No Action Is Without Its Side Effects.

In General, Any Productive Activity Which Introduces Substances Foreign To The Natural Environment Runs A Considerable Risk Of Polluting It.

Perhaps The Simplest Example Is A Synthetic Plastic, Which Unlike Natural Materials, Is Not Degraded By Biological Decay. It Therefore Persists As Rubbish Or Is Burned-in Both Cases Causing Pollution. In The Same Way, A Substance Such As Ddt Or Lead, Which Plays No Role In The Chemistry Of Life And Interferes With The Actions Of Substances That Do, Is Bound To Cause Ecological Damage If Sufficiently Concentrated.

What The New Fertilizer Technology Has Accomplished For The Farmer Is Clear: More Crop Can Be Produced On Less Acreage Than Before. Since The Cost Of Fertilizer, Relative To The Resultant Gain In Crop Sales, Is Lower Than That Of Any Other Economic Input, And Since The Land Bank Pays The Farmer For Acreage Not In Crops, The New Technology Pays Him Well. The Cost-in Environmental Degradation-is Borne By His Neighbors In Town Who Find Their Water Polluted. The New Technology Is An Economic Success-but Only Because It Is An Ecological Failure.

In Nature, No Organic Substance Is Synthesized Unless There Is Provision For Its Degradation; Recycling Is Enforced.

The Modern Assault On The Environment Began About 50 Years Ago, During And Immediately After World War Ii.