Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2013

Keywords

forecasting, future, predictions, environmnet

Abstract

The only certainty concerning predictions for the future of the environment is that most of them are likely to be wrong. This is illustrated by the fate of past predictions, such as those contained in Paul Ehrlich's Populations Bomb, Gregg Easterbrook's A Moment on the Earth, and Bjørn Lomborg's The Skeptical Environmentalist. While it is difficult to guess at the future of the environment, predictions concerning environmental law are even more hazardous because they turn in large part on the future of politics. After reviewing current political gridlock over environmental concerns, this Article considers contemporary forecasts of the fate of the planet (including those contained in Al Gore's The Future and the 2052 Report) and the role of technological change in creating opportunities for environmental progress.

Publication Citation

43 Environmental Law Reporter 10492 (2013).

Disciplines

Environmental Law

Share

COinS