Key research ignored.Your article "The Hidden Shame of the Global Industrial Economy," [January/February] is both gratifying grat·i·fy tr.v. grat·i·fied, grat·i·fy·ing, grat·i·fies 1. To please or satisfy: His achievement gratified his father. See Synonyms at please. 2. and disturbing. It is good that the critical issues you raise are receiving attention. At the same time, it is hard to distinguish this article from any number of other litanies of disaster. The point is: so what do we do about these problems you are identifying? You present no agenda for dealing with the problems identified. This is particularly saddening in light of the enormous effort that some of the best thinkers on all sides of these issues have put into finding solutions in recent years. The Mining, Minerals, and Sustainable Development Sustainable development is a socio-ecological process characterized by the fulfilment of human needs while maintaining the quality of the natural environment indefinitely. The linkage between environment and development was globally recognized in 1980, when the International Union Project, of which I was director, spent over two and a half years, involved directly over 5,000 experts and stakeholders Stakeholders All parties that have an interest, financial or otherwise, in a firm-stockholders, creditors, bondholders, employees, customers, management, the community, and the government. , and had some 100 pieces of contracted research, culminating in publication of some 20 works, including Breaking New Ground (Earthscan 2002). The independent Compliance Advisor/Ombudsman of the International Finance Corporation conducted a very thoughtful study of extractive extractive /ex·trac·tive/ (-tiv) any substance present in an organized tissue, or in a mixture in a small quantity, and requiring extraction by a special method. ex·trac·tive adj. 1. industry projects supported by the World Bank Group, publishing the results as Extracting Sustainable Advantage? (April 2003). The three World Bank Group Operations Evaluation bodies cooperated in a major study entitled en·ti·tle tr.v. en·ti·tled, en·ti·tling, en·ti·tles 1. To give a name or title to. 2. To furnish with a right or claim to something: Extractive Industries and Sustainable Development: An Evaluation of the World Bank Group Experience (July 29, 2003). And some $10 million has been spent listening to stakeholders worldwide and trying to develop a shared view of the impact of extractive industries on the poor and the environment in the independent worldwide Extractive Industries Review. This process has just published its final report, Striking a Better Balance (www.eireview.org). In short, thousands of affected people and the world's most thoughtful experts have been collaborating to identify what needs to be done to solve some of the problems. LUKE J. DANIELSON Almont, Colorado Almont is an unincorporated town and U.S. Post Office in Gunnison County, Colorado, United States. The ZIP Code of the Almont Post Office is 81210[2]. History The town of Almont was platted in 1881 on the Fisher Ranch. Ed Ayres Ed Ayres is the founder of Running Times magazine and former editor of Worldwatch, a monthly environmental magazine frequently quoted by textbooks and the mainstream news media. replies: Thanks for pointing out the very large deficiencies in my article. To do justice to the work you and thousands of others have done in this field would take several books, and you have helpfully mentioned some of the most important of them--which we hope interested readers will pursue. |
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