A Gloomy Celebration of the Environment

Last Sunday was the 22nd Annual World Environment Day, a day set aside to reflect on the state of the environment and what needs to be done to protect it.

What did we get on the day?  Prophesies of doom and gloom, mass protests and bad street theatre.

True, numerous community groups organised practical activities such as planting trees and cleaning up rubbish.  These were, however, drowned by a cacophony of gloom and anger.

In fact, World Environment Day should be a day of celebration.

We have achieved a great deal in terms of conserving and improving our natural environment.  Sure, the job is not done, but we have made huge strides in the right direction.

Examples of success abound.  The Humpback whale, whose demise was a seminal cause of the green movement, is back from near extinction 20 years ago to a large and growing school -- enough to support a large whale-watching fleet.

Air pollution, including sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, lead and ozone, are down sharply in all urban areas.  This is despite a large rise in motor vehicle use, the main cause of urban air pollution.

The downward trend in air pollution is expected to continue into the future as higher emission standards gradually come into play.  Recycling rates have improved 150 per cent over the past 10 years.

The national park estate has been doubled in size.  All state forests are now managed on a sustainable basis and there has been a large growth in tree planting.

The farming community, which manages most of the nation's environment, have made huge strides in reducing its impact on the environment.

Minimum-till technology has been widely adopted, providing better protection of soils.

There has been large investment in monitoring and irrigation technology, which, in combination with clearer property rights, has improved the efficiency of water use.

And biotechnology, where allowed, has greatly reduced pesticide use.

Importantly, salinity is being addressed, particularly along the Murray River.

For example, salinity levels at Morgan, just upstream from the Adelaide pipeline, have been declining for 20 years.

Why then the pervasive gloom?

There are several reasons.

First, entrepreneurs have learned that frightening people with tales of environmental Armageddon sells.

For some reason people are inordinately receptive to bad news on the environment -- even in the face of strong evidence to contrary.

And there are huge numbers of people and organisations in the public, private and non-government sectors exploiting this weakness.

Second, activists whose real concern lies with changing the economic system have -- with the demise of socialism -- grasped the environment and environmental groups as their tool to change the world.

These people, known in the trade as watermelons -- green outside but red on the inside -- have succeeded in dominating the environmental debate.

Third, many scientists and politicians have succumbed to the view that the ends justify the means.  That is, that the pursuit of knowledge, or the desire to engender environmental awareness, justifies distorting the evidence.

Whatever the reason, the results are distorted priorities and excessive fear of the future and of business.

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