LSE

The future of the environment is a hotly contested issue. Is biodiversity under threat? Is population growth a threat?

So where exactly is the divergence? Such extremely divergent views can co-exist because of the scientifically and socially contested nature of most environmental problems. Several reasons will be put forward why a future convergence of views seems unlikely. Finally, the seminar suggests some lessons to be drawn from the conflict between environmental optimists and pessimists.

Heading for catastrophe?
Is the world heading towards catastrophe if immediate drastic action is not taken to combat the most pressing global environmental problems? The answer is certainly 'yes' if one asks many environmental activists. Their Weltanschauung is dominated by what will be referred to here as 'environmental pessimism'. Intellectual support for this view comes from some well-known scientists such as Paul Ehrlich and Norman Myers. Against this, some economists, most notably Julian Simon and Wilfred Beckerman, have long fought for the opposite view of what will be called 'environmental optimism' here. In a nutshell, environmental optimism holds that there are no pressing global environmental problems and that hence no action is warranted. The following sessions will explore the severe clash of views on environmental problems and about the often aggressive and personal battle between the optimists and pessimists. It purports to disclose hidden similarities between both sides, to explain the strong divergence of views and to explore what one can learn from the dispute.

	Optimist
	Julian Simon (1932-1998) Population economist whose research focused on the economic effects of population changes. Simon argued that the economic and environmental state of the world is improving having examined areas such as natural resources (including available minerals), food supply, agriculture, and population growth.

Lest a reader unfamiliar with the conflict gets a wrong impression, it is important to point out that the contest between environmental optimists and pessimists is not one between eccentric outsiders with dubious academic reputation. Far from it: Julian Simon, presumably the best-known environmental optimist, was a well-regarded population economist with a high standing within the economics profession before he died in February 1998. His books are published by respectable publishers such as Princeton University Press. The same is true for Wilfred Beckerman who was Professor of Political Economy at University College London, before moving on to Oxford. On the other side, Norman Myers, also from Oxford University, and Paul Ehrlich, Bing Professor of Population Studies at the Center for Conservation Biology at Stanford University, together with his wife Anne are three of the most celebrated intellectual fathers of many environmentalists and well respected scientists within their field. For simplicity, this seminar will mainly focus on work that has been authored or co-authored by these stakeholders since in some sense they are the main participants in the debate and they represent each extreme point of view ideally. This does not imply, of course, that every representative on either side always and with respect to all aspects agrees with other representatives. For example, whereas Simon regards population growth as desirable, Beckerman clearly disagrees, as becomes clear in the following quotation: "As far as developing countries are concerned, priority should be given to the population problem, which is largely responsible for the environmental difficulties in most developing countries, whether it be shortage of clean drinking water or urban degradation or deforestation."