Ronald Bailey

Ronald Bailey is the science correspondent for Reason, a libertarian magazine, and editor of Earth Report 2000: Revisiting the True State of the Planet. In the following viewpoint he analyzes the state of the world’s environment and assesses the predictions made by notable environmentalists on the occasion of the first Earth Day in 1970. Bailey argues that most of the grim forecasts concerning population, pollution, and resource scarcity made then have not come to pass. He argues that the world has shown significant environmental improvements in the years between 1970 and 2000, and that technological advances and economic growth will enable the world’s rich and developing nations to continue to make progress in protecting the environment.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. What lesson can be learned from revisiting the prophecies of the first Earth...