Islands Under Siege: National Parks and the Politics of External Threats, John C. Freemuth, (Kansas: University of Kansas Press, 1991), 178 pp.
TOPICS:
Understanding environmental problems; administrative procedures; politics; of general applicability to environmental problems; written for the first party participant.
ABSTRCT:
Islands Under Siege: National Parks and the Politics of External Threats is an examination of external threats to the health and integrity of the ecosystems represented in, and to the whole of individual National Parks. The author examines: the historical view, and the continuing process of legislative and regulatory efforts to protect National parks from these threats..
Islands Under Siege: National Parks and the Politics of External Threats will be of interest to those who seek an understanding of the external threat problem as a political and management issue. The first chapter addresses the need for study of the external threat problem. This is followed by an examination of the emergence of external threats as a policy and management issue. Herein, the author discusses: the creation of the National Park Service, its early policy direction, the early warning signs of external threats, the beginning of the environmental movement in the 1960s and the resultant attempts by Congress to address the external threat problem. The second chapter addresses the creation of the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. The author discusses the Colorado Plateau and the tar-sands of Utah, prefatory to examination of the Glen Canyon Area. Chapter four addresses the tar-sands leasing controversy. This begins with an examination of The Combined Hydrocarbon Leasing Act of 1981 and the "... the promulgation of a set of regulations on leasing of the tar-sands resource". The author considers, in some depth, the joint Bureau of Land Management's and National Park Service's draft of an Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed development.
Chapter five is an examination of the protection of National Parks from visibility impairment. In this context, the author addresses: the Clean Air Act amendments of 1977, the Environmental Protection Agency's involvement in the formulation of visibility regulations in 1980, and the political nature of visibility since those regulations. This chapter includes discussions of visibility impairment issues in: Vermont, Arizona, and Utah. Chapter six is the conclusion of the book and examines the policy responses on Reagan's administrative presidency and closes with the author's thoughts on resolution of the external threats problem.
Islands Under Siege: National Parks and the Politics of External Threats is a careful consideration of the title problem with special focus on National Parks in the Western United States. The work is nicely supported by maps and photographs.
T. A. O'Lonergan
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Modelling for Population and Sustainable Development, A. J. Gilbert and L. C. Braat (eds), (New York: Routledge, 1991), 253 pp.
TOPICS:
Understanding environmental problems; making effective use of technical information; of general applicability to environmental problems; written for the first party participant.
ABSTRACT:
Modelling for Population and Sustainable Development is an examination of the Enhancement of population Carrying Capacity Options (ECCO) approach to planning sustainable development. This work examines ECCO pilot studies and considers other modeling approaches. The collected works serve as the proceedings of the seminar/ workshop on Modeling for the Population and Sustainable Development, held in the Netherlands in 1987.
Modelling for Population and Sustainable Development will be of interest to those who desire and understanding of modeling approaches to the planning of sustainable development in general and the Enhancement of population Carrying Capacity Options(ECCO) approach in particular. This work is a collection of essays by multiple authors grouped into four parts, each with an overarching topic. Following an introduction by Gilbert who presents the issues and perspectives of population and sustainable development, the first part addresses the ECCO approach. Three separate essays address the challenges of planning sustainable development.
The second part examines three case studies of pilot programs applying the ECCO approach. The first of these considers the integrated approach to long-term resource planning and national carrying capacity assessment in Thailand. The second study examines the potential for enhanced national welfare in Mauritius (an island in the Indian Ocean off the east coast of Madagascar) with the use of the ECCO model. The final study examines modeling for population and sustainable development in Kenya.
The third part of the book proposes future applications of ECCO. Multiple authors propose such application for: population and sustainable development in China, the carrying capacity assessment project in Zimbabwe, and the integration of population, resources and environment. Finally, JD Owino proposes that the Kenyan exploration of the potential of carrying capacity assessment, population growth, and self-sufficiency would be a candidate for the application of the ECCO model.
The final part of the book examines other modeling approaches. The first three essays address sustainable development and: ecological modeling, economic modeling, and energy modeling. J Antoine addresses the past and possible future contributions of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and Agro-Ecological Zone (AEZ) methodology to the development of the ECCO model. The final approach considered in this section is the demographic approach. This is followed by Gilbert's evaluations, conclusions and recommendation. The text is appended with a list of the participants at the seminar/workshop on Modeling for the Population and Sustainable Development.
Modelling for Population and Sustainable Development is a comprehensive examination of the ECCO policy assessment instrument in the planning for sustainable development. Basic understanding of models in general will be useful to the informed reader of this work.
T. A. O'Lonergan
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World of Waste: Dilemmas of Industrial Development, K. A. Gourlay, (London: Zed Books, 1992), 242 pp.
TOPICS:
Understanding environmental problems; making effective use of technical information; of general applicability to environmental problems; written for the first party participant.
ABSTRACT:
World of Waste: Dilemmas of Industrial Development is an examination of: human produced waste, its storage, and suggestions for its elimination.
World of Waste: Dilemmas of Industrial Development will be of interest to those who seek an understanding of the dilemmas posed by industrial development for the containment and reduction of human produced waste. The work is divided into three parts, addressing: waste and its producers, disposition of waste, and problems confronting those who seek to eliminate waste. The authors begin with a prologue which examines waste disposal agents and their international dealings.
The first part offers a definition of waste and notes the absence of information for assessing the hazardous effects of wastes. The author discusses, briefly, several categories of waste, including: domestic and municipal, industrial, agricultural and fish farming, nuclear, and gaseous. The second part addresses the disposition of waste. The author examines landfills, both in the US and Europe, as well as the burying of radioactive waste and the filtering of agricultural waste through earth to groundwater. Further, the dumping of wastes into inland, coastal and open ocean waters is discussed. Chapter six offers consideration of incineration as a means for the disposition of wastes. Following a discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of combustion, the author examines: high temperature and mass-burn incineration, municipal incinerators and incineration at sea. The next chapter is concerned with the release of gaseous wastes into the air. The author discusses: acid rain, ozone depletion and climatic change.
The final part discusses the dilemmas of development with regard to the elimination of waste. The responses from science and technology to these dilemmas and the possible greening of industry are explored. Chapter nine begins with an examination of the toxic waste trade with a focus on the North Sea and acid rain in Europe. The final chapter examines the dilemmas of development which include: human perceptions and attitudes, concepts of growth, and ideologies. The text is followed, usefully, by a list of acronyms and abbreviations.
