Environment and Development 223
In any case, the dilemma of ‘development versus the environment’ exists;
sometimes it is characterized by intense antagonism among different economic and ecological priorities; it manifests itself in various places and
historic periods. Characteristic examples are conflicts over the use of land
between forests and pastures, wetlands and agriculture, rural and housing or touristic uses etc. The dilemma also applies to the contemporary
opposition between energy abundance with nuclear technology and energy
frugality with soft energy sources.
The view that the planet is threatened by ecological disasters that may
cant scientific support, but the great environmental problems are undoubtedly present and threatening. Strong arguments show the following:
• Economic development has limitations set by the finite Earth environment as natural resources and as a pollution receptor.
• As long as mankind remains confined in the space of its planet, the
limits of material development seem unavoidable.
• Limitations to the increase of the human population and the per
capita consuming level are also unavoidable.
• The non-material dimensions of development are less influenced by
environmental limitations. Telecommunication, education, computing possibilities, information and knowledge, and intellectual recreation are examples of dimensions that are not great consumers of
natural resources.
An integrated approach of any kind of development’s limits is also connected with investigation of the limits of man himself, of the psychological
boundaries of his personality and his boundaries as a social being. Such a
treatment of the issue, though, which belongs to the fields of anthropology
and philosophy, does not enter common discussions about environment
and development.
13.3 SuStainablE dEvEloPMEnt
Scientific research has offered an abundance of data that show increasing
environmental degradation. These findings have contributed to the gradual
realization that economic development has some limits determined by the
finite environment of the planet. Such analyses, which are modern versions
of Malthusian views, have created reservations versus trust of scientific and
technical progress. The belief that everything is technologically possible
began to be questioned when the limited endurance of the natural cycles
was realized as well as the imponderable hazards from the side effects of
technology. The presence of boundaries to the magnification of human
In any case, the dilemma of ‘development versus the environment’ exists;
sometimes it is characterized by intense antagonism among different economic and ecological priorities; it manifests itself in various places and
historic periods. Characteristic examples are conflicts over the use of land
between forests and pastures, wetlands and agriculture, rural and housing or touristic uses etc. The dilemma also applies to the contemporary
opposition between energy abundance with nuclear technology and energy
frugality with soft energy sources.
The view that the planet is threatened by ecological disasters that may
cant scientific support, but the great environmental problems are undoubtedly present and threatening. Strong arguments show the following:
• Economic development has limitations set by the finite Earth environment as natural resources and as a pollution receptor.
• As long as mankind remains confined in the space of its planet, the
limits of material development seem unavoidable.
• Limitations to the increase of the human population and the per
capita consuming level are also unavoidable.
• The non-material dimensions of development are less influenced by
environmental limitations. Telecommunication, education, computing possibilities, information and knowledge, and intellectual recreation are examples of dimensions that are not great consumers of
natural resources.
An integrated approach of any kind of development’s limits is also connected with investigation of the limits of man himself, of the psychological
boundaries of his personality and his boundaries as a social being. Such a
treatment of the issue, though, which belongs to the fields of anthropology
and philosophy, does not enter common discussions about environment
and development.
13.3 SuStainablE dEvEloPMEnt
Scientific research has offered an abundance of data that show increasing
environmental degradation. These findings have contributed to the gradual
realization that economic development has some limits determined by the
finite environment of the planet. Such analyses, which are modern versions
of Malthusian views, have created reservations versus trust of scientific and
technical progress. The belief that everything is technologically possible
began to be questioned when the limited endurance of the natural cycles
was realized as well as the imponderable hazards from the side effects of
technology. The presence of boundaries to the magnification of human