An Earth Day to Rejoice

I spent some time last weekend celebrating “Earth Day” and representing the Point Vicente Interpretive Center and the Los Serenos Docents at the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium. Walking around the exhibits, I was struck by two things. One, there are a multitude of top notch organizations doing good work for the environment. Two, the efforts seem to be paying off.

Then why are the newspapers and environmental hierarchy so worried? The Guardian science editor proclaimed: “The human race is living beyond its means… almost two-thirds of the natural machinery that supports life on Earth is being degraded by human pressure.”

A report prepared by the World Bank and issued by the Royal Society in London warns that:

> An estimated 24% of the Earth's land surface is now cultivated.

> Humans now use between 40% and 50% of all available freshwater running off the land.

> At least a quarter of all fish stocks are over harvested.

> Since 1980, about 35% of mangroves have been lost and 20% of the world's coral reefs have been destroyed.

> Deforestation and other changes could increase the risks of malaria and cholera, and open the way for new and so far unknown disease to emerge.

It sounds bad. But the common folks seem to be unimpressed. Dr. Steven Hayward, a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and the Pacific Research Center, noted in the recently published annual Index of Leading Environmental Indicators: " It appears that public regard for environmental doom-saying is declining."

So what does the ILEI say? Among the environmental quality improvements highlighted are the following:

Air Pollution has fallen to the lowest level ever recorded. Virtually the entire nation has achieved clean air standards for four of the six pollutants regulated under the Clean Air Act (carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and lead). Air quality in the 10 largest metropolitan areas--five in California--has improved by 53% since 1980. Los Angeles has improved the most of any city.

Car Emissions, one of the largest contributors to air pollution, will be reduced by more than 80% over the next 25 years, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency.

Mercury Emissions have declined by 45% during the 1990s due to the phase-out of municipal and medical waste incineration. As a result, consumers can feel comfortable consuming fish such as salmon and trout.

Forestland in the eastern half of the United States is increasing at a rate of 1,000,000 acres a year.

Wetlands continue to multiply, growing at a rate of 26,000 acres a year.

Toxic Releases have declined since 1988 due to increasing efficiency and reduced materialization of our economy.

Global Warming’s “hockey-stick” graph, believed to show a dramatic warming trend, is now being called “rubbish.” Scientists have shown that the equation used to generate the graph would yield the same result for any random numbers input.

Dr. Hayward summed up the report: “The environment is perhaps the most successful public policy story of the last 30 years and the good news is getting noticed by the public. Some greenies are slowly and grudgingly admitting what conservatives understand instinctively: Richer is cleaner. Our growing economy and technological prowess is what drives environmental improvement. The Malthuisian mindset caused environmentalists to issue one doomsday prediction after another. Pick any prediction from the last 30 years and it was usually wrong, often by an order of magnitude. This is why I keep offering to bet any enviro $1,000 that air pollution will be lower at the end of Bush's presidency than when he took office.”

So far there have been no takers.