World of Waste: Dilemmas of Industrial Development is a systematic examination of human produced waste and its disposition and will serve as a foundation for the reader who wishes to pursue the topic in greater depth.
T. A. O'Lonergan
G1GOUR
Understanding the traditional philosophical basis for environmental philosophy.
Reflecting on Nature: Readings in Environmental Philosophy, Lori Gruen & Dale Jamieson, (eds), (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994), 362 pp.
TOPICS:
Understanding environmental problems; justifying aspirations; of general applicability to environmental problems; written for the first party participant.
ABSTRACT:
Reflecting on Nature: Readings in Environmental Philosophy is an examination of environmental philosophy. The editors combine the writings of prominent moral philosophers from Aristotle and John Locke to Bernard Williams and Jonathan Glover with contemporary environmental philosophers in an attempt to "... illuminate some of the connections between environmental philosophy and the philosophical tradition".
Reflecting on Nature: Readings in Environmental Philosophy will be of interest to those who seek an understanding of the philosophical basis for both images and treatment of the natural environment. The book is divided into five sections, the first of which is concerned with images of nature. Lynn White's examination of the historical roots of the current ecological crisis serves as an overview of this section. Included are selections from Aristotle, Locke and Darwin. After selections from Muir, Leopold and Thoreau the editors offer pivotal works by Botkin, Shiva and Gould.
Section II is an examination of the relationship between ethics and the environment. Topics of this section include a discussion by Williams questioning the necessity of concern for the environment being human centered. Kenneth P. Goodpaster focuses upon moral considerability. This is followed by Holmes Rolston III's examination of values in and duties to the natural world. Thomas E. Hill Jr. concludes this section with consideration of the relationship between the ideals of human excellence and preservation of the natural environment. Section III addresses alternative perspectives on environmental philosophy. After an examination of deep ecology and radical environmentalism, Robert D. Bullard examines "Environmental Blackmail in Minority Communities". Val Plumwood offers: an examination of feminism, environmental philosophy and a critique of rationalism.
Section IV examines sustainable development and international justice. The proceedings of four global gatherings include: the UN Conference on the Environment, and the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development. A consideration of free market environmentalism and Rajni Kothari's "Environment, technology and ethics" conclude the section.
Section V considers contemporary issues and controversies with four sub-sections: wilderness preservation, animals, population and consumption, and biodiversity. The first subsection includesJ. Baird Callicott's "The Wilderness Revisited" and Rolston's reaffirmation of the wilderness idea. The editors contribute to the consideration of animals with an excerpt form Gruen's "Animals" and Jamieson's "Against Zoos". Anne and Paul Ehrlich contribute to the examination of the relationship between population and consumption. They are also featured in the subsection on biodiversity along with Elliott Sober's contribution from "Philosophical Problems for Environmentalism".
Reflecting on Nature: Readings in Environmental Philosophy is a nicely arranged collection of philosophical thought on the natural world. It offers a balance of ancient, enlightenment and contemporary thought.
T. A. O'Lonergan
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Public Control of Environmental Health Hazards, E. Cuyler Hammond & Irving J. Selikoff, (New York: The New York Academy of Sciences, 1979), 405pp.
TOPICS:
Understanding environmental problems; making effective use of technical information; justifying aspirations; public education; of general applicability to environmental problems; written for the first party participant.
ABSTRACT:
Public Control of Environmental Health Hazards is an examination of the consequences of environmental hazards to human health and approaches to public control of these hazards. This work also addresses the constraints on this control and the media's responsibilities toward mitigation of these constraints.
Public Control of Environmental Health Hazards will be of interest to those who wish to understand attempts at social control of environmental health hazards. This work is divided into ten parts, each comprised of the work of multiple authors addressing a particular overarching topic. The first part is an examination of the consequences of environmental hazards to human health. Separate authors examine: the relationship between environmental hazards and birth defects, environmentally caused cancer and the response of the liver to environmental agents. Further, the first part contains discussions of: the environmental aspects of cardiovascular disease, environmental lung disease in the young and the neurotoxic effects of workers exposed to chemical hazards.
Part two focuses upon the scientific basis for estimating risk. Specifically, the chapter addresses carcinogens and the tests used to determine the relative danger of the carcinogen. In this context, multiple authors examine: the validity of extrapolation of results of animal studies to humans, the ability of short-term tests to predict chronic toxicologic effects, and the limitations and advantages of epidemiological investigations in environmental carcinogenesis. Part three presents a panel discussion of public involvement in risk assessment and standard setting. Following the panel discussion is the presentation of a case study. Decision-making in the US, Sweden and Europe regarding the regulation of vinyl chloride is examined accompanied by a comparison of differences in decision-making on environmental controls.
Part four addresses approaches to public control of environmental health hazards. The legal, regulatory and scientific complexities of federal constraints of toxic substances is examined. This is followed by four essays addressing risk-benefit analysis. Part five addresses the control measures, regulatory actions and standards aimed at aflatoxin, asbestos and coke oven emissions respectively. Part six addresses the constraint imposed on the social response to environmental hazards by the problem of ill-utilized data. In this context are discussions of: constraints on decision-making, faulty experimental design and the legal implications of publication of information for consumers.
Part seven examines the priorities of the media and their responsibilities. The first essay in this section examines the ethics of medical news reporting. This part also examines press coverage of: shipyard hazards, bischloromethyl, estrogen use during pregnancy and menopause and low-level radiation. Additionally, an overview of science journalism in the American press is offered. Part eight is comprised of an essay which addresses the relationship of the rule of reason and the resolution of controversy. Part nine presents a panel discussion of the prospects for the control of environmental diseases. The final part contains two debates. Debates over resolutions that: there should be no preventable exposure to a confirmed occupational human carcinogen and, the government shall provide compensation for all occupational and environmental diseases, are offered.
Public Control of Environmental Health Hazards is a careful examination of the basis for, and attempts at social control of environmental hazards. The informed reader will find the work both informative and useful.
T. A. O'Lonergan
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Natural Resource and Environmental Information for Decisionmaking, Hassan M. Hassan and Charles Hutchinson (eds), (Washington DC: The World Bank, 1992), 164 pp.
TOPICS:
Market approaches; of general applicability to environmental problems; written for the first party participant.
ABSTRACT:
Natural Resource and Environmental Information for Decisionmaking is a publication of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (The World Bank). It addresses the its use of information in the decision-making process.
