THIS WEEK ON
 SCIENCE FRIDAY...

Science Friday > Archives > 1998 > October > October 9, 1998:

Hour One: Environment falling by the wayside?

The International Monetary Fund and World Bank met this week in Washington, and one topic was at the top of each and every delegate's agenda - how to deal with the growing world financial crisis. People are losing jobs, firms are going bankrupt, money is getting hard to come by, and bankers and government regulators worldwide are looking for ways to stop the bleeding. But if the crisis continues, what might the global downturn in the economy do to the state of the environment?

Opinions seem mixed. On one hand, an economic downturn might slow the rate of growth in quickly-developing countries like Brazil and Indonesia. Less growth could mean less production, less development, and correspondingly less pollution and use of natural resources. But on the other hand, as the economy falters, governments and industries may find that there is less money in their budgets to spend on protecting the environment. It's hard for companies to justify spending on, say, emission controls when they're struggling to meet the payroll without going bankrupt. And it's difficult for governments to spend money on protections when tax revenues are disappearing, or to impose tough new regulations during times of national economic hardship.

Global economic problems can have an impact at the individual level as well. As people lose jobs in rapidly developing countries, some may choose to leave cities and take up farming to feed their families. Often those new farms involve cutting into forestland, and can rapidly cause erosion, soil depletion, and destruction of other resources as well. Forests may be razed for firewood - not just for warmth and cooking, but for boiling water to purify it. On this hour of Science Friday, we'll try to unravel the connections between the world economy and environmental protections, and look at the environmental effects of empty wallets.

Plus - what effect, if any, is the fuss in Washington over the Lewinsky scandal having on pending environmental legislation ? Are politicians trying to slip controversial legislation past the White House, hoping that the Clinton administration will be too distracted to challenge it? Or are they backing away from confrontations, trying to keep the focus on the President's problems? We'll find out on this hour of Science Friday.

Listen to this program in RealAudio!

Guests:
Sharon Buccino
Senior Attorney
Natural Resources Defense Council
Washington, DC

Hilary French
Vice President for Research
Worldwatch Institute
Washington, DC

Stephan Schwartzman
Anthropologist and Senior Scientist
Environmental Defense Fund
Washington, DC

Jack Robinson
President
Winslow Management Company
Boston, MA

Books/Articles Discussed:

Related Links:
World Bank
International Monetary Fund
CREST
SciFri broadcast - business and the environment

This hour produced by:
Annette Heist