver claiming the local food agenda! • Do you look where your food comes from – e.g. English (in-season) apples or New Zealand (6 month old) ones? • Food miles?

18. Does Public Action Work? Should we try? • 21st century seen a number of very large public protests on key policy issues implying increased public activism again? • BUT, how successful have such pressures been? • Jubilee 2000 – G8 demosntrations in B’ham etc. leading to increased debt relief etc. • Stop the War – 1-2 million people mobilised in protest against Iraq war – politicising the young ?? • ‘Make Poverty History’ campaign – big noise but how much impact at G8 Gleneagles or recent UN review • Widespread acceptance now that Millennium Development Goals won’t be met on timeframe set and that Kyoto Protocol is doomed to fail

19. Coursework Essay Q • Reminder – Essay Q due Tuesday November 8th – UG Office • Use references, maps (e.g. degradation status) etc. to save words • Structure around keywords • Outline problem (hunger extent – keep short) • Outline causes (environmental impact contested, others too) • Analyse role of GM as solution (pro’s, con’s, alternative’s – e.g. farmer innovations, low external input approaches) • Any major concerns / queries – e-mail: dabson@env.leeds.ac.uk • Extensions can ONLY be granted by UG office, ES Level 9