Natural Resource and Environmental Information for Decisionmaking will be of interest to those who desire an understanding of the position of the World Bank on natural resource decision-making. The first chapter is an introduction which examines: the role of information in decision-making, and the need for, and uses of, natural resource and environmental information. Chapter two addresses the World Bank's operational experience utilizing natural resource information. This chapter examines the need to improve such information as well as offering examples of information utilization in projects in: Nepal, Indonesia, Africa and the Philippines.
The third chapter considers common information needs and methods for determining those needs. This is followed by suggestions for selecting from existing information. The same chapter offers basic and variable assessment criteria in addition to institutional considerations. Chapter five focuses upon additional processing of existing data and acquisition of new data. This is followed by a chapter on resource information management which focuses on Geographic Information Systems (GIS); their components, hardware, software and the implementation of their capabilities.
The penultimate chapter addresses institution building wherein the authors offer methods for: determining the nature of the problem; undertaking a so-called topology of institutional problems; and discussing underlying issues. The final chapter examines: current trends, World Bank requirements for environmental information, outlooks at the national, regional and global levels. The text is appended with two annexes, the first of which addresses resource information needs and sources. The second annex addresses resource information generation, analysis, and management.
Natural Resource and Environmental Information for Decisionmaking is a publication of the World Bank and represents its views on the subjects contained therein.
T. A. O'Lonergan
G15HASS
Understanding the relationship between economics and wilderness policy.
Wilderness Economics and Policy, Lloyd C. Irland, (Massachusetts: Lexington Books, 1979), 218 pp.
TOPICS:
Understanding environmental problems; justifying aspirations; politics; of general applicability to environmental problems; written for the first party participant.
ABSTRACT:
Wilderness Economics and Policy is a brief examination of the public mandate for preservation and governmental attempts at implementation. It is a more comprehensive examination of the economics of preservation.
Wilderness Economics and Policy will be of interest to those who seek an understanding of the economic component of wilderness preservation. The first chapter addresses the mandate for preservation of the wilderness. Following an introduction, the author offers: utilitarian and non-utilitarian justifications for preservation, and the relationship between ethics and preservation. The second chapter addresses development of US preservation policy from its ad hoc beginnings to the natural area movement. The next chapter considers legislative efforts at implementation of the preservation mandate. The author focuses on: The Wilderness Act of 1964, the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968, and the endangered species acts.
Chapter four offers the basics of the economics of preservation. The author considers the political economy of preservation and the economics of conservation, and offers a systematic approach to preservation decisions. The next chapter examines wilderness and the supply of wood. The author offers suggestions for resolving the conflict over timber values and their national economic impact. This is followed by a chapter concerned with wilderness and: minerals, recreation, and water. Chapter seven addresses the evaluation of local economic impacts; specifically, the impact of withdrawal of industries relying on locally available natural resources.
Chapter eight examines potential additions to the wilderness system and wilderness allocation issues. The penultimate chapter asserts that wilderness management is the challenge of the future. The author considers: resource management and protection, the ecological and social aspects of wilderness recreation, policy options for managing visitor impacts, and values in wilderness management. The final chapter draws conclusions from the foregoing material and closes with a consideration of cultural and ethical values.
Wilderness Economics and Policy is a closely focused examination of the mandate for, and economic aspects of, wilderness preservation. It is thoughtfully written and logically presented.
T. A. O'Lonergan
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Saving the Hidden Treasure: The Evolution of Ground Water Policy, Henry C. Kenski, (California: Regina Books, 1990), 156 pp.
TOPICS:
Understanding environmental problems; making effective use of technical information; administrative procedures; politics; applicable to water use issues; written for the first party participant.
ABSTRACT:
Saving the Hidden Treasure: The Evolution of Ground Water Policy is an examination of the development of groundwater into a political issue and the subsequent Federal, State and local attempts to protect this resource.
Saving the Hidden Treasure: The Evolution of Ground Water Policy will be of interest to those who seek an understanding of groundwater policy. The first chapter examines the emergence of groundwater as a policy issue. Specifically, it offers: a definition of the issue, and compares groundwater to surface water. Further, the author explores: the importance of groundwater, the severity of the groundwater problem, and the US policy context. Chapter two addresses groundwater contamination and protection. The author discusses three sources of contamination: natural pollution, waste disposal practices, and non-disposal sources due to human activities. Following clean-up options, the author examines technical and economic constraints on such clean-up. The chapter closes with consideration of prevention responses.
Chapter three discusses the origins of discovery. Kenski addresses discovery of groundwater contamination of three types: citizen complaints, accidental testing, and regular testing, each with its own set of implications. Further, the author discusses incentives for discovery of groundwater pollution. Discovery by the business community, community interests and governmental bureaucracies are considered. The next chapter addresses Federal protection of groundwater, beginning with the problematic nature of the multiple sources of authority and diffusion of responsibility in the Federal bureaucracy. Kenski examines the: Clean Water Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, Superfund, Toxic Substances Control Act, and Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. He acknowledges the important link between agricultural activities and groundwater, and closes with consideration of Federal policy options.
Chapter six addresses the political and social factors affecting response to groundwater pollution problems. The chapter discusses: the changing decision-making context in groundwater policy-making, activists and their resources, local environmental organisations, industry strategies, state and local environmental protection agencies and cooperative lobbying. The final chapter offers possible scenarios for the future of groundwater protection. The author examines: the role of science and technology, the scope and magnitude of the problem, the current emphasis on fiscal constraint, and the fragmentation of governmental authority. The text is followed by selected general references, listed by chapter.
Saving the Hidden Treasure: The Evolution of Ground Water Policy is careful consideration of groundwater as a policy issue. It will serve the reader as a foundation for further exploration.
T. A. O'Lonergan
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Understanding the relationship between international banks and the environment.
International Banks and the Environment - From Growth to Sustainability: An Unfinished Agenda, Raymond F. Mikesell and Larry Williams, (San Francisco: Sierra Club Books, 1992), 292 pp.
TOPICS:
Understanding environmental problems; administrative procedures; market approaches; applicable to land use and growth issues; written for the first party participant.
ABSTRACT:
International Banks and the Environment - From Growth to Sustainability: An Unfinished Agenda is an examination and evaluation of the projects undertaken in the world's poorest countries with funds from Multilateral Development Banks (primarily The World Bank) for the degree to which the projects promote sustainable development.
International Banks and the Environment - From Growth to Sustainability: An Unfinished Agenda will be of interest to those who seek an understanding of the relationship between Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) and global sustainable development. The first chapter is an introduction which explains the purpose of the book in such lucid and succinct terms that it will be quoted from extensively. Chapter two "... describes the operations of MDBs and the evolution of their policies, with special reference to the environment. ... [with critical examination of] the procedures MDBs follow to carry out their announced environmental policies ...".
