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Science, technology, and the environment - Debate over the environment - The unforeseen costs of progress

9 important questions on Science, technology, and the environment - Debate over the environment - The unforeseen costs of progress

What contributed to an intellectual climate where concern for carrying power of ecosystems was of little importance in the Western world?

The popular tendency to equate economic development with human progress and personal happiness, together with the penchant in Western science to unlock the secrets of nature in the service of human physical betterment, contributed to an intellectual climate where concern for the carrying power of ecosystems was of little moment.

How did the communist countries see the exploitation of nature?

In the communist countries, the exploitation of nature became a law of historical development that undergirded the class struggle and the inevitable triumph of the proletariat.

What were the only paths to respectability for nationalists?

For committed nationalists the world over, industrialization and economic development were the only paths to respectability in the international community.

What did the scientific technique often trade? What illustrates it?

The application of scientific technique to the goal of development and the enhancement of human life often traded short-term benefits for the few exchange for long-term dilemmas for the many.
The quest for enhanced food production is illustrative of the problem.

What problem was there in the chemical industry?

The production of synthesized chemicals began in the early twentieth century, but problems with chemical disposal only emerged as a serious public policy issue in the 1970s.
The burgeoning number of hazardous chemical compounds utilized by large industries - and by the military - after the war enhanced the quality of finished products, but large quantities of toxic waste found their way into landfills, parks, rivers, and ponds.

Where did countries turn for disposal of dangerous materials? Name some examples.

As hazardous waste-site cleanups progressed, the favored countries turned overseas for the disposal of dangerous materials.
Mexico became an alternative dumping site for US waste products, while West African nations stepped forward to sell landfill rights to Europe and America. Communist East Germany was an especially attractive endpoint for chemical waste from capitalist Western Europe.

What is the most noticeable environmental challenge of the postwar era?

Air pollution was perhaps the most noticeable and broad-reaching environmental challenge of the postwar era. The industrial revolution and its attendant massive urbanization raised the stakes of exposure to airborne particulates, a problem for humans since the advent of fire.

What is one dangerous and politically divisive element?

One especially dangerous and politically divisive element of air pollution involved the transboundary movement of sulfur and nitrogen oxides known as acid rain, both of which degraded the environment in countries that contributed nothing to the problem.

When did air pollution get controlled in Soviet bloc?

It was not until the fall of communism that serious efforts to control air pollution were undertaken in the former Soviet bloc, and air pollution levels declined in most developed states during the 1990s. But the problem became more acute in developing countries that were eager to "catch up" with the North.

The question on the page originate from the summary of the following study material:

A Concise History of the World Since 1945 | 9781352010206 | W M Spellman

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Science, technology, and the environment - Debate over the environment - The unforeseen costs of progress

9 important questions on Science, technology, and the environment - Debate over the environment - The unforeseen costs of progress

What contributed to an intellectual climate where concern for carrying power of ecosystems was of little importance in the Western world?

How did the communist countries see the exploitation of nature?

What were the only paths to respectability for nationalists?

What did the scientific technique often trade? What illustrates it?

What problem was there in the chemical industry?

Where did countries turn for disposal of dangerous materials? Name some examples.

What is the most noticeable environmental challenge of the postwar era?

What is one dangerous and politically divisive element?

When did air pollution get controlled in Soviet bloc?

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