old laws, however, and, as pointed out repeatedly in this book, a number of
crucial concepts and techniques in the old foundation are very weak.
An alternative approach would be to build a new foundation from our
modern understanding of the importance of the hydrological cycle through—
out the biosphere. Rather than focusing sharply on the most visible—albeit
|
most serious—forms of direct discharge, recognition of the integrity of the hy—
;
drological cycle as paramount to life would necessitate adjustments in human
Î
activities to prevent contamination of that cycle at any point. (Some of the
,
.
specic ways in which this could be done—such as recycling industrial and
municipal wastewater—have been mentioned previously.) Also required
would be ecologically sound means of utilizing the energy needed to power
industry, transportation, and domestic utilities. Before a water pollution con—.
tro] structure could rise on its new foundations, much intensive research on
_
new productive processes would have to be conducted. One reasonfor the lag
Ë
in this research is that existing laws, including the new water pollution con—
trol legislation, emphasize renement of current pollution control methods
rather than ways to eliminate pollution by substituting a nonpolluüng tech—
nology for a polluting one. To shift to a genuinely nonpollung technology
would require economic and social, as well as technological, changes in a sys—
tem whose present goals, organization, and operation are not directed toward
‘
ecological integrity [21].
The extent to which future programs
to eliminate water pollution go be—
ï
yond the present painful step—by—step legislative struggle remains to be seen.
One factor will be the intensity of public demand, based on an awareness of
the bond between all life and the hydrological cycle. Another element will be
the degree to which current water pollution control dogma is alerted to en—
compass biological insight into the environmental meaning of water pollu—
tion. Public and professional awareness has already progressed far since those
early days in Chicago when the only sanitary goal was to pipe sewage far
enough away to avoid human contact and then let dilution take care of the
rest. We began with that era in the rst chapter of this book; subsequent
Chapters have developed the scientic rationale for a new approach—one
_
OIy partially realized in recycling projects and in the latest water pollution
control law. However, given the history of the unregulated use of water for
_
conicting needs, these developments are encouragîng signs that we are Will—
â
ing, even though grudgingly, to regulate our affairs to the imperative of na—
%
ture.
'
Water pollution is a key indicator of Our capacity
to understand and ad—
just to that imperative. The pervasiveness
of the hydrological cycle and the
unique properties of water combine to capture large quantiües
of most pollu—
tants, whether originally discharged to air, land, OI water. In that sense, the
-
purity of water is an indicator of the general quality
of the environment.
If
we_succeed in freeing water of pollution, we will have
solved the environ—
mental crisis itself. The purpose
of this book has been to demonstrate this fact
in the hope that one day the sensible reordering of our affairs may
be mir—
_r0red in bright, pure water.
_
An Alternative ApproaCh
185
crucial concepts and techniques in the old foundation are very weak.
An alternative approach would be to build a new foundation from our
modern understanding of the importance of the hydrological cycle through—
out the biosphere. Rather than focusing sharply on the most visible—albeit
|
most serious—forms of direct discharge, recognition of the integrity of the hy—
;
drological cycle as paramount to life would necessitate adjustments in human
Î
activities to prevent contamination of that cycle at any point. (Some of the
,
.
specic ways in which this could be done—such as recycling industrial and
municipal wastewater—have been mentioned previously.) Also required
would be ecologically sound means of utilizing the energy needed to power
industry, transportation, and domestic utilities. Before a water pollution con—.
tro] structure could rise on its new foundations, much intensive research on
_
new productive processes would have to be conducted. One reasonfor the lag
Ë
in this research is that existing laws, including the new water pollution con—
trol legislation, emphasize renement of current pollution control methods
rather than ways to eliminate pollution by substituting a nonpolluüng tech—
nology for a polluting one. To shift to a genuinely nonpollung technology
would require economic and social, as well as technological, changes in a sys—
tem whose present goals, organization, and operation are not directed toward
‘
ecological integrity [21].
The extent to which future programs
to eliminate water pollution go be—
ï
yond the present painful step—by—step legislative struggle remains to be seen.
One factor will be the intensity of public demand, based on an awareness of
the bond between all life and the hydrological cycle. Another element will be
the degree to which current water pollution control dogma is alerted to en—
compass biological insight into the environmental meaning of water pollu—
tion. Public and professional awareness has already progressed far since those
early days in Chicago when the only sanitary goal was to pipe sewage far
enough away to avoid human contact and then let dilution take care of the
rest. We began with that era in the rst chapter of this book; subsequent
Chapters have developed the scientic rationale for a new approach—one
_
OIy partially realized in recycling projects and in the latest water pollution
control law. However, given the history of the unregulated use of water for
_
conicting needs, these developments are encouragîng signs that we are Will—
â
ing, even though grudgingly, to regulate our affairs to the imperative of na—
%
ture.
'
Water pollution is a key indicator of Our capacity
to understand and ad—
just to that imperative. The pervasiveness
of the hydrological cycle and the
unique properties of water combine to capture large quantiües
of most pollu—
tants, whether originally discharged to air, land, OI water. In that sense, the
-
purity of water is an indicator of the general quality
of the environment.
If
we_succeed in freeing water of pollution, we will have
solved the environ—
mental crisis itself. The purpose
of this book has been to demonstrate this fact
in the hope that one day the sensible reordering of our affairs may
be mir—
_r0red in bright, pure water.
_
An Alternative ApproaCh
185