Chapter three is an examination of how environmental principles might be integrated with traditional development policies. The authors assert that an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is a useful means for this integration. Further, they note that it is only recently that MDBs have begun to require such a statement for proposed projects. Chapters four through seven are concerned with "... an analysis of the environmental problems associated with projects and programs in the major economic sectors - agriculture, forestry, livestock, power mining, and infrastructure. ... Much of the discussion draws on case histories of projects supported by MDBs and bilateral aid agencies, often recording environmental failures with disastrous consequences." These case studies include projects or programs in : India, Sudan, Ghana, Northwest Thailand, and Egypt. These case studies are contained in appendices to chapter four. Other appendices to this chapter include an examination of environmental effects commonly associated with irrigation projects and a summary of major environmental factors in dam projects.
Chapter eight examines the relationship between structural adjustment loans (SALs) and the environment. SALs are loans which are directed toward development that is not centered on a particular project. Chapter nine addresses the external influences on MDBs with particular attention paid to the low-key, yet effective efforts of non-governmental organisations on legislative bodies who deal with MDBs. The final chapter summarizes "... the most important ... conclusions on MDB policies and operations as they relate to ... sustainable development".
International Banks and the Environment - From Growth to Sustainability: An Unfinished Agenda is a careful, often less than flattering, examination on MDBs, particularly The World Bank. The authors offer abundant criticisms of such banks and suggestions to assist MDBs to overcome their historical disregard for the environmental consequences of the projects and programs they support.
T. A. O'Lonergan
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Understanding the necessity land reform to democratic development.
Land Reform and Democratic Development, Roy L. Prosterman and Jeffrey M. Riedinger, (Maryland: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1987), 303 pp.
TOPICS:
Understanding environmental problems; procedural fairness; justifying aspirations; applicable to land use and growth; written for the first party participant.
ABSTRACT:
Land Reform and Democratic Development is an argument for the programs and policies proposed by the authors which, they assert, would reduce both world hunger and world population within a generation.
Land Reform and Democratic Development will be of interest to those who seek a perspective on land reform and population control which could avert violent confrontations of people in the Third World. The work is divided into three parts, the first of which examines the roots of development. The link between landlessness and revolution and the relationship among tenure, equity and productivity are explored. The third chapter addresses approaches for classifying countries as developed, under developed or undeveloped are examined. The first approach discussed is the Physical Quality of Life Index (PQLI), followed by the Birth-Death-Based Modernization Index (BDMI). This later includes the infant mortality rate (IMR) and the crude birth rate (CBR). The final chapter, in this first part, examines four paths to development. These paths are represented by models: the family-farm model, the collective model, the populist model, and the incomes model (non-agricultural),
Part two considers the relationship between crisis and development with an examination of: the pursuit of the family farm in South Vietnam, and land reform in El Salvador. The final part is a prescription for future development. The authors offer some guiding principles for land reform. They present development programs which they assert to be compatible with and complimentary to their proposals. The final chapter proposes universalizing a family-farm model as the preferred path to development.
Land Reform and Democratic Development is an extended argument for land reform as a necessary condition for democratic development. The work is systematically approached and logically presented. The author's argument is sound.
T. A. O'Lonergan
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Understanding the importance of water to the Western United States.
Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water, Marc Reisner, (New York: Viking, 1986), 564 pp.
TOPICS:
Understanding environmental problems; making effective use of technical information; politics; applicable to water resource issues; written for the first party participant.
ABSTRACT:
Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water is a history and an examination of the importance of water to the Western United States. The author addresses water use issues from the earliest settlement of the West by Europeans to the contemporary problem of increasing salinity in the Colorado River Basin.
Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water will be of interest to those who desire a comprehensive understanding of the historical and contemporary water use issues in the Western United States. The work begins with an introduction which serves as an overview of the book. Chapter two examines the history of European exploration of the West, beginning with the sixteenth century Spanish exploration. The author discusses the Louisiana purchase and the Lewis and Clark expedition. He discusses, in some depth, the Powell Geographic Expedition of 1869 in the concluding portion of the chapter. The next topic is the Gold Rush in California in the 1850s which precedes a discussion of the influence of William Mulholland and his contemporary entrepreneurs in Los Angeles. This discussion addresses the use of Owens Valley water by private and municipal interests in Los Angeles which precipitated the building of an aqueduct; unparalleled in its length and the inhospitable nature of the terrain the water traveled through to reach Los Angeles.
The next chapter addresses the Reclamation Act of 1902. This is followed by a focus on the Colorado River and an examination of the dam projects of the late 1940s and 50s. Reisner addresses the conflict between the Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation over the development of projects along Western rivers. A very readable portrait of Floyd Dominy and his influence on both the Bureau of Reclamation and, indirectly, the Corps of Engineers is the sole topic of chapter seven. Chapter eight is an examination of Western dam projects in the 1960s and the precipitant litigation and contains a brief consideration of David Brower's opposition to many, if not all, of these projects.
Chapter nine is a careful examination of the water reforms that the Carter administration pursued and the attendant opposition those reforms aroused in both politicians and Southern and Western constituencies. Water projects in Wyoming, Colorado and Utah are the focus of chapter eleven. The penultimate chapter begins with an examination of the depletion of the Ogallala aquifer and ends with the assertion, by multiple hydrologists, that dam projects are simply an avoidance of the inevitable. The final chapter begins with a lengthy quote from Floyd Dominy and is concluded with an examination of the formation and influence of the North American Water and Power Alliance (NAWAPA).
Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water is a lengthy and detailed account of water as a political, economic and cultural issue in the Western United States. A bonus for the well-informed reader are the numerous photographs of: the personalities who influenced water policy in the West, and the locations and projects they developed or opposed.
T. A. O'Lonergan
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The Politics of Global Atmospheric Change, Ian H. Rowlands, (New York: Manchester University Press, 1995), 267 pp.
TOPICS:
Understanding environmental problems; understanding core interests; negotiation, mediation, facilitation and consensus building; politics; of general applicability to environmental problems; written for the third party participant.
ABSTRACT:
The Politics of Global Atmospheric Change is an examination of the political nature of the theoretical and scientific bases for the concept of atmospheric change. It offers a chronology of the politics of ozone layer depletion and climate change. It also examines the equity of these two issues in a comparison of the contributions to both climate change and ozone layer depletion made by Northern and Southern nations.
