"While particular types of industrial pollution may be new and the scale of ecological devastation may be greater now than previously, the modern world is not confronting completely unprecedented circumstances -- numerous civilizations before our own have confronted environmental degradation and have paid the price. If we continue to tie our society's infrastructure and agricultural production to a declining resource base -- as ancient civilizations did with such depressing regularity -- we too will suffer the fate of unavoidable collapse."

T. C. Weiskel, "Ecological Lessons of the Past," (1989).

Timothy C. Weiskel

1989

"The Ecological Lessons of the Past: An Anthropology of Environmental Decline," The Ecologist, Vol. 19, No. 3 (May/June, 1989), pp. 98-103.

Supplementary Comments Concerning Sprawl....

In the next few weeks please take the time to review the 2 documentaries presented in last week's "Thinking About Sprawl" class material.

In particular, please make sure to view:

The Sprawling of America: Inner City Blues

and

The Sprawling of America: Fat of the Land

We will take some time in class to consider all the material on sprawl in the Detroit region and beyond. It is emblematic of what has occurred all across America, I think, to watch the full-length documentaries by Christopher M. Cook on these topics provided by the streaming video links.

The influence of sprawl in shaping of America's environmental experience and land use history is so important that there is now considerable support for the idea of devoting an separate course in the Environmental Management sequence to the phenomena of sprawl. You should let us know if this is something you would like to see happen in the future.

In any case, for the time being, you can begin by considering some of the key aspects of sprawl by watching the two video links provided below. Note particularly the multiple ways in which rational "investment decisions" -- the logic of financial capital, as opposed to merchant or industrial capital -- served to fuel the patterns of ecological devastation and racial animosity that characterize the total experience of "sprawl."

Keep in mind the appropriate level of analysis. When you ask yourselves, "how could this happen?" remember that it is not sufficient to examine the motives of individuals involved in these kinds of patterned, collective, social behaviors replicated in city after city across all of post-World War II America. Individual motivations may be interesting (although, usually, depressingly predictable), but the key to understanding what occurred is to approach this as a cultural phenomena, expressing learned, unconscious, and collective behavior and beliefs.

Social phenomena deserve social analyses. In a social structure animated by the cultural metaphor of seeking maximum return to invested capital the sadly recurrent pattern of post-War suburban sprawl should become completely comprehensible. Although this behavior may seem to us totally irrational from an ecological point of view, from the point of view of the economic decision maker in this particular system this whole process seemed entirely rational. Sprawl and the rise of racial conflict in post-War America occurred not because people were stupid or individually racist and evil minded (although there will probably always be individuals who are). Rather, these things occurred because all individuals were making rational choices in a social system constructed upon and driven by misconceived but powerful cultural metaphors of perpetual growth and maximum financial return to invested capital.

It was the financially prudent decisions of bankers to maximize the return on their investments and protect the assets of their depositors that made the scramble to the suburbs seem desirable, necessary and, indeed, inevitable. These decisions led simultaneously to the disinvestment in the city centers, reinfoced by a regional growth pattern of what Robert Ballard has called "residential Apartheid" based upon "white flight" to the periphery. These, then, are the essential ingredients of sprawl in region after region throughout the United States. A recent report entitled Measuring Sprawl and Its Impact: The Character & Consequences of Metropolitan Expansion mades the scale of the sprawl phenomena across the country dramatically apparent.

As the Detroit case underscores, however, the whole phenomena was only made possible by a steady supply of cheap petroleum and a continuous taxpayer subsidy provided ever since the 1950s to the automobile industry with public funds being used to create and maintain the Eisenhower Interstate highway system -- the largest public works project in human history.

[Please let us know -- in your course evaluations or by any other means -- if you would like to see a specific course offered on sprawl.]

