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The zero option and ecological rationality in internationall environmental politics

Author
Princen T.
Journal/Series
International Environmental Affairs | Vol. 8(2); 147 - 176; 30 p.
Date
1996
Source
IUCN (ID: ANA-059640)
Publisher | Place of publication
University Press of New England | Hanover, NH, USA
Language
English
Field of application
International
Subject
Wild species & ecosystems, Environment gen., Waste & hazardous substances
Keyword
Waste disposal Property rights Protected animal species Management/conservation Enforcement/compliance Wild fauna
Abstract

As environmental problems assume increasingly global dimensions and involve unprecedented irreversibilities, many actors in world environmental politics are deciding that, for ecological, political, and economic reasons, there is only one allowable level for many processes and substances - zero. This article shows how critical environmental problems are not amenable to compromise solutions, drawing policy-makers and activists toward bans, moratoria, and prohibitions, that is, the zero option. The article articulates the logic of the zero option from the perspectives of psychological and organizational preferences, the political economy of resource use, and the political ecology of critical environmental issues. Case studies include ivory trade, Great Lakes toxics, ocean dumping, and hazardous waste. The article concludes that, from the perspective of ecological rationality, environmental bans could proliferate, as day-to-day production and consumption behavior is understood to be intricately connected to increasingly pervasive environmental impacts and to the decline in life support systems