Therefore, the monies necessary to stem all manner and form of pollution must be matched by equally imaginative, unselfish, and vigorous efforts in in education.

The following builds upon the concept that "*** Ultimately, what we do with our environment and what we do with each other hinges upon our values and our value system***," and is submitted for inclusion in the Hearing Record as a rationale for the Environmental Quality Education Act, and for consideration in the development of subsequent legislation.

THE QUALITY OF LIFE ON EARTH: AN ASPIRATION ATTAINABLE ONLY BY APPLICATION OF VALUES AND ETHICS

The Web of Life

The essence of this planet's ecological and environmental challenge to which the people, the Congress, and the schools are summoned was described in 1953 by John Storer in his book, The Web of Life. He wrote of man:

*** He has achieved almost unlimited power to multiply his number and at the same time to destroy the world's resources that might have supported him. This web that is the inter-relationship of all living things to one another inextricably interweaves man with all life. That that web of life is threatened, and that we have an opportunity to do something effective about it in our time, constitutes our responsibility and opportunity.

MAN AND ALL LIVING THINGS

Fairfield Osborn of the Conservation Foundation, defines in the introduction of Storer's book, The Web of Life, what he felt that web was. For us to meet the responsibility and do something about it, it may be helpful to understand what Osborn wrote:

The youngster, captive on the sidewalks of our big cities, the farmer struggling in a dust bowl, the sullen river that once ran silver, the desolate tangles of second growth, even the last condor on a California mountainside—all have a tremendous relationship to life and this earth as a whole. Man does not stand alone.

Note that "*** Man does not stand alone." refers not to man's relationship singularly with other men but his relationship to all living things. The center of his points of view are not the total species of man, a culture of man, nor even the individual man himself. Application of this thinking negates the building of centrifical forces which heighten the ego of the species, of the nation-state, of the culture, or of the given individual. The challenge that Storer issues to us probably is best expressed in Storer's own words:

Under the domination of his intellect, the world's life, and the environment of that life, seem to have reached a crossroads, and the choice of direction is for the future to decide.

The great and deciding test, however, still remains-whether man can coordinate knowledge into understanding and build within his heart the incentives and the wisdom to use these newfound powers wisely, and with responsibility, for the common good.

The Crux Buried in Values

The crux of the issue is buried in the value system upon which this nation and we in it function. Ultimately, a value system determines how people think and how people operate. What considerations people focus upon, and what people then do in terms of action, spell out either destruction or survival.

THE AMPUTATED ROOTS

The issue of continuation of life itself on earth has to begin with what beliefs people hold, what attitudes they develop, and how they convert these into action. Lynn White, Jr., in his essay "The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis," which appeared in the March 10, 1967, issue of Science magazine, spoke to his issue, as follows:

What we do about ecology depends upon our ideas of the man-nature relationship. More science and more technology are not going to get us out of the present ecologic crisis until we find a new religion, or rethink our old one. *** Possibly we should ponder the greatest radical in Christian history

since Christ: Saint Francis of Assisi. The key to an understanding of Francis is his belief in the virtue of humility-not merely for the individual but for man as a species. Francis tried to depose man from his monarchy over creation and set up a democracy of all God's creatures. With him the ant is no longer simply a homily for the lazy, flames a sign of the thrust of the soul toward union with God; now they are Brother Ant and Sister Fire, praising the Creator in their own ways as Brother Man does in his.

*** Saint Francis, proposed what he thought was an alternative Christian view of nature and man's relation to it: he tried to substitute the idea of the equality of all creatures, including man, for the idea of man's limitless rule of creation. He failed ***

*** the present increasing disruption of the global environment is the product of a dynamic technology and science which were originating in the Western medieval world against which Saint Francis was rebelling in so original a way. Their growth cannot be understood historically apart from distinctive attitudes toward nature which are deeply grounded in Christian dogma.