Mining STEWART UDALL . Friday, April 19,1996 Morning Edition. Former Secretary of the Interior in the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations, about the Mining Law of 1872. Udall says the law is hopelessly outdated because it allows companies to mine for precious metals on federal lands without paying any royalties. (4:54) The Mineral Policy Center - NGO working to reform the 1872 Law.
	Mining (NPR, All Things Considered, June 14, 1999). In hearings tomorrow, the US Senate plans to re-examine the Mining Act of 1872, which regulates mining on public land. The most recent controversy over the Act, stemmed from a debate over whether to allow a large open-pit gold mine in Washington State. (5:30)
	“The Last American Dinosaur: the 1872 Mining Law”
	U.S. Mining Many Americans are unaware of mining's impacts on the environment and clean water, healthy communities, and their wallets. Our U.S. program is to designed to expand, organize and mobilize efforts to fundamentally alter mining laws and practices at the federal, state, and local levels.
Montana's Rocky Mountains. Thursday, February 4, 1999. Morning Edition. NPR's John Nielsen reports that a pristine area long fought over by developers and environmentalists may be protected from development. The Clinton Administration has called for a ban on mining in the national forests that cover much of Montana's Rocky Mountain Front range -- about 429,000 acres. The National Forest Service says it's the first of a series of protections designed to preserve wilderness areas. Enviromentalists are delighted, but the mining industry says it's the latest in a series of economically damaging bans.(3:33)
Jane Parlez and Lowell Bergman 2005 "The Cost of Gold \| 30 Tons an Ounce: Behind Gold's Glitter: Torn Lands and Pointed Questions," The New York Times, (24 October 2005).
	There has always been an element of madness to gold's allure. For thousands of years, something in the eternally lustrous metal has driven people to the outer edges of desire- to have it and hoard it, to kill or conquer for it, to possess it like a lover. In the early 1500's, King Ferdinand of Spain laid down the priorities as his conquistadors set out for the New World. "Get gold," he told them, "Humanely if possible, but at all costs, get gold." In that long and tortuous history, gold has now arrived at a new moment of opportunity and peril. The price of gold is higher than it has been in 17 years - pushing $500 an ounce. But much of the gold left to be mined is microscopic and is being wrung from the earth at enormous environmental cost, often in some of the poorest corners of the world.
Jane Parlez and Lowell Bergman 2005 "Tangled Strands in Fight Over Peru Gold Mine," The New York Times, (25 October 2005).
	SAN CERILLO, Peru - The Rev. Marco Arana drove his beige pickup over the curves of a dirt road 13,000 feet high in the Andes. Spread out below lay the Yanacocha gold mine, an American-run operation of mammoth open pits and towering heaps of cyanide-laced ore. Ahead loomed the pristine green of untouched hills. Then, an unmistakable sign that this land, too, may soon be devoured: Policemen with black masks and automatic rifles guarding workers exploring ground that the mine's owner, Newmont Mining Corporation, has deemed the next best hope. "This is the Roman peace the company has with the people: They put in an army and say we have peace," said Father Arana as he surveyed the land where gold lies beneath the surface like tiny beads on a string. Yanacocha is Newmont's prize possession, the most productive gold mine in the world. But if history holds one lesson, it is that where there is gold, there is conflict, and the more gold, the more conflict.
On Point
	2005 "The Real Cost of Gold," NPR - WBUR - On Point, (28 October 2005).

Mining

STEWART UDALL . Friday, April 19,1996 Morning Edition. Former Secretary of the Interior in the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations, about the Mining Law of 1872. Udall says the law is hopelessly outdated because it allows companies to mine for precious metals on federal lands without paying any royalties. (4:54)

The Mineral Policy Center - NGO working to reform the 1872 Law.

Mining (NPR, All Things Considered, June 14, 1999).
In hearings tomorrow, the US Senate plans to re-examine the Mining Act of 1872, which regulates mining on public land. The most recent controversy over the Act, stemmed from a debate over whether to allow a large open-pit gold mine in Washington State. (5:30)

“The Last American Dinosaur: the 1872 Mining Law”

U.S. Mining
Many Americans are unaware of mining's impacts on the environment and clean water, healthy communities, and their wallets. Our U.S. program is to designed to expand, organize and mobilize efforts to fundamentally alter mining laws and practices at the federal, state, and local levels.

Montana's Rocky Mountains. Thursday, February 4, 1999.
Morning Edition. NPR's John Nielsen reports that a pristine area long fought over by developers and environmentalists may be protected from development. The Clinton Administration has called for a ban on mining in the national forests that cover much of Montana's Rocky Mountain Front range -- about 429,000 acres. The National Forest Service says it's the first of a series of protections designed to preserve wilderness areas. Enviromentalists are delighted, but the mining industry says it's the latest in a series of economically damaging bans.(3:33)

Jane Parlez and Lowell Bergman
2005 "The Cost of Gold | 30 Tons an Ounce: Behind Gold's Glitter: Torn Lands and Pointed Questions," The New York Times, (24 October 2005).

There has always been an element of madness to gold's allure.
For thousands of years, something in the eternally lustrous metal has driven people to the outer edges of desire- to have it and hoard it, to kill or conquer for it, to possess it like a lover.
    In the early 1500's, King Ferdinand of Spain laid down the priorities as his conquistadors set out for the New World. "Get gold," he told them, "Humanely if possible, but at all costs, get gold."
    In that long and tortuous history, gold has now arrived at a new moment of opportunity and peril.
    The price of gold is higher than it has been in 17 years - pushing $500 an ounce. But much of the gold left to be mined is microscopic and is being wrung from the earth at enormous environmental cost, often in some of the poorest corners of the world.

