Reply to comment

Is the Environment Really Going Down the Tubes?

November 7, 2007 by s.garte

The reason things have been steadily improving over the past decades is not because the problems were exaggerated, they weren’t. The destruction of the ozone layer, the contamination of our blood streams with lead, the loss of life in our rivers and streams were real, very serious problems. It was not because (as others have said) market forces lead to remediation of the problems. No, it was because scientific research, social activism and strong regulatory action forced changes in the way businesses and people operate, and these changes have been successful.

Do we really need to know this? Or should we just keep on imagining that we are on a long ride down the tubes to annihilation. I know it is not fashionable to be an optimist, but I also think continuous and unbridled pessimism has its dangers. Why don’t we take a good look at the real state of our planet. We might be surprised.