The Union of Concerned Scientists are ‘really’ concerned

I recently read the following:

“The Union of Concerned Scientists ranks housing third among destructive human enterprises, just after transportation and agriculture.” (Foreword, Little House on a Small Planet)

If you’ve read a few of my recent posts you’ll know the statement sparked my interest in the book and some of its major themes.

One marginal note I made beside the statement hasn’t been answered yet; perhaps I’ll visit the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) website and ask the question - what are the top five (or 10) “most destructive human enterprises?”

If it was left to us to guess, what would be your guesses?


["Link to photo re deforestation"]

Would your top five be “transportation, agriculture, housing, fashion industry, bottled water?”

Would your top ten include “fast food industry” or “air conditioning?”

The UCS website has a contact link so I will ask my question and hope for a reply. (Will my “recreational pursuits” be on the list?)

While visiting the site I discovered the UCS issued a warning to humanity in 1992. The 20th anniversary of the statement isn’t far off and I wonder if they would consider that much, or little, progress has been made over the years?

The introduction to their warning follows:

“Human beings and the natural world are on a collision course. Human activities inflict harsh and often irreversible damage on the environment and on critical resources. If not checked, many of our current practices put at serious risk the future that we wish for human society and the plant and animal kingdoms, and may so alter the living world that it will be unable to sustain life in the manner that we know. Fundamental changes are urgent if we are to avoid the collision our present course will bring about.”

The UCS then mentions several aspects of the environment that are suffering critical stress, including the atmosphere (e.g., “Air pollution near ground level, and acid precipitation, are already causing widespread injury to humans, forests, and crops”), water resources (e.g., “Heedless exploitation of depletable ground water supplies endangers food production and other essential human systems”), oceans, soil, forests, and living species.

UCS concludes the section related to the environment by saying, “our massive tampering with the world's interdependent web of life -- coupled with the environmental damage inflicted by deforestation, species loss, and climate change -- could trigger widespread adverse effects, including unpredictable collapses of critical biological systems whose interactions and dynamics we only imperfectly understand.”

I would predicate that UCS would tell me that “our massive tampering” is still massive, that our top ten is still going strong.

Warnings concerning the Earth’s population - and what we must do - are next issued by the UCS on their website and I say they are ‘recommended reading’ for all.

Please click here to link and learn more.

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Also, please click here for more about housing and a time-lapsed account of deforestation.

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