Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
cies and the environmental movement that represent the public interest to
argue for consideration of the potential harmful effects of development. It
is the public and ultimately the ecosystem itself that assumes the risk of land
development if the decision was faulty and there was a failure to safeguard
nature.
If we change the ethical basis of decision-making by forcing policy and
management to weigh the consequences of action versus making a Type
II error, then we place the burden on the developer to show that land de-
velopment will not jeopardize the public interest and ecosystem function-
ing. It is the developer that must assume the risk in this case. But, as I
mentioned above, demonstrating that development is unlikely to inflict
damage requires a considerable amount of experimentation—a costly un-
dertaking.This then argues for taking a decidedly precautionary approach
to tinkering with natural economies, which brings me back to the question
that I posed in the introduction: Is dismissing a potential environmental
problem for lack of understanding about clear cause a wise decision? I hope
that the reader is coming to realize that the answer to this question should
be a resounding “No”. Dismissing for lack of cause means that decisions are
being made based on risks of committing Type I errors. But, in suggesting
that the answer should be “No” I do not imply that we should halt all
human enterprises that have impacts on the environment. Intelligent tin-
kering is possible (chapter 7). But tinkering for sustainable function means
that humans must be considered as integral parts of natural ecosystems
(rather than outside their sphere) and that human impacts have manifold
feedbacks that may eventually cost
human welfare.
I have presented examples of the
interdependent global links among
species and ecosystems in chapter 7
and how acting within one ecosys-
tem without regard to another can
have devastating consequences. A
much starker case in point is the re-
verberations caused by the collapse of
the northwest Atlantic cod fishery
and its feedbacks (current and future)
on the human societies globally.The collapse of this species population due
in part if not entirely to unsustainable exploitation by North American and
Tinkering for sustainable function
means that humans must be con-
sidered as integral parts of natural
ecosystems (rather than outside
their sphere) and that human
impacts have manifold feedbacks
that may eventually cost
human welfare.
