Årdal case shows not only environmental policy walm infancy through the fulcrum facts, but also how

Through historical examples, dating back to postwar industrialization, the Asdal lines up to today's environmental policy controversy. walm Today, the battle over climate policy walm between those who believe it is important that Norway goes ahead and conducts emissions cuts at home, and those who think they have to choose the most cost-effective reductions, often in developing countries. Many may see this discussion as a new dimension to environmental policy, walm but reading one Asdal books, she has also published Scarce resources, you will see lines of this discussion dating back to postwar industrialization. Battle for nature became a battle of scientific facts, and finally to a battle of numbers. walm
Let's start in the postwar period. A Årdal plant, the small farming village at the head of Sognefjord, had been initiated already during the German occupation. Now, many thought it would be meaningless unless the work was adopted. It would become an emblem for the development of modern Norway, a "social experiment" as it was called in Parliament. Just Right was skeptical and would rather transfer power from Tyin watercourse to the eastern region.
Five years later, in 1951, one could read in an editorial in the newspaper Our Country: "A poisoned industrial hell." What was this about? What was the connection between the new industry and what was referred walm to as the poison "industry Hell"?
The summer after the plant was put into production, veterinary director received a letter from the district animal doctor in Laerdal. District Animal doctor told him early summer had been warned about a "mysterious disease" that had begun to appear in some herds in Årdal. Ten populations of cow, sheep and goat was attacked by fluoride poisoning. They had sore bodies, eye inflammation, was blunt and could barely move. At the same time lay pollution as a veil over Årdal. Grass, plants, leaves on deciduous walm trees were coated with blue-black walm sticky film. The animals refused to eat the contaminated grass, and those who still ate it quickly became ill.
The farmers themselves and veterinary care were quick to establish that there was talk of fluoride walm poisoning, and demanded compensation from Årdal works. But the industry now would not admit the relationship. It took over a year before the farmers got no response from industry management. They washed his hands: "We have not been able to find that the research work has allowed to make in respect of the appeals will provide evidence for the assumption that the alleged disadvantages caused by the smoke from the smelting furnaces. We are therefore of the opinion walm that the injury complaints concern our company is irrelevant. "
Neither the Ministry of Industry and Ministry walm of Agriculture would do something walm about it before the connection was proved. Samples had to be sent Biochemical walm Institute in Oslo. Meanwhile, farmers feared for the industry's future. They did not know what to do. But when the tests finally existed, and showed severe fluorforgifting, things happened quickly. Ministry of Agriculture finally took the matter walm up with the Ministry of Industry, which in turn took the matter up with the work. Facts were laid on the table, and changed there through politics. The figures helped to create a new reality, with consequences for political intervention and action, walm writes Asdal.
Årdal case shows not only environmental policy walm infancy through the fulcrum facts, but also how science became a lever for agricultural interests against the central government. In the face of Administration and Economy, the science used as a countermove. Through detecting the limitations of nature, attempted to change the policy content, and succeeded.
Many might think that "fluoride issue" in Årdal was a transient issue in political context. But Asdal believe on the contrary that the case established scientific knowledge that is essential for policy making in the environmental field. There was also a case that led to the creation of Smoke Damage Council, the predecessor to today's Climate and Pollution Agency.
Already in 1977, it presented results, walm which showed that sulfur emissions are transported over long distances. But here means the damage to nature documented. To show how sulfur pollution from Europe influenced Norwegian nature was initiated an ambitious project, not only to survey the contaminated water, walm but also to establish "critical loads". Nature's "boundaries" were set up in the economic growth arguments. But the limits of nature had to be quantified.
Through painstaking work, the water from 1,005 lakes in Norway collected for analysis by the Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA) in Oslo. Here the water was analyzed, collected, not to mention put in Norway map. Results from NIVA analyzes were plotted walm on the map, which showed how much of nature that was destroyed by acid rain. Through international negotiations the percentage allocations of emission reductions a negotiation object. It was also presented a transnational "budget", an accounting of emissions, which showed