THE LAND ETHIC

Although the re-evaluation of our current value system and ecological relationship may be nurtured in the historical roots planted by men like Francis an ethic has been developed for us by two of our contemporaries. That evaluation, can begin with Aldo Leopold, who bequeathed to each of us a land ethic. "The Land Ethic" was assembled with other writings by Leopold in A Sand County Almanac and published by Oxford Press in 1949. He held that man has continually and sequentially extended his ethical considerations. He cites how men like Odysseus, returning from the Trojan Wars, executed his dozen slave girls all on the same rope for suspected misbehavior. The Roman father, like others in the ancient world, had power of life and death over his own children. This power was removed from his hands, and much later ethical considerations were extended to the life of human chattel as well. The long, sorrowful human trail that lead from manumission, and ultimately to the physical abolition of slavery, lies smeared within the trail's ruts-as a vivid witness to the sequential extension of ethical considerations. As Aldo Leopold points out:

There is as yet no ethic dealing with man's relation to land and to the animals and plants which grow upon it. Land, like Odysseus' slave-girls, is still property. The land relation is still strictly economic, entailing privileges but not obligations.

The Right to Life Extended

Aldo Leopold saw the extension of moral principles and values from people to land as a necessity. It was inconceivable to him that an ethical relationship to land could exist without love, respect, and admiration for the land. The land to him was the biotic community-the community that constituted what Storer was to call the "web of life." To Aldo Leopold, the other members of life's community also have rights.

***birds should continue as a matter of biotic right, regardless of the presence or absence of economic advantage to us.

* * * predators are members of the community, and that no special interest has the right to exterminate them for the sake of a benefit, real or fancied, to itself.

The extension of the ethic to land-the web of life-affirms the right to continued existence, and even the continued existence as best could be managed in a natural state. He summed it up, thus:

In short, a land ethic changes the role of Homo sapiens from conqueror of the land-community to plain member and citizens of it. It implies respect for his fellow-members, and also respect for the community as such. Ethical and Esthetic Considerations

Acceptance of the land ethic brings about reconsideration of economic factors. Leopold maintained that the "key log" in our own perceptions that had to be moved was to “*** quit thinking about decent land-use as solely an economic problem." Two other factors deserve equal consideration. Leopold felt that each question as to what constitutes decent land-use should be examined "*** in terms of what is ethically and esthetically right, as well as to what is economically expedient."

Since we reap the harvest of little or no attention having been given to ethical and esthetic consideration of land-use, is it possible that more than equal consideration should be given to these factors? Why do we stand mute and not challenge the demand that valid evidence has to be expressed in economic terms?

THE STARK COMMENTARY

As Leopold points out, "*** When one of these non-economic categories is threatened (songbirds are the example he uses), and if we happen to love it, we invent subterfuges to give it economic importance." At the beginning of this Century, extermination of songbirds seemed likely; therefore, a campaign was mounted by ornithologists and others to save them. Justification for halting their slaughter was not based upon the genuine concern and love for the songbirds, but upon an extension and exaggeration of their economic worth. The subterfuge was so internalized that the defenders convinced themselves and others that without the songbirds insects would devour the earth.

It is a stark commentary upon Western ethics when we reject or worse, destroy-that which we love for economic gain. Fooling ourselves into transmitting genuine ethical and esthetic factors into economic terms, doesn't flatter our humanity either. How tragic, too, for all other members of the biotic community when only arguments of economic worth are voiced and heard.

"Reverence for Life"

The ethical and economic melodies harmonize with Schweitzer's "Reverence for Life." Indeed, the two are so much in accord, that the mind may blend them. It was Leopold, but it could have been Schweitzer, who wrote:

One basic weakness in a conservation system based wholly on economic motives is that most members of the land community have no economic value. A "Co-extension with Education"

In order for man to extend his social conscience to embrace a land ethic consisting of all that is in the community-soils, waters, plants, and animals, deep internal change is needed of all of us. Our intellectual emphasis, our loyalties, our affections, our convictions, must be recomposed to be in harmony with all living things. This recomposition requires an ecological comprehension of the land which in turn implies an understanding of ecology. To obtain that understanding of ecology means that ecology has to be a living, dynamic part of education. Leopold maintained that the understanding of the ecology means a "co-extension with education."

