Environment and Development 229
relatively small and decentralized human societies would satisfy their
needs by soft and simple technology in harmonious coexistence with
nature. These radical approaches include various philosophical views
that have developed in recent decades. One view is the “Deep Ecology”
view, that focuses on the search for the true nature of man in relation to
the natural world. It propounds the utmost eco-centrism, seeing man
as part of an organic whole with the total of past, present and future
nature. A holistic idea that has gained wide publicity is the “Gaia”
theory, the assumption that the planet is a kind of “super-organism”
whose functions are self-regulated leading to homeostasis, that is,
maintenance of steady and optimal conditions for survival.
• Moderate ecological approaches are attracted by the model of ecodevelopment. This espouses the view that conservation of renewable
natural resources and environmental quality will be achieved by
soft technologies, recycling, abolition of squandering and useless or
harmful production, and promotion of durable products instead of
single-use ones. Development per se is not rejected, but only the continuous quantitative growth that underestimates the importance of
the quality of life. Ecological development aims at the most harmonious possible coexistence with nature as well as human prosperity
through ecologically accepted activities.
• The most development-oriented environment-friendly approaches
emphasize environmental protection and biosphere preservation. The
view is that development is acceptable when it is controlled to avoid
danger of causing major perturbations. The creation of proper tools,
such as the principle of the polluter’s responsibility, the principle
of prevention and studies of the environmental impacts of various
developmental activities, constitute a basic means for the necessary
shift towards more environment-friendly activities. The proposals for
sustainable development converge to this approach.
Differentiation between the various approaches is not always easy, and
there are convergences in some issues. In relation to, e.g. the energy problem,
the radical ecological view asks for man’s complete integration to the natural
cycles of renewable energy sources by the use of the simplest possible technology and does not pursue energy abundance; the sustainable development
approach would be more interested in the avoidance of impacts and would
not reject the pursuit of abundant and cheap energy if it could be produced
in an environmentally acceptable way; the moderate ecological view would
support intermediate stands, agreeing, e.g. with the sustainable development
approach about the acceptance of natural gas use as a substitute for other
more pollution-generating fuels, but condemning, along with the radical
approach, any kind of nuclear energy use, including nuclear fusion.
relatively small and decentralized human societies would satisfy their
needs by soft and simple technology in harmonious coexistence with
nature. These radical approaches include various philosophical views
that have developed in recent decades. One view is the “Deep Ecology”
view, that focuses on the search for the true nature of man in relation to
the natural world. It propounds the utmost eco-centrism, seeing man
as part of an organic whole with the total of past, present and future
nature. A holistic idea that has gained wide publicity is the “Gaia”
theory, the assumption that the planet is a kind of “super-organism”
whose functions are self-regulated leading to homeostasis, that is,
maintenance of steady and optimal conditions for survival.
• Moderate ecological approaches are attracted by the model of ecodevelopment. This espouses the view that conservation of renewable
natural resources and environmental quality will be achieved by
soft technologies, recycling, abolition of squandering and useless or
harmful production, and promotion of durable products instead of
single-use ones. Development per se is not rejected, but only the continuous quantitative growth that underestimates the importance of
the quality of life. Ecological development aims at the most harmonious possible coexistence with nature as well as human prosperity
through ecologically accepted activities.
• The most development-oriented environment-friendly approaches
emphasize environmental protection and biosphere preservation. The
view is that development is acceptable when it is controlled to avoid
danger of causing major perturbations. The creation of proper tools,
such as the principle of the polluter’s responsibility, the principle
of prevention and studies of the environmental impacts of various
developmental activities, constitute a basic means for the necessary
shift towards more environment-friendly activities. The proposals for
sustainable development converge to this approach.
Differentiation between the various approaches is not always easy, and
there are convergences in some issues. In relation to, e.g. the energy problem,
the radical ecological view asks for man’s complete integration to the natural
cycles of renewable energy sources by the use of the simplest possible technology and does not pursue energy abundance; the sustainable development
approach would be more interested in the avoidance of impacts and would
not reject the pursuit of abundant and cheap energy if it could be produced
in an environmentally acceptable way; the moderate ecological view would
support intermediate stands, agreeing, e.g. with the sustainable development
approach about the acceptance of natural gas use as a substitute for other
more pollution-generating fuels, but condemning, along with the radical
approach, any kind of nuclear energy use, including nuclear fusion.