The Geography of Survival: Ecology in the Post-Soviet Era: Ecology in the Post-Soviet Era by Ze'ev Wolfson

Author:Ze'ev Wolfson [Wolfson, Ze'ev]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781563240768
Goodreads: 14433392
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 1994-09-30T00:00:00+00:00

In other words, the West is saying: Avoid repeating our mistakes. Look for alternative paths of development, or else we will all die out, burn to cinders, fall into the inferno.

All right, the East bluntly replies, since we are heading for hell anyway, we prefer to drive there, like you. If the dream of having a double garage really has no future, let that apply to everyone. The fact that you already have a house in the country does not mean that it could not be torn down, starting with the garage.

Dostoevsky’s observation that the Russian peasant would rather have a prosperous neighbor brought down to his own level of squalor than strive to live as well as his neighbor can explain a good deal in Russian history. Berdiaev used this idea as one of the basic points in his explanation of the origins and meaning of Russian communism. It seems that the ecologist Iaroshenko gives expression to that same fervent, unquenchable thirst for equality—this time on the ecological plane, on the level of biological survival, and on the global scale.

Of course, Russia has no cause to strike the attitude of being “humiliated and downtrodden” by the West (rather the contrary). In reality, four-fifths of the world live under even worse conditions than the Russians. At the same time, anyone who follows developments in Russia must surrender any illusion that calls for a rational approach to persuade people who are experiencing unprecedented poverty and despair.21

For that very reason, no one should place illusory hopes on Russian cooperation in the field of environmental protection in general, and energy-related policies in particular, without some tangible compromise on the part of the West. By tangible compromise I mean economic sacrifices, a lowering of living standards, including a reduction in the number of cars. Freezing Western living standards at their present level would not be enough; the gap would still be shockingly great. To be sure, neither should there be any illusions as to the West’s willingness to lower its living standards—but that is another subject.

The Southern Front and Destabilization of the Human Habitat. The eco-domino is not moving systematically toward a specific end point. Desertification and other types of ecosystem collapse always expand at the expense of less stable, more weakened ecosystems, regardless of where they are situated.

At the same time, it is highly important that European Russia is feeling the simultaneous impact of two fronts at once—the northern and the southern. If the advance of the northern front, as we have already seen, is related primarily to the reckless exploitation of energy resources, in the south the prime cause is desertification, mainly of agricultural origins. To be sure, here too the shortage of energy contributes its destructive share, leaving no chances for halting or even minimizing the devastating impact of development of the Tengiz and Astrakhan regions.

The dynamics of the eco-domino must be examined not only in terms of offensive factors (the intensity of the sources of deterioration and the already deteriorated area), but also in terms of the defensive capabilities of a given area.

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