STATEMENT BY ELLA F. FILIPPONE, ECONOMIST, BASKING Ridge,

NEW JERSEY

The quality of life is dependent, I believe, on the quality of the environment and the quality of education equally interrelated. Environmental education in all areas of the school system from K through college is imperative if Man is to survive. We cannot continue to pollute our air, water, and land. We must find a solution to many of these problems. It would seem that since Man has through his experiments and productiveness been able to build and destroy, he should also be able to take those wastes which he manufactures and find ways and means in which to break them down to complete the cycle, so that he can use them in a productive process again. This cannot be quickly accomplished, however, unless more people begin to form a new attitude toward themselves and their environment and then begin to ask for these changes from industry and government. I am sure that you have received a great deal of testimony on the need for environmental education for our young people and especially those children in the cities and our ghetto areas. I am not going to dwell on this need, although it is extremely important. I would like to go on record, however, that this should be one of the primary considerations of the Environmental Quality Education Act. As an economist, I often find that individuals view their environment as the out-of-doors-nature. This is not totally so. The homes in which we live, the place of work-factory, office, school, farm, transportation-all are an important part of our environment. This new concept of environmental education must do more than give people a renewed appreciation for their natural environment. It must make them more aware of what really constitutes a better life-it must change their values. People, for example, must begin to understand the need for

open spaces and the importance of a swamp's ability to retain water for their own water supply. They must begin to understand that it is far more expensive to buy a cheap house in a flood plain than it is to buy a more expensive house on dry land.

It is extremely important that those theories and attitudes relevant to improving our environmental problems begin to be established during this generation. I was astonished at the lack of understanding among members of the academic community during various Earth Day seminars I attended as to the effect pollution has on the overall growth structure of our economy. We must take some of these people out of this sterile-theoretical atmosphere and place them in the real problematical world in which many of the theories with all their conflicting variables do not work. The cost factor of air pollution alone can hardly be estimated; it changes every day, since we find it damages another part of our economy daily. If we could isolate one element and place a cost factor on it, we would come up with astronomical figure in dollar and cents. We do not know how air pollutants actually effect the health of our Nation; we do not know how it effects the growth of our crops; we can only speculate. When one questions the expert engineers and technicians, one finds that answers might be found in the future. We must begin to find solutions. This can only be done through research, and we must encourage students to go into these fields. We must give every incentive to those interested in finding solutions to this multifaceted crisis.

In our concern with the problem of controlling environmental pollution, we will engender problems of economic stabilization. It is possible that these stabilization problems will arise because at the present time we have not established appropriate measurement concepts and thereby resultant statistics.

For example, as industry begins to spend more for pollution controls, their outlays will naturally be absorbed in the rising costs of their products or services. Therefore, price statistics will show an upward trend. Another alternative would be if government assumed some of the costs via the route of tax credits or other incentive measures. Then the curve would not be as high in the private sector. In any case, to conclude that we will have an economic stabilization problem because prices are rising is somewhat incorrect. New benefits will have been created, some of which in the long run will increase the total productivity in the economy. One must begin to include the social benefit derived from the inclusion of pollution abatement processes towards our environment. The costs and prices of the intial outlay will, of course, be high; however, the ultimate result in stopping the deteriorating environment and reversing the trend will pay after a period of time has elapsed. This example is but one theory which must be reworked in order to put our economic house in order. We must develop a new subject which I call "environmental economics," which in brief is the study of the marketplace with all of its interrelated ecological problems included. The businessman should also be one of the participants of the environmental education program, as I believe our economy is just beginning to see some of the financial problems it will experience if we do not change our approach.

New Jersey, as my home state, has always held a special interest for me. It is the most densely populated state in the Union; heavily urbanized, and one of the most industrialized states in the country. We have all the problems of pollution in emergency categories. The projections are not very encouraging unless we begin to rectify them now. Our State government has reorganized the structure of our state departments with the establishment of the Department of Environmental Protection.

Through the farsightedness of Assemblywoman Josephine Margetts, a bill was introduced and ultimately passed, providing for the establishment of Conservation Commissions in municipalities desiring to do so. To date, 70 have been established throughout New Jersey.

