A debate exists over the current state of the environment and the Earth's resources.
2 2 On one side
of the debate are those who hypothesize that the Earth is running out of natural resources, and the
human race is therefore on the brink of disaster. 23 People agreeing with this hypothesis claim the
Earth will soon reach its limited "carrying capacity." 24 They claim, therefore, that "only a few
decades remain to stop unrestrained population growth and environmentally devastating economic
practices before efforts to achieve a sustainable future 'will be lost and prospects for humanity
immeasurably diminished.'- 25 On the other side of the debate are those who believe that although
there have been, and still are, environmental problems, current measures have improved these
problems. 26 In addition, they believe the Earth does not have a limited "carrying capacity" and that
natural resources will continue to be plentiful.
A. The Bad News
The modern era of United States environmental law was established with the passing of the
Clean Air Act of 1970.28 From today's vantage point, this Act, as well as others passed in the
1970s, has been largely successful. 29 These laws, however, focused mainly on reducing
pollution and waste and have largely ignored consumption of goods and resources. 30 Since
the laws were focused on pollution regulation, factories are now cleaner and more efficient,
thus, producing less pollution per unit of production.31 Although this is an important
achievement, it is diminished by overconsumption, which results in the increased use of
natural resources in both the United States and international communities.3 2 .Despite
improvements resulting from the passing of environmental laws, environmental problems
still remain.33 For example, timber companies continue to log remnants of ancient forests,
chemical companies still continue to produce tons of toxins, and corporate developers
continue to dredge and fill fragile wetlands at an alarming rate. 34 The United States
consumes thirty percent of the world's resources, yet makes up only five percent of the
world's population.35 Thus, in order to preserve the environment's ability to sustain life,
some commentators state that overconsumption and the destructive practices that pollute
the water and air must be addressed.3 6 In addition to pollution and other environmental
problems, some warn that world resources are at an all-time low level and are running out
rapidly.37 Paul Ehrlich, a well-known population control advocate, contends that soils are
being eroded in many places at inches per decade, and groundwater which accumulated
during the ice ages is overdrawn.3 8 Ehrlich warns that although depletion and degradation
of natural resources are as old as civilization, the amount occurring today is unprecedented
in its "colossal and planet-wide scale. '39
B. The Good News
Although many environmental groups, especially population control advocates such as
Ehrlich, note that the Earth has a finite amount of resources, evidence shows this is actually
not the case. 40 Many scientists and economists strongly oppose Ehrlich and the other
"doomsayers. 41 One example of this opposition relates to the "greenhouse effect."'42
Some support the greenhouse effect theory with the fact that the average global
temperature has increased slightly over the past century.43 The majority of this increase,
however, took place before 1938, and greenhouse gases, primarily carbon dioxide, were
released after that date. 44 Similarly, the problem of acid rain was found to be far less
severe of a problem as revealed by the largest scientific study of acid precipitation. 45 The
"doomsayers" claim the Earth is running out of natural resources. 46 This hypothesis is
refuted by University of Maryland economist Julian Simon, who reports the Earth's crust
presently contains millions of years of the natural resources of copper, iron, phosphorus,
lead, zinc, sulphur, uranium, aluminum and gold. 4 7 Similarly, Carroll Ann Hodges, of the
U.S. Geological Survey, has noted that minerals essential to industrial economies are neither
currently in short supply, nor are they likely to be in future generations.48 Hodges further
notes that "despite the specter of scarcity that has prevailed throughout much of this
century, no sustained mineral shortages have occurred. '49 In addition, Ehrlich and others
have claimed that the Earth will run out of food resources. 50 Thomas Malthus, who is
credited with developing the first modern theory of population control, made predictions of
mass world starvation in 1798.51 Many echoed this prediction when world food prices
peaked in the 1970s.52 These predictions, however, have not materialized, partly because
"they failed to take into account the ingenuity of those in agriculture," which has lead to
increased world food supplies. 53 An example of this ingenuity is in the area of agricultural
biotechnology. 54 "Biotechnology appears to be leading the race as the primary tool of
agriculture for the twenty-first century."55 In addition to agricultural biotechnology, other
new technologies in the areas of soil, fertilizer and DNA are breaking the link between food
production and resource consumption. 56 Another positive development leading to less
environmental waste has been instituted by many United States' companies. 57 The
companies voluntarily participate in a practice which extends the producer's responsibility
for the environmental impacts of its product even after the product is sold.58 The basic idea
is that producers design their products to reduce the environmental impacts of the products'
lifecycle. 5
