Environment, Technology, and Health: Human Ecology in Historical Perspective PDF
Preview Environment, Technology, and Health: Human Ecology in Historical Perspective
Environment, Technology, and Health Human Ecology in Historical Perspective Environment, Technology, and Health Human Ecology in Historical Perspective Merril Eisenbud © New York University 1978 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1978 978-0-333-26933-6 AU rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without permission First published in the United States of America 1978 First published in the United Kingdom 1979 Published by THE MACMILLAN PRESS LTD London and Basingstoke Associated companies in Delhi Dublin Hong Kong Johannesburg Lagos Melbourne New York Singapore Tokyo British library Cataloguing in PubUcation Data Eisenbud, Merril Environment, technology and health 1. Environmental health-United States I. Title 614.7'0973 RA566.3 78-55062 ISBN 978-1-349-04754-3 ISBN 978-1-349-04752-9 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-04752-9 This book is sold subject to the standard conditions of the Net Book Agreement Contents Preface ix Part I SEITING THE STAGE I What Is the Environment Movement? 3 2 The Preindustrial Centuries 13 3 The Industrial Revolution 34 4 The Twentieth Century: The Evolution of Environmental Policy 50 Part II PEOPLE, ENERGY, AND RESOURCES: CAN WE KEEP THEM IN BALANCE? 77 5 Population Growth, Food, Energy, and Raw Materials 79 6 Energy Supply and Demand 116 Part III ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINATION: SOME CONTEMPORARYISSUES IM 7 Some General Principles 167 8 Environmental Cancer 186 9 The Organic Chemicals 227 10 The Metals: Lead and Mercury 247 II Sulfur Oxides and Particulates from the Combustion of Coal and Oil 267 12 Air Pollution from Automobiles 288 vii viii Contents 13 Nuclear Power 305 14 Some Long-Range Atmospheric Effects of Pollution 336 Part IV WHERE ARE WE. AND WHERE ARE WE GOING? 349 15 The Environmental Movement and Human Health: An Overall Appraisal 351 Subject Index 369 Author Index 381 Preface The surge of public interest in environmental matters that de veloped in the 1960s was a welcome development to those who, like this writer, had already labored professionally for decades in the environmental field. It was satisfying to know that government offi cials, the general public, and the electronic and printed media had at last recognized the need to control pollution, rehabilitate spoiled land, and preserve wild life. Much has since been accomplished. The National Environmental Policy Act, the Occupational Health and Safety Act, and the Toxic Substances Control Act are only a few of the many important laws that have come into being during the past decade and which have provided the basic legal and administrative machinery by which environmental control can be achieved. Billions of dollars have been appropriated for environmental protection and rehabilitation, and public interest remains high, as evidenced by the continuing attention given the subject in the daily press and other media. However, there is also reason for disappointment. The subject of "environment" has become highly politicized. Discussions take place in an atmosphere of advocacy in which complex issues tend to be described in terms of black and white, rather than in the required shades of gray. This book is an appraisal of the contemporary environmental movement insofar as public health is concerned. The subject is so ramified that it is not possible to examine all of the important issues in a single volume. However, the subjects that have been selected for discussion have been chosen in order to illustrate the reasons for the inherent complexity of environmental issues. As is true in other fields of knowledge, an understanding of the past assists one to understand the present and plan for the future. It is for this reason that so much of this book is concerned with the history of the human environment. I am indebted to many colleagues and organizations for assistance ix Preface X during preparation of this book. The broad coverage of the subject matter required efficient library support, for which I thank Mrs. Christine Singleton, Assistant Curator of the New York University Medical Center Library, and the staff of the Tuxedo Public Library. It is also a pleasure to acknowledge my indebtedness for many hours of stimulating discussions with colleagues and friends who reviewed portions of the book. Among these were David Axelrod, Joseph Delibert, Leonard Goldwater, Marvin Kuschner, Morton Lippmann, Jacqueline Messite, Joseph O'Connor, Lin Root, Arthur Stem, and Guenther Stotzky. I am also appreciative to Nat LaMar, who edited my manuscript with insight and helped to structure it into final form. I acknowledge the assistance of these and other colleagues and friends, but in no way do I wish to dilute the responsibility an author must assume for the material presented. Roger Sparling prepared the illustrations, and my assistant, Eleanor Clemm, was invaluable in an editorial capacity and in coordinating the extensive library work required, as well as by typing every word of the four to six drafts from which the final manuscript of this book evolved. Merril Eisenbud New York University September 1978 PART I Setting the Stage CHAPTER 1 What is the Environmental Movement? The modern environmental movement was born in the mid-1960s, which was a period of great turbulence. Unrest in the black commu nity, the rise of feminism, and opposition to the war in Vietnam were examples of divisive issues concerning which the public expressed itself with great intensity, and sometimes with violence. Together with the widespread popular concern that developed about pollution, population control, and resource conservation that together came to be known as "environmentalism", these movements have made a lasting impact on this period of our history. Many environmental problems had attracted attention in previous times, and much had been accomplished towards their solution. Air and water pollution were being brought under control in many cities in the United States, and many occupational diseases had virtually been eliminated during the first half of this century. The danger of unlimited population growth had been considered as early as 1798 when Mal thus published the first of his often-mentioned but little-read essays. Rules for land conservation began to be established as far back as biblical times, when fields were required to lie fallow at intervals to restore the diminished productivity from uninterrupted cultivation. These accomplishments of the past are important, but the history of human relationships to the environment has, more often than not, been characterized by failures. It will be seen that early man turned vast fertile landscapes into deserts. His way of life was partly respon sible for the great plagues that decimated the populations of Europe in the Middle Ages; rats and lice could not have spread epidemic disease if congested and unsanitary communities had not offered such hospi table habitats to vermin of all kinds. People would not have been 3
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