Rutgers University, with the assistance of a grant from the Ford Foundation, presented a Course for Conservation Commissioners. It was held in three areas of the State, i.e., Lincroft, N.J., New Brunswick, N.J., and Morristown, N.J. The course was oversubscribed to, and as a participant of the Course, this was an excellent introduction for approximately 100 adults in the State to start to see the gravity of the problems facing them. Many fortunately were in decisionmaking positions in communities so that once they returned home, they could continue their studies of problems of particular concern to them and apply them in the proper direction."

In Bernards Township, we not only have established a Conservation Commission (four of the six commissioners took the Rutgers Course), but we also have an organized group of Citizens for Conservation-Bernards Township, of which I

am a director and publicity chairman. We have a membership of over 100 families within the Township and have participated in numerous educational programs not only in our own Township but in neighboring communities as well. We have been instrumental in starting other Citizen's groups as well as the formation of new Conservation Commissions in other communities. It is one of the only service organizations which works around-the-clock with volunteers from all walks of life with all kinds of talents from young and old.

The Somerset County Park Commission is in the process of building an Environmental Education Center in Lord Sterling Park, Bernards Township. Once this is established it will assist in the formulation of curriculum and the training of thousands of people in environmental education. This Center will not just be a nature center, but will show how Man is dependent on all of this surroundings and how he must take care of these surroundings so that he will be able to continue to survive.

A bill has just been introduced in the New Jersey Assembly, Bill No. 1092 by Assemblywoman Margetts, Assemblymen Ewing, Kean, Pfaltz, McDonough, Kiehn, Fay and Florio, "An Act providing for the promotion, establishment, and operation of local school district environmental education programs, the establishment and operation of a network of Regional Environmental Education Facilities and Centers for the purpose of providing environmental education programs for public and private school students and teachers, for the establishment and operation of a network of Environmental Education Curriculum Research and Development Centers, and making an appropriation."

With participation on a local level as well as state and federal, it might be possible to turn the tide. Education has proved itself many times over. It was through increased knowledge that Man has developed from the cave to the abundance of life we enjoy today. We have proved many times over that the more education an individual has the better place he can make for himself in society. It would seem to me that environmental education interwoven with all other subjects would reap limitless rewards. It would bring a better understanding of not only Man's relationship with the natural environment but with his brother Man on which he is also dependent. He will begin to comprehend better that ghetto's bring decay which ultimately spread; that what is needed is an understanding of the delicacy of balance in nature, such as our relationship with the micro-organisms in the soil and how pesticides are destroying our chances of any relationship at all.

The "luxury of polluting" must be eliminated from our society. Archeologists have shown that the demise of many great cities was caused by water pollution or the loss of water supply altogether. Scientists of today are constantly warning of the possible problems which might arise from "bad" water. Education of our masses is the only solution. We must begin NOW!

I strongly endorse the passage of the Environmental Quality Education Act of 1970.

STATEMENT SUBMITTED BY PAUL A. FISCHER, DIRECTOR OF FEDERAL PROGRAMS, KENAI PENINSULA BOROUGH SCHOOL DISTRICT, BOX 539, KENAI, ALASKA

A PLEA FOR PASSAGE OF H.R. 14753

There is no need to elaborate on the importance and relevancy of H.R. 14753 and H.R. 15934 which will be recorded in time as one of the most significant pieces of legislation since the establishing of our country.

Several months ago (prior to the introduction of H.R. 14753) the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District developed an Environmental Quality Education Program working with the total community including: Kenai Peninsula Community College of the University of Alaska, Community Action Committee, United States Department of the Interior-Fish and Wildlife Service, State of Alaska-Department of Natural Resources, State of Alaska-Department of Fish and Game, United States Department of Agriculture-Soil Conservation Service, and the United States Department of the Interior-Bureau of Land Management. This program has also received support from local citizens, industry, city governments, various conservation societies, and outdoor clubs.

We titled this program "A Year Round Laboratory Approach to Environmental Education." This program was submitted to the Alaska State Department of Education to be funded under Title III, E.S.E.A. We have just finalized our budget negotiations. It will be funded and is scheduled to be initiated on June 1, 1970.