Common Sense in the Balance
Poor Al Gore. He desperately wants to be regarded as Captain Planet. He has brought down from the mountain the all-natural, zero-pollution tablets that will show us how to save ourselves from chemicals and the industrial revolution.
Unfortunately, Al knows more about politics than science. The all-natural, zero-pollution tablets take the form of his book--more than a pound of (recycled) paper along with all the air, water, and land pollution associated with paper production. (Is that pre- or post-consumer recycled paper?)
The vast majority of the information in this book comes from secondary research, “experts” testifying before Congress, and Saturday Night Live.
Al, inextricably in politician mode, believes that our salvation lies just beyond another round of federal legislation. He hasn’t yet realized that the most important law is the Second Law of Thermodynamics. It is one that he cannot modify or change.
We are said to be burying ourselves under a mountain of garbage. We have run out of room for waste disposal.
All the garbage we generate came from materials found on earth. As garbage, they remain on earth. How can we possibly run out of room? The earth is neither increasing nor decreasing in size. As usual, the problem is not a technological one--it’s a political problem. No one wants to live near the dump (i.e., within 1000 miles).
We have generated a lot of garbage in the last 100 years. But it is certainly true that far more garbage was generated in the previous 40,000 years of human activity. Where did all that garbage go? We are living on it. We filled the land and built cities on it. And we will do it again as soon as we realize that there is no fundamental difference between then and now.
Al worries about the highly toxic nature of today’s garbage. Again, the problem is mostly political. A generation ago, each family generated tons of flyash each year by burning coal or wood for heat and cooking. The polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons found in the soot and the heavy metals found in the ash were never given a second thought. Today, the discovery of parts per billion of these same materials triggers another billion dollar Super Fund cleanup.
The truth of the matter is that the forward advance of technology has been a good thing for the earth. It is true that our cars generate pollutants. (And it is certainly a good idea for us to continue the research efforts which have reduced these pollutants manyfold in the last 30 years.) But at the same time, the auto has freed us from the pollution scourge of horse manure and horse carcasses which were serious pollution hazards in the past.
Today, light weight plastic containers have replaced heavy glass containers which required the consumption of far more energy for their manufacture, transportation, cleaning, etc.
We burn clean methane for our heating needs now instead of the far dirtier coal.
The list could go on and on. Beware of those who are determined to fuel the fires of the fear of chemicals. Everything is made of chemicals, including Al Gore and his book.
References
- 1. CHEMTECH (August, 1991) p 457.
- 2. Al Gore, Earth in the Balance
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