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The zero option and ecological rationality in internationall environmental politics

Autor
Princen T.
Título de serie
International Environmental Affairs | Vol. 8(2); 147 - 176; 30 p.
Fecha
1996
Fuente
IUCN (ID: ANA-059640)
Editor | Lugar de publicación
University Press of New England | Hanover, NH, USA
Idioma
Inglés
Campo de aplicación
Internacional
Materia
Desechos y sustancias peligrosas, Especies silvestres y ecosistemas, Medio ambiente gen.
Palabra clave
Cumplimiento/aplicación Derechos de propiedad Fauna silvestre Eliminación de desechos Especies animales protegidas Ordenación/conservación
Resumen

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