Earth Summit to Heighten Awareness

Harvard professors said yesterday that they expect the Rio Earth Summit, scheduled to begin today, to heighten awareness but not to solve the world's environmental problems.

The agenda for the 12-day U.N.-sponsored summit includes discussing the cleanup of toxic and hazardous wastes and the protection of the atmosphere, the oceans, forests, threatened species and fresh water.

"Beyond [global consciousness raising], I don't think there are enough teeth in the protocols which have been developed so far to launch the initiatives which are most needed," said Baird Professor of Science Edward O. Wilson.

But he added, "We should not underrate the symbolic and psychological effects of the largest summit meeting in history focusing on such problems."

Robert E. Cook, director of Harvard's Arnold Arboretum, said the conference will begin a "multilogue" of many nations and lead to broadened public awareness.

"It really represents an opportunity to get together and heighten awareness about the degree to which things being done locally can have global effects," he said. "All idealistic efforts to achieve treaties take a long time. This is a first step."

This increasing awareness, said Wilson, is reflected in Harvard's creation of a new University Committee on Environmental Studies.

"The Rio conference is just part of a growing global awareness of the world's problems," he said. "Harvard is making the right move to be involved in science, technology and humanities scholarship that is going to increasingly stem from the environmental movement."

And Uwe K. Brinkmann, associate professor of international health-epidemiology at the School of Public Health, said the conference's importance would be its concrete initiatives.

"I would hope that the issues that are advanced will lead to international treaties and to as clearly defined quantitative initiatives to be taken in the future as possible," he said.

Scientists were critical of the Bush administration's leadership, which they said was concentrated on the political climate rather than the global one.

"It doesn't seem that [Bush] is very enthusiastic," said Associate Professor of Atmospheric Chemistry Daniel J. Jacob.

"I think it's fair to say that Bush has approached this with more concern for his re-election than with an approach that would give an emphasis to the integrity of the global environment," said School of Public Health Associate Professor of International Health Michael R. Reich.

But Brinkmann said Bush's plans to attend the meeting was a "sign of commitment."

"Since the United States is leading the world in many aspects, this is especially important," he said.

Citing uncertainties in the research linking carbon dioxide release into the atmosphere with global warming trends, faculty members advocated a closer look at new ways to reduce the "greenhouse effect."

Efforts to combat global warming have taken center stage at the conference, with many preliminary treaties already hammered out. But the professors said that simply reducing carbon dioxide emission levels may not be sufficient.

The conclusions of current re- search on the subject on the subject aretentative at best, said Jacob, and may even provewrong.

"The primary focus should be trying to controlpopulation," he said. "Tropical countries areheaded for a catastrophe in terms ofdemographics."

"I think that for global warming you have todeal with the resources used per person as well asthe number of people using resources," Reich said.

An interesting trend, said Jacob, is that aswomen develop more professional roles, there hasbeen a drop in birth rates. Combined with a moreaggressive U.S. foreign aid policy, he said, thistrend may help to limit the population explosion.

While scientists would in general like to seehuman populations stabilize, many would also liketo see the diversity of other species remainconstant, rather than continue to decrease as moreand more species become extinct.

Wilson, who has authored a number of books onbiodiversity, said that he was not very hopefulthat the conference would make important stridesin this direction.

Center Stage

But he called "an important development" thefact that "the conference has, for the first time,moved biodiversity to the center stage ofenvironmental concerns."

Cook said habitat protection, another focus ofthe conference, could help maintain biodiversity.

"The greatest cause of the loss of species isthe loss of habitat," he said. "Efforts topreserve habitat are going to have the side effectof preserving species.

"The primary focus should be trying to controlpopulation," he said. "Tropical countries areheaded for a catastrophe in terms ofdemographics."

"I think that for global warming you have todeal with the resources used per person as well asthe number of people using resources," Reich said.

An interesting trend, said Jacob, is that aswomen develop more professional roles, there hasbeen a drop in birth rates. Combined with a moreaggressive U.S. foreign aid policy, he said, thistrend may help to limit the population explosion.

While scientists would in general like to seehuman populations stabilize, many would also liketo see the diversity of other species remainconstant, rather than continue to decrease as moreand more species become extinct.

Wilson, who has authored a number of books onbiodiversity, said that he was not very hopefulthat the conference would make important stridesin this direction.

Center Stage

But he called "an important development" thefact that "the conference has, for the first time,moved biodiversity to the center stage ofenvironmental concerns."

Cook said habitat protection, another focus ofthe conference, could help maintain biodiversity.

"The greatest cause of the loss of species isthe loss of habitat," he said. "Efforts topreserve habitat are going to have the side effectof preserving species.