The Politics of Global Atmospheric Change will be of interest to those who seek to understand the political foundation for climate change and ozone layer depletion. This work is divided into five sections, each addressing an aspect of atmospheric change. The first of these parts addresses the theoretical aspect. The author draws from current literature and offers explanations for the lack of international cooperation in identifying and moving toward solutions to climate change. Rowlands asserts that these explanations might best be considered to fall into three categories: power-based, interest-based and knowledge-based explanations.
The second section of the book addresses the scientific aspect of ozone layer depletion and climate change. The author examines the relationships between: supersonic transport, spray cans and ozone layer depletion. He also addresses the diminishing concern over continuing ozone depletion. Initial theories about climate change and the debate over whether the earth is experiencing global warming, global cooling, or climate stability is discussed. The final part of this section focuses upon the difficulty of achieving consensus in the face of uncertainty and the relationship between science and global environmental politics.
The third section of the book addresses interests, and climate change and ozone depletion. In this context the author discusses the reduction of chlorofluorocarbons since the Montreal Protocol in 1987 and the attempts to de-link production and pollution. The fourth section is devoted to an examination of the equity in these global problems. The author addresses the concern and post-Montreal Protocol protests of Southern nations. He also outlines the rise of issues which concern primarily Northern or Southern nations. Finally, the equity of global environmental politics is examined.
The final section addresses catalysts within the ozone layer depletion and climate change issues. These include political entrepreneurs and non-governmental organisations. Rowlands closes with an examination of catalysts and global environmental politics.
The Politics of Global Atmospheric Change stresses the inseparability of ozone layer depletion, global climate change and politics. An understanding of these inter-relationships may, on the author's account, assist in mitigation of these global problems.
T. A. O'Lonergan
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Understanding the relationship among, water law, planning and policy.
Water Law, Planning and Policy: Cases and Materials, Joseph L. Sax, (Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, Inc., 1968), 508 pp.
TOPICS:
Identifying stakeholders; litigation; applicable to water resource issues; written for the first or third party participant.
ABSTRACT:
Water Law, Planning and Policy: Cases and Materials is an examination of the planning, for, and use of, water for any human purpose, and the quality issues surrounding such use in the light of two legal regimes in water law.
Water Law, Planning and Policy: Cases and Materials will be of interest to those who seek an understanding of water policy. The introduction is an explanation of the differences between the legal regimes of riparianism and appropriations. The first chapter addresses public planning for water use with focus on the Northwestern and Southwestern United States. The author considers two broad topics: the ascertaining of goals, and implementation of the planning process. In the former context he examines: technical proposals and policy issues, project evaluation (benefit-cost analysis), and proposals for improving the evaluation process. Consideration of implementation of the planning process includes: the practice of protecting the origin in regional reallocations, legal bases for regional reallocation, and augmentation of water supplies. The latter topic focuses upon saline water conversion, weather modification and conservation.
Chapter two addresses the management of water use. The first part of the chapter concerns the Federal management model. The introduction presents the Federal Reclamation Law by way of background information. The author then proceeds to examine: the interplay between State and Federal Law, rights to reclamation project water, and the Excess Land-law. The second portion of the chapter is devoted to consideration of urban water supply. Herein, Sax examines: the interstate compact as a management model; and municipal acquisition of water rights through reservation and condemnation. The final part of the chapter addresses the administrative agencies and the courts which act as the appropriation system. The author examines: the diversion requirement of appropriation, the adjudication and administration of water rights and the permit system.
Chapter three is devoted to the consideration of water used for recreation, conservation and aesthetics. Following a brief look at the recreational use of lakes and streams the author focuses on the impact of conservation values on water use. He examines, in some depth, the Storm King case involving Consolidated Edison. The chapter closes with consideration of some theoretical observations about the maintenance of conservation values. The last chapter save one is devoted to an examination of the legal concerns over pollution. Sax presents a general introduction to the enforcement process, prefatory to a discussion of effluent taxes. He then considers economic incentives and private remedies for pollution control. This chapter is appended with a list of source materials on water pollution.
The final chapter examines groundwater and other special water sources. When considering groundwater, Sax begins with the physical facts and proceeds through discussions of: legal regimes governing groundwater, the problem of diminishing aquifers, and the management of groundwater basins. Additionally, the author briefly considers water from five other sources: spring water, foreign waters, developed water, enemy waters, and flood control. Placed in front of the text, the reader will find a table of cases and a short glossary of common water resource terms.
Water Law, Planning and Policy: Cases and Materials is a careful and comprehensive examination of the title topic. It is clearly written and will be accessible to the well-informed reader.
T. A. O'Lonergan
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Understanding upstream vs downstream issues in environmental ethics.
Upstream/Downstream: Issues in Environmental Ethics, Donald Scherer, (ed), (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1990), 234 pp.
TOPICS:
Justifying aspirations; of general applicability to environmental problems; written for the first party participant.
ABSTRACT:
Upstream/Downstream: Issues in Environmental Ethics is a collection of essays which address environmental problems from a philosophical perspective and divides environmental values into two, distinct "... constellation of values"; upstream and downstream values.
Upstream/Downstream: Issues in Environmental Ethics will be of interest to those who seek a philosophical foundation for human treatment of the environment. The work is a collection of eight essays, each addressing a particular issue for environmental ethics. The editor presents a comprehensive introduction to the book, with a brief outline of each essay. He is also author of the first essay which addresses the molding of environments by complex and social humans, and the norms that emerge "... to respond to the problems endemic to upstream/downstream environments".
The second essay considers the rights of future generations. Specifically, the author examines the admittedly non-reciprocal relationship the present generation has with future generations by reference to a metaphorical "river of time". The third essay, by Dale Jamieson, focuses upon human understanding of the Greenhouse Effect. Jamieson asserts that "... by operating on inadequate philosophies, society is abrogating its obligations to future generations. Positivist models of science and society, on which much of America society has been built, make several important assumptions, among them that there is a radical separation between facts and values and that scientists, applying appropriate methods, can ascertain the facts".
The fourth essay considers the relationship between models, scientific method and environmental ethics. Herein, the author questions the use of hydorgeological models in the siting of hazardous waste facilities. The next essay is co-authored by Daniel Barstow Magraw and James W. Nickel and questions whether today's international system can handle transboundary environmental problems. This is followed by an examination by Mark Sagoff of the legal considerations of takings and what constitutes just compensation, and the relationship of both to the environment.
