16
SOUTHERN
NORTH SEA
B.W. Flemming
Fig. 3.1. The landfall region of Europipe in the German Wadden Sea. Option 1 optimal but rejected
route across the island of Norderney, Option 2 ultimately adopted route through the ebb delta and channelsystem
Norderney, and then across the intertidal watershed between the island and the mainland. This route, intitially the prime choice, would have been the shortest, safest, technically least demanding, and financially least costly of any alternative, including the
one finally adopted. In addition, it would have been a less damaging operation from an
environmental (and ecological) point of view in spite of claims to the contrary.
How can this seemingly irrational decision be explained? An analysis of the course
of events clearly shows that this decision was practically the only remaining option left
after years of confrontation between radical and uncompromising environmentalists
and the authorities. This confrontation was characterized by wilful dis information, distortion of facts, gross exaggerations, and scientifically unsupported claims on the one
side and political expediency and/or weakness on the other. This can be demonstrated
by numerous examples from the start to the end of the project. It illustrates how the
degeneration of moral standards in dealing with environmental issues has subverted
the valid and honest concerns of the environmental movement (cf. Rowell 1996).
An analysis of the project from the first announcement in 1991 to its final completion in 1995 demonstrates that ethical principles and moral standards were either violated, infringed, neglected, ignored, or simply forgotten in almost every phase and by
almost every party directly or indirectly involved. This includes the pipe operator, the
politicians, the environmentalists, the fishing community directly affected by the construction, the media, and - last but not least - also the scientific community.
3.2
MQral Failures in the Europipe Conflict
3.2.1
Original Moral Failure of Politics
It may sound surprising that the roots of the socio-political conflict associated with the
planning and construction of Europipe can be traced back to the lack of foresight by
SOUTHERN
NORTH SEA
B.W. Flemming
Fig. 3.1. The landfall region of Europipe in the German Wadden Sea. Option 1 optimal but rejected
route across the island of Norderney, Option 2 ultimately adopted route through the ebb delta and channelsystem
Norderney, and then across the intertidal watershed between the island and the mainland. This route, intitially the prime choice, would have been the shortest, safest, technically least demanding, and financially least costly of any alternative, including the
one finally adopted. In addition, it would have been a less damaging operation from an
environmental (and ecological) point of view in spite of claims to the contrary.
How can this seemingly irrational decision be explained? An analysis of the course
of events clearly shows that this decision was practically the only remaining option left
after years of confrontation between radical and uncompromising environmentalists
and the authorities. This confrontation was characterized by wilful dis information, distortion of facts, gross exaggerations, and scientifically unsupported claims on the one
side and political expediency and/or weakness on the other. This can be demonstrated
by numerous examples from the start to the end of the project. It illustrates how the
degeneration of moral standards in dealing with environmental issues has subverted
the valid and honest concerns of the environmental movement (cf. Rowell 1996).
An analysis of the project from the first announcement in 1991 to its final completion in 1995 demonstrates that ethical principles and moral standards were either violated, infringed, neglected, ignored, or simply forgotten in almost every phase and by
almost every party directly or indirectly involved. This includes the pipe operator, the
politicians, the environmentalists, the fishing community directly affected by the construction, the media, and - last but not least - also the scientific community.
3.2
MQral Failures in the Europipe Conflict
3.2.1
Original Moral Failure of Politics
It may sound surprising that the roots of the socio-political conflict associated with the
planning and construction of Europipe can be traced back to the lack of foresight by