Clean Energy = Solar Power, Ecology Pioneer Says
Decades before Al Gore was honored with the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in spreading awareness of man-made climate change, there was Barry Commoner. An early prophet in the green movement, Dr. Commoner was dubbed "the Paul Revere of the environmental movement" in a 1970 Time magazine cover story. His groundbreaking books, including The Closing Circle and The Politics of Energy, along with 30-plus years in the classroom, have influenced a generation of scientists. The founding director of the Center for the Biology of Natural Systems at Queens College, Dr. Commoner officially stepped down in 2000, but, at age 90, continues to make daily visits to the center. He recently spoke with CUNY Radio's Richard Yeh. Edited excerpts follow.
Q: Your work in the field of ecology has influenced over a generation of scientists. How did your interest in ecology come about?
DR. COMMONER: When I first taught at Queens College in 1940 I gave a course in Ecology because that was required. I'm not an ecologist. I'm a biologist. But it was very clear to me after my service in the Navy that there were very serious problems that arose out of the development of modern technology, such as nuclear power and nuclear weapons. I decided that just as we have a responsibility to teach and do research, we have a responsibility to help educate the general public about issues in science that affect their lives. For example, immediately after the war the public was clearly being misled by the government about the biological effects of radiation. We began to take on the Atomic Energy Commission and began to get stuff declassified. That was extremely important to give people the knowledge to make judgments about fallout shelters, atomic bomb tests that were polluting the environment, the whole question of nuclear war.
Q: What in your opinion is the most pressing environmental issue we face today?
DR. COMMONER: Global warming encompasses our entire system of industrial, agricultural production, communication. You can't do anything without expending energy. And the second thing is that all of these things that we have been doing on the earth have been made possible only because of a single source of energy . . . the sun. All of it including oil, coal and natural gas, which are remnants of fossil plants. In other words, global warming was inevitable the moment we began to burn the organic material that the sun produces. There is no way that that can continue, no way. And the fact that that heating up begins to trigger weather changes and the threat of flooding, which is inevitable, is a trigger that finally can remind everybody if they understand these connections, how serious this is.
Q: Is it possible to live a sustainable lifestyle in today's world?
DR. COMMONER: I think so. What is needed is to understand what we need to do politically. What has to happen is that we switch 100% from our non-renewable sources to solar energy in its various forms. If we are given vehicles that burn inefficiently, but even burn efficiently non-renewable oil, we're doomed. The same is true of every single thing that is done by the industrial system, by the agricultural system, by communication. What we don't have is a national policy, and no one is willing to talk about it. Eventually the truth will prevail.
Q: But is eventually going to come soon enough before the damage becomes irreparable?
DR. COMMONER: I don't know. Is having [Hurricane] Katrina soon enough?
Q: In 1980, when you ran for President on an environmentalist platform, a reporter asked you the following question: "Dr. Commoner, are you a serious candidate or are you just running on the issues?"
DR. COMMONER: When I ran, nothing happened with the television people. Toward the end of the campaign, we visited all of the major networks and only one, I think it was ABC, one of the vice presidents said Dr. Commoner is right. We really ought to have a program about the issues right after the campaign. That was the low point.
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