The penultimate essay addresses the assessment of the acts of pollution. "Bart Gruzalski wrestles with finding an adequate basis for attributing responsibility for pollution when each polluter adds so little pollution as to do no damage alone. ... What, he asks, is an appropriate standard of responsibility in the face of individual insignificance?". The final essay compares two types of cost-benefit analyses. Alan Gerwith asserts that traditional cost-benefit analysis is not suited to assess the multilateral costs involved in environmental degradation. He thus proposes a modification of the traditional analysis to accommodate the complexities involved. The editor concludes: "The characteristics of upstream/downstream relations, as the authors in this volume argue, drive us toward revised standards of responsibility. ... this volume attempts a few initial steps toward new understandings of human responsibility in an upstream/downstream world".
Upstream/Downstream: Issues in Environmental Ethics is a careful consideration of the distinct value packages associated with one's position to the environment, which one has helped to mold, and the humans with whom one has striven in this endeavour. This work will provide a firm basis for further pursuit by the critical thinker.
T. A. O'Lonergan
G9SCHE
Wetlands Protection: The Role of Economics, Paul F. Scodari, (Washington DC: Environmental Law Institute, 1990), 89 pp.
TOPICS:
Market approaches; applicable to habitat protection issues; written for the first party participant.
ABSTRACT:
Wetlands Protection: The Role of Economics is an examination of the science of wetland valuation, its implementation and use in natural resource damage assessment.
Wetlands Protection: The Role of Economics will be of interest to those who seek an understanding of wetland valuation. The first chapter is an introduction which addresses the US Army Corps of Engineers' current cost-benefit framework and its flaws. Specifically, the author examines: economic, scientific, and political/institutional problems. Chapter two begins with a definition of wetlands and considers wetland outputs: intermediate, final, and future wetland goods. The author addresses the ecological functions of wetlands, which include: flood storage, groundwater recharge and discharge, nutrient retention and removal, aquatic food chain support, and wildlife habitat support. This chapter closes with concern over scientific barriers to economic valuation of wetlands.
Chapter three considers principles and methods for valuing wetlands goods. In this context, the author addresses the inability of the market system to allocate wetlands efficiently. Scodari also considers: a general framework for valuation of wetlands, economic techniques for valuing non-market outputs; intermediate and final goods. Chapter four examines the implementation of wetland valuation. The author begins with consideration of some Corps projects and proceeds to a general benefit-cost analysis of other Corps projects and the political and institutional barriers to economic valuation of wetlands. Chapter five examines the Natural Resource Damage Assessment Regulations. Specifically, the author addresses the allocation of public natural resources and Superfund. The final chapter draws conclusions and offers recommendations for methodological improvement and legislative and administrative reforms.
Wetlands Protection: The Role of Economics is a concise examination of the fundamentals of wetland valuation for assessment of damages.
T. A. O'Lonergan
E15SCOD
Management for a Small Planet: Strategic Decision Making and the Environment, W. Edward Stead, Jean Garner Stead, (California: Sage Publications, 1992), 201 pp.
TOPICS:
Understanding environmental problems; identifying stakeholders; administrative procedures; market approaches; of general applicability to environmental problems; written for the first party participant.
ABSTRACT:
Management for a Small Planet: Strategic Decision Making and the Environment is an examination of the social, scientific, psychological and economic components of making environmentally sensitive business decisions. In addition, the work offers a "... new strategic decision-making frame-work that will aid in achieving long-term economic success within the limits of the ecosystem".
Management for a Small Planet: Strategic Decision Making and the Environment will be of interest to those who seek a method for business decision-making that is sensitive to environmental issues. The work is divided into three parts the first of which is entitled "Introduction to a Small Planet". The authors assert that it is a time for a change in the way that strategic decisions are made. They offer a basic model of business and the ecosystem and assert the need for a new economic paradigm. The final concern of the first chapter is an explanation of the plan of the book. This will also serve as an executive summary which, being clear and succinct, cannot be improved upon by this author; and thus, will be quoted in toto.
The second chapter of the first part provides a summary of the environmental issues faced by the planet. We examine how the conversion of natural resources into economic outputs in order to satisfy the economic desires of an ever-increasing population base has led to problems such as global warming, ozone depletion, water pollution and depletion, deforestation, oil and mineral depletion, land degradation, and so on.
Part 2 examines conceptual frameworks relevant to understanding what a small planet is and how it relates to economic growth and managerial decision-making. This section draws on information from such diverse disciplines as physics, environmental science, biology, economics, management, psychology, sociology, and ethics. In chapter 3, we discuss the Earth as a living system, and we examine such topics as thermodynamics and energy science. By introducing these topics, we hope to make readers aware that management decisions need to be consistent with the limits of the Earth, because that is their venue. In chapter 4, we discuss the role values play in complex human decision-making. Because strategic decisions represent the most complex and multidimensional decisions made by business managers, we feel it is important to provide managers with a clear picture of how their values influence their strategic choices. In chapter 5, we discuss some of the basic fallacies of the current economic paradigm and present some of the ideas being forwarded about a new, more environmentally sensitive economic paradigm.
The final part of the book focuses on how business managers can adapt their strategic decision-making approaches to include a small-planet way of thinking and acting. In chapter 6, we discuss the emerging management paradigm, and we make some suggestions for incorporating the planet into that paradigm. In chapter 7, we present values for a small planet. These are values that, if adopted by strategic decision makers, can be instrumental in helping managers make choices that are compatible with the ecosystem. Chapter 8 focuses on the growing movements among organizational stakeholders (including consumers, investors, and the political/legal system) demanding environmental responsibility from organisations. In the final chapter of the book (chapter 9), we present the concept of "sustainable strategies," (sic) which are strategies designed to integrate the ecological needs of the planet with the long-term economic needs of the firm.
Management for a Small Planet: Strategic Decision Making and the Environment is written in a clear and succinct manner, evidenced by the summary quoted above. This work will serve as a basic critique of market approaches for the reader who wishes to pursue the subject in greater depth.
T. A. O'Lonergan
G1STEA
G3STEA
G11STEA
G15STEA
Understanding the political and bureaucratic elements which effect the relationship between natural resource exploitation and environmental management.
Natural Resources: Bureaucratic Myths and Environmental Management, Richard L. Stroup and John A. Baden, (Cambridge: Ballinger Publishing Company, 1983),
TOPICS:
Administrative procedures; politics; market approaches; of general applicability to environmental problems; written for the first party participant.
