Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
the impact of current global problems on
precipitation patterns several decades from
now. Coastal and waterfront property is being
developed as if the rise in sealevel, projected to
accompany global warming, is of no
consequence. Few of the long-range plans
necessary to deal with the problems have been
put in place, and there have been few important
governmental or industrial decisions which
have paid more than lip-service to the
recommendations of the research scientists.
The implementation of measures to alleviate
the effects of global environmental disruption is
further complicated by the scale of the
problems. Most will require international
cooperation if they are to be controlled
successfully. The major conferences which have
addressed such issues as acid rain, ozone
depletion and the greenhouse effect have been
international in scope and have included
agreements in principal on the measures
required to reduce their impact. Such
agreements are important, but they provide no
guarantee that the situation will improve. Since
they require ratification by individual nations,
delays in their implementation are common.
One year after the signing of the Montreal
Protocol on the depletion of the ozone layer,
only seven of the original thirty-seven
signatories had ratified the treaty. Even when
there is complete ratification, the problem of
enforcement remains, and the possibility always
exists that the worst offenders may refuse to
become involved. For example, Britain and the
United States declined membership in the '30
per cent club' when it was formed in 1979 to
combat rising levels of acid emissions. Both
were major contributors to acid rain, and many
environmentalists felt that their lack of
cooperation would be disastrous. It was only in
the mid-1980s that Britain began to accept
some responsibility for downstream acid rain
damage, and began slowly to reduce acid gas
emissions. It took even longer in North
America—more than a decade—before the
United States instituted pollution abatement
measures that would reduce the export of acid
rain north into Canada. Continued high levels
of acid gas emissions during these lost years
simply added to environmental deterioration,
and retarded the necessary clean-up and
recovery.
Similar problems arise with drought, famine
and desertification. These were originally local
issues in the Third World, which became global
when the developed nations began to provide
relief from drought and famine, and sought to
combat desertification. Some success has been
achieved against drought and famine, usually
by employing the developed world's advanced
technology and long-established supply and
transport systems. Desertification remains
rampant in many areas. Steps must be taken to
prevent further environmental damage and to
rehabilitate areas already damaged. Since it is
independent of national boundaries, however,
attempts to halt the spread of the desert in one
area may be negated if nothing is done in an
adjacent area. Success is only possible with
international cooperation, and economic or
political pressure may have to be applied to
achieve that. Even if cooperation is complete,
however, there is still no guarantee that the
problem will be solved. Much will depend upon
economic conditions in the developed nations,
for they will be required to provide much of the
necessary financial aid. Any downturn in the
world economy—such as the recession of the
early 1990s—puts their contribution in
jeopardy, and threatens the success of the fight
against desertification.
The great economic gap between rich and
poor nations adds to the difficulties of resolving
environmental problems at the international
level. The developed nations are often accused
of asking the Third World to make sacrifices to
solve problems that they did little to create. In
theory, the benefits would be evenly spread
because of the integrated nature of the earth/
atmosphere system, but the short-term impact
often appears detrimental rather than
beneficial. For example, a reduction in the
harvesting of tropical hardwoods from the
rainforest is the goal of a number of
