Editorial: Let’s listen this time

Saturday, June 23, 2007 | 7:14 a.m.

A t a time when most scientists were immersed in their specialties and generally averse to communicating outside their peer groups, Barry Commoner dared to speak publicly about what modern society was doing to the forests, the lakes, the air - and to man.

It was Commoner who, in the early 1950s, brought widespread publicity to the dangers presented by fallout from nuclear bomb tests at the Nevada Test Site. With his many subsequent books and public appearances, the World War II veteran and Harvard-educated science professor helped raise awareness about the link between human health and the environment.

His "first law of ecology," that "everything is related to everything else," was a basic theme in his writing and lectures. He became one of the first scientists to warn about global warming. And he warned of dangers related to rushing progress on the cheap, such as when industries simply dumped their toxic wastes into lakes.

Now 90, Commoner recently met with The New York Times for an interview, which was reprinted in this newspaper on Wednesday.

On global warming, he said, "The only rational answer is to change the way in which we do transportation, energy production, agriculture and a good deal of manufacturing."

In his 1971 book, "The Closing Circle," Commoner made similar points. In the ensuing 36 years, many changes have been made that seemed major at the time, such as switching to unleaded gas and putting scrubbers in smokestacks.

They haven't been enough, obviously, as pollution and greenhouse gases still threaten health and lives. Much greater change is needed. Commoner added : "I'm an eternal optimist. I think eventually people will come around."

On nuclear power as an alternative to fossil fuels, Commoner said, "Every activity that increases the amount of radioactivity to which we are exposed is idiotic." He noted that no one has solved the problem of nuclear waste.

To describe the only proposed solution to the nuclear waste problem - bury it at Yucca Mountain 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas - we have to return to Commoner's word: idiotic.

Commoner reached the pinnacle of his influence in the 1970s.

We can only hope for a resurgence of interest in this thoughtful and prescient scientist.