ABSTRACT:
Natural Resources: Bureaucratic Myths and Environmental Management is an examination of environmental management from the perspective that property rights are the underlying value and the main issue to be addressed in the exploitation of natural resources.
Natural Resources: Bureaucratic Myths and Environmental Management will be of interest to those who desire an understanding of environmental management from the perspective of microeconomics. Chapter one is an overview of the book and sets out the underlying assumptions of microeconomic theory. Chapter two examines what the authors assert to be the real issue: property rights. Herein, one will find discussion of: the relationship between property rights and the allocation of resources, the evolution of property rights to natural resources, private and transferable property rights. Additionally, the authors address market failure and potential remedies and public, non-transferable rights in a governmental setting.
Chapter three is an examination of the Native American as a resource manager. This chapter begins with an examination of the relationship between Native Americans and the environment. The authors discuss the Plains Indian's efficient use of the buffalo prior to the introduction of the horse. Consideration of self-instituted conservation behaviour of trappers in the commonly held coastal areas in the early twentieth century precedes an examination of the relationship between cultural and environmental quality.
Chapter four is devoted to resource management in a bureaucratic setting. This chapter explores the current framework for analysis and offers a framework for better resource management. The fifth chapter examines energy scarcities and political opportunism with discussions of: the role of self-interest and government, diversity in biological and economic systems, and alternative energy and market failure. The next chapter addresses property rights and groundwater management with a focus on the commonality problem. A brief explanation of groundwater law is followed by the proposal of an alternative to the present management scheme. This alternative proposes that fully transferable property rights be assigned to groundwater.
Chapter seven focuses on regulation, incentives and pollution. The authors assert that pollution is a case study of market failure and offer consideration of pollution control legislation. They also address several market approaches to eliminate or reduce air pollution. The penultimate chapter asserts that demise of the Sagebrush rebellion. Consideration of the constituency of the Sagebrush rebellion is followed by a one page explanation of the economic problems of society. This is in turn followed by the assertion that property rights, sensitivity and environmental stewardship are not mutually exclusive. The final chapter offers a fifteen page assessment of the management of the federally held forests and the Social Security system.
Natural Resources: Bureaucratic Myths and Environmental Management is an ambitious attempt to evaluate, and provide alternatives to, the present system of environmental management based upon micro-economic theory. One must accept that it is possible for market approaches to provide solutions to our current environmental problems in order for this work to be plausible.
T. A. O'Lonergan
G11STRO
G13STRO
G15STRO
Wildlife Policies in the U S National Parks, Frederic H. Wagner, Ronald Foresta, R. Bruce Gill, Dale R. McCullough, Michael R. Pelton, William F. Porter, Hal Salwasser, (Washington DC: Island Press, 1995), 228 pp.
TOPICS:
Understanding environmental problems; making effective use of technical information; of general applicability to environmental problems; written for the first party participant.
ABSTRACT:
Wildlife Policies in the U S National Parks is "... the result of a five-year review of management policies for biological resources in the System, with special attention to the wildlife". This work addresses the natural resources values, goals and policies of the system.
Wildlife Policies in the U S National Parks will be of interest to those who seek an understanding of wildlife policies in the National Parks. The first chapter is an introduction to the professional review of the National Park System. The authors discuss the history and structure of the US Park System. A review of that system's wildlife policies is followed by the asserted philosophy of the work. Chapter two is an examination of the values and goals of the system. The authors examine four natural resources values: recreational, educational, scientific, and environmental/ preservational. Following a brief discussion of the Park Service's goals, their natural resources policies are addressed. Early Congressional action and intent, and the beginnings of science and nature preservation policies are considered. The chapter closes with noteworthy correspondence between the system and park level officials.
The third chapter focuses upon wildlife problems in the parks, beginning with native ungulate populations. The white tail deer, North American elk and moose are each discussed in turn. Specifically, the known effects of dense populations of deer and elk are considered, as the authors cite the invasion of the moose into the upper Colorado River Basin as an opportunity to study the effects of increased moose density on the vegetation in that region. The chapter concludes with an examination of the effects of exotics and feral animals and the lamentable decline in species abundance and biodiversity.
Chapter four is a discussion of the constraints on attainment of natural resources goals, beginning with the consideration of constraints on external threats. Specifically considered are: broad-scale environmental impacts and human actions on lands adjacent to National Park lands. This is followed by a focus on the structural features of the National Park System. Examined are, the founding mechanisms and the resulting Balkanization, and the subsequent vulnerability to political pressures. The authors address the difficulty with which the direction of the Park Service remains balanced between its dual mission of preservation and facilitated use. Finally, the problem of insufficient technical training of the Park Service staff is addressed.
Chapter five is concerned with research in the National Park System. The authors consider the administrative structure of research staff and programs prior to the move of all research to the administration of the National Biological Survey (NBS) in 1993. Included in this discussion is the negative way in which scientific pursuits and personnel were viewed by the Park Service as a whole. The chapter concludes with the move of research to the NBS. Chapter six addresses ecological terms and concepts that influence policy directions. Following a discussion of policies as verbal contracts, the authors consider the ambiguities and misconceptions of such concepts as: carrying capacity, natural regulation, predation, systems cycling, process management and the term ?natural'.
The final chapter is a look forward. The authors assert the need to set explicit goals at the park level and for integration of Park and System goals. Further, the Park Service must establish: park specific, ecologically defined policies, a method and focus of management, and policies on culling and animal welfare issues. The move of the bulk of the research staff to the NBS, notwithstanding, the National Park Service must address the functions of science in the system, particularly in organizational and staffing considerations.
Wildlife Policies in the U S National Parks is a systematic examination of the title subject which addresses the most pressing current issues of the Park Service.
T. A. O'Lonergan
G1WAGN
G6WAGN
Hazardous Waste Site Management: Water Quality Issues, Water Science and Technology Board, (Washington DC: National Academy Press, 1988), 201 pp.
TOPICS:
Understanding environmental problems; making effective use of technical information; applicable to water resource issues; written for the first party participant.
ABSTRACT:
Hazardous Waste Site Management: Water Quality Issues is a collection of papers which were presented at a 1985 Water Sciences and Technology Board colloquium series which focused on emerging issues in water science and technology.
