A Decade of Environmental Concern: Are We Winning or Losing?

The decade of the 1970's has been characterized by a world-wide concern with the rapid degradation of large, virtually pristine areas and/or whole ecosystems. Public awareness of the potential for causing irreversible environmental losses, and the consequences of such losses, varies with the socioeconomic status of the local populations. In both developed and underdeveloped countries, economic pressures often override present or future environmental concerns. Have the voices of scientists, raised about the tropical zones of the world, created any changes in the onslaught of pressure for development and destruction? There were some significant achievements in the decade; questions remain as to whether these achievements can be sustained through the next two decades under pressures of rampant population growth and concomitant rapid depletion of resources. There are some important problems which have not yet received sufficient focus of world-wide attention and which could be addressed by concerted effort of the scientific community.