Jane Parlez and Lowell Bergman
2005 "Tangled Strands in Fight Over Peru Gold Mine," The New York Times, (25 October 2005).

SAN CERILLO, Peru - The Rev. Marco Arana drove his beige pickup over the curves of a dirt road 13,000 feet high in the Andes. Spread out below lay the Yanacocha gold mine, an American-run operation of mammoth open pits and towering heaps of cyanide-laced ore. Ahead loomed the pristine green of untouched hills.
    Then, an unmistakable sign that this land, too, may soon be devoured: Policemen with black masks and automatic rifles guarding workers exploring ground that the mine's owner, Newmont Mining Corporation, has deemed the next best hope.
    "This is the Roman peace the company has with the people: They put in an army and say we have peace," said Father Arana as he surveyed the land where gold lies beneath the surface like tiny beads on a string.
    Yanacocha is Newmont's prize possession, the most productive gold mine in the world. But if history holds one lesson, it is that where there is gold, there is conflict, and the more gold, the more conflict.

On Point

2005 "The Real Cost of Gold," NPR - WBUR - On Point, (28 October 2005).

Timber
Roads in National Forests. June 16, 1998. All Things Considered. NPR'S John Biewen reports on a proposal to put a moratorium on new roadbuilding in the nation's National Forests. The Forest Service doesn't have sufficient funds to maintain the roads that now exist and wants to reevaluate its policy on roads. The timber industry sees the moratorium as part of a process to further reduce the amount of federal forest available for harvest. (6:00)
U.S. senators take hard line on lumber dispute Canadian Broadcasting Corporation,21:52:46 - Thursday, Mar 1, 2001 WASHINGTON - A group of U.S. senators is calling on the Bush administration to get tough with Canada over softwood lumber exports. Fifty-one senators have signed a letter to President Bush calling for vigorous efforts to reach a new agreement in the long-standing dispute. "It's time for the United States government to stand behind its producers," said Republican Senator Mike Crapo of Idaho.
U.S. imposes penalty on softwood lumber Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 22:19:12 Fri Aug 10, 2001 WASHINGTON - The U.S. has slapped a hefty penalty on Canadian softwood lumber imports, dealing a bitter blow to the billion-dollar industry.
Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics (FSEEE)

Timber

Roads in National Forests. June 16, 1998.
All Things Considered. NPR'S John Biewen reports on a proposal to put a moratorium on new roadbuilding in the nation's National Forests. The Forest Service doesn't have sufficient funds to maintain the roads that now exist and wants to reevaluate its policy on roads. The timber industry sees the moratorium as part of a process to further reduce the amount of federal forest available for harvest. (6:00)

U.S. senators take hard line on lumber dispute
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation,21:52:46 -

Thursday, Mar 1, 2001
WASHINGTON - A group of U.S. senators is calling on the Bush administration to get tough with Canada over softwood lumber exports. Fifty-one senators have signed a letter to President Bush calling for vigorous efforts to reach a new agreement in the long-standing dispute.
"It's time for the United States government to stand behind its producers," said Republican Senator Mike Crapo of Idaho.

U.S. imposes penalty on softwood lumber
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 22:19:12

Fri Aug 10, 2001
WASHINGTON - The U.S. has slapped a hefty penalty on Canadian softwood lumber imports, dealing a bitter blow to the billion-dollar industry.

Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics (FSEEE)

Grazing Lands
Livestock Dispute. March 1, 2000. NPR's Howard Berkes reports on the longstanding dispute between ranchers and environmentalists over livestock grazing on federal lands, at the heart of a case the Supreme Court hears today. The Court's ruling will affect about 20- thousand ranchers in 13 western states, who provide about two-percent of the nation's beef. (4:52)
Supreme Court Decision on Grazing. May 15, 2000. NPR's Howard Berkes reports on today's decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold current federal grazing regulations. Some agricultural groups had challenged some of the Interior Department's decisions, including allowing grazing permits to be issued to people who were not planning to run livestock on the land. (2:30)

Grazing Lands

Livestock Dispute. March 1, 2000.
NPR's Howard Berkes reports on the longstanding dispute between ranchers and environmentalists over livestock grazing on federal lands, at the heart of a case the Supreme Court hears today. The Court's ruling will affect about 20- thousand ranchers in 13 western states, who provide about two-percent of the nation's beef. (4:52)

Supreme Court Decision on Grazing. May 15, 2000.
NPR's Howard Berkes reports on today's decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold current federal grazing regulations. Some agricultural groups had challenged some of the Interior Department's decisions, including allowing grazing permits to be issued to people who were not planning to run livestock on the land. (2:30)