Hazardous Waste Site Management: Water Quality Issues will be of interest to those who seek to broaden their understanding of the water quality issues in hazardous waste site clean-up. The text begins with an overview of the book by Michael Kavanaugh. This is followed by nine issue papers with provocateur's comments. The first paper was the keynote address of the 1985 colloquium series and addresses the setting of environmental standards for hazardous waste sites. The author questions whether the present approach constitutes a break from the past or is merely a point on a continuum. The second paper addresses the establishing and meeting of groundwater protection goals in Superfund. Halina Szejnwald Brown presents some approaches to setting cleanup goals at hazardous waste sites. Brown provides a "... succinct and useful summary of the methods proposed and actually used ..." by multiple agencies engaged in various clean-up operations.
The fourth paper addresses the "How clean should clean be?" dilemma. The authors describe the Department of Health Services method which is compatible with the proposed EPA method. The next paper is a call for action on the dilemma addressed in the previous paper. The sixth paper offers an environmentalist perspective on the same dilemma. The author, Linda Greer, from the Environmental Defense Fund asserts that "... support for clean-up levels less stringent than background or a low risk level of 10-6 appears unlikely ..." from her group. The seventh paper offers a perspective on groundwater contamination issues in Santa Clara County, California. The last paper save one discusses using models to solve ground water quality problems. The final essay addresses the element of uncertainty in the estimation of health risks at hazardous waste sites.
The papers are followed by summaries of the efforts of four separate workshops. These workshops addressed: risk assessment/ toxicology, hydrogeology, engineering, and regulatory strategies. The text is followed by two appendices the first of which contains biographical sketches of the principal contributors. The second appendix is a list of colloquium attendees.
Hazardous Waste Site Management: Water Quality Issues is a careful consideration of the water quality issues to be addressed by the managers of hazardous waste site clean-ups. The tables and illustrations presented in support of the text will be particularly useful to the informed reader.
A. O'Lonergan
W1WATE
W6WATE
The Reporter's Environmental Handbook, Bernadette West, Peter M. Sandman, Michael R. Greenberg, (New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1995),328 pp.
TOPICS:
Understanding environmental problems; communication and limiting of misunderstandings; making effective use of technical information; public education; of general applicability to environmental problems; written for the first party participant.
ABSTRACT:
The Reporter's Environmental Handbook is, as the title implies, a handbook style-text for use by journalists who are responsible for reporting on environmental issues. It offers a very basic background in multiple environmental issues.
The Reporter's Environmental Handbook will be of interest to those who seek an understanding of techniques for reporting on environmental issues. Following instruction in the use of the text, the authors examine the language of risk. The authors stress the importance of understanding the multiple dimensions of an environmental risk as a precondition for reporting on same. This is followed by a case study in finding sources
in an environmental emergency.
The remainder of the book is divided into substantive briefings. Each briefing follows the same format. Each substantive area contains sections on: identifying the problem, correcting the problem, pitfalls in reporting on this subject, important points for researching stories in this area, and sources for journalists. The substantive areas covered in the book are as follows.
This is followed by a resource section which addresses: tracking down a company's environmental record, how to find an expert, and understanding major developments in Federal legislative history. The text ends with a list of acronyms and abbreviations and a directory of key telephone numbers and references.
The Reporter's Environmental Handbook offers very basic explanations of selected environmental problems and offers suggestions for researching these issues further.
1 A. O'Lonergan
G1WEST
G5WEST
G6WEST
G16WEST
Rocky Times in Rocky Mountain National Park: An Unnatural History, Karl Hess, Jr. (Colorado: University Press of Colorado, 1993), 156 pp.
TOPICS:
Understanding environmental problems; making use of technical information; of general applicability to environmental problems; written for the first party participant.
ABSTRACT:
Rocky Times in Rocky Mountain National Park: An Unnatural History is an examination of the effects of managing this National Park for the promotion of the elk herd which attracts visitors to the Park. The author asserts that an unnatural state, for both the park and the elk herd, exists under the present management direction.
Rocky Times in Rocky Mountain National Park: An Unnatural History will be of interest to those who desire an understanding of the health of the ecosystem of Rocky Mountain National Park. Chapter one serves as an introduction which examines the history of the Park from the earliest traces of human activity to its utilization as location for: camping, trapping, fishing, and mountain retreats. Hess notes that Rocky Mountain National Park was designated a biosphere reserve, in 1976, by the United Nations' UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Program.
Chapter two begins Hess's examination of the role of elk in the Park. The Park was established in 1915 which, not coincidentally, saw elk ranging the valleys and meadows for the first time in many years. The elk had been hunted almost to extinction. Hess asserts that management of the Park has amounted to an experiment in natural regulation. Hess examines the problematic nature of the elk herd since the mid-twenties, at which time the elk herd became so large that it posed a threat to the ecosystem. From 1944 until the late sixties, the Park Service attempted to keep the numbers to what was believed to be the carrying capacity by shooting elk. In 1968, this practice was stopped and, it was asserted, "... the elk herd is ... being allowed to fluctuate naturally with an eventual equilibrium with the forage supply expected". Hess shows how this expectation has been disappointed; evidenced by the damage to aspen, willows and other vegetation in the winter range of the elk. Hess asserts that the Park has been biologically impoverished, not by the elk but, by the heavy-handedness of human management which caused the explosion in the elk population, and the demise of the solution to that population explosion.
Chapter three examines the policy of fire suppression in the Park. Hess asserts that just as the elk had upset the balance between water, willow and beaver; humans have upset the balance between fire and the rejuvenation of vegetation. Hess states that: "Fire suppression in Rocky Mountain National Park is completing what elk began - the destruction of plant community and landscape diversity - and it is doing so on a much grander scale than congregations of elk on the park's winter range". Chapter three examines the relationship between the scientific staff in the Park and the Park's management personnel. In the beginning of the 1990s, the scientific staff, certain of an imminent large scale burn undertook a Park inventory which would act as a starting point after the inevitable. Warning the management staff resulted in the scientific staff being fired and not replaced.
Chapter five begins with an examination of the National Parks Conservation Association's (NPCA's) report on threatened National Parks. They assert that winter elk range is "being chewed up" by urban development. Hess asserts that it is the burdensome elk population that is doing the mastication. The author calls for reform and restoration of Rocky Mountain National Park, which he sees as best accomplished by a decentralization of the management of National Parks. Following the text is an epilogue in which the author hopes that his deep and public criticisms of the management of the Park has been, in part, responsible for the moves toward better management which have arisen since those criticisms.
Rocky Times in Rocky Mountain National Park: An Unnatural History is a straightforward examination of the difficulties facing one National Park. The text is nicely supplemented with photographs and drawings which will aid the reader's understanding.
1 A. O'Lonergan
G1HESS
G6HESS