environment and European development

red0;European Economic Development and the Environment Luca Mocarelli‭ (‬Milano Bicocca University‭) My paper will consider the role‭ ‬played by environment in the development of the European economy from pre-industrial times to the present.‭ ‬The first part examines the connection between‭ ‬natural resources,‭ ‬weather and economic development,‭ ‬with particular reference to the agricultural sector,‭ ‬which is fundamental.‭ ‬After showing the complexity of this relationship,‭ ‬I will attempt to establish whether better environmental conditions,‭ ‬with respect to other parts of the world,‭ ‬were amongst the causes of the precocious development of Europe.‭ ‬The second part examines the modern period and attempts to deal with the crucial aspect of the relationship between resources and population,‭ ‬in the light of the considerable population growth of the twentieth century,‭ ‬also questioning its actual environmental sustainability.‭ ‬The last part sets down the biggest environmental problems facing Europe today,‭ ‬but also the great possibilities for development offered by an adequate evaluation of the environment.‭ A revolution in the relationship between man and the environment:‭ ‬the invention of agriculture and its consequences My analysis takes as a starting point the somewhat provocative theory of Jared Diamond as outlined in his book‭ ‬Guns,‭ ‬germs and steel,‭ ‬in which the scholar proffers a key to a long-term assessment of the differences between the various parts of the world ‭ ‬Jared Diamond,‭ ‬Guns,‭ ‬Germs and Steel.‭ ‬The fates of human societies,‭ ‬New York‭ – ‬London,‭ ‬Norton‭ & ‬Company,‭ ‬1997..‭ ‬According to Diamond,‭ ‬what happened after the end of the last Ice Age‭ (‬about‭ ‬11,000‭ ‬B.C.‭) ‬is of‭ ‬paramount importance,‭ ‬particularly after the‭ ‘‬invention‭’ ‬of agriculture around‭ ‬8,500‭ ‬B.C.‭ ‬For this was actually the first great socio-economic revolution in the history of mankind,‭ ‬because we passed from the world of nomadic hunter-gatherers to that of permanent settlements.‭ ‬It was the huge increase in available food resources made possible by farming and animal husbandry‭ ‬which permitted an innovation that changed the course of history‭ – ‬the‭ ‬birth of the city Edward Glaeser is very clear about this in‭ ‬Triumph of the Cities.‭ ‬How our greatest invention makes us richer,‭ ‬smarter,‭ ‬greener,‭ ‬healthier and happier,‭ ‬New York,‭ ‬Penguin Book,‭ ‬2011.. Now Diamond believes that‭ ‬in this crucial phase some areas of the world were greatly advantaged by their environment.‭ ‬They enjoyed better weather and water resources and found themselves with a greater number of plants and animals to domesticate at their disposal.‭ ‬One could level the accusation of excessive determinism at such a theory,‭ ‬but there is no doubt that when we began the game of civilization,‭ ‬not everybody found that‭ ‬they had been dealt a good hand.‭ ‬Even those who,‭ ‬like‭ ‬Daron Acemoglu and James A Robinson,‭ ‬protested so vehemently against environmental and geographic determinism,‭ ‬favouring instead the part played by‭ ‬institutions in economic progress,‭ ‬have had to concede‭ ‬that Diamond’s theory provides‭ ‬ “a convincing answer to the questions he is focussing on‭ (‬which concern predominantly the pre-modern era‭)‬” Daron Acemoglu,‭ ‬James A.‭ ‬Robinson,‭ ‬Why Nations Fail.‭ ‬The origins of power,‭ ‬prosperity and poverty,‭ ‬New York,‭ ‬Crown Business,‭ ‬2012,‭ ‬p.62.‭ ‬Moreover it must be pointed out that the accent that Acemoglu and Robinson have placed almost exclusively on the institutions is just as,‭ ‬if not more,‭ ‬determinist,‭ ‬as Diamond himself observes in his‭ ‬review of‭ ‬Why Nations Fail‭ ‬in The New Yorker from‭ ‬17th Oct.201‭ ‬(http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2012/jun/07/what-makes-countries-rich-or-poor/‭?‬page‭=‬1‭)‬. Besides,‭ ‬a glance at a climatic map of the planet is enough to tell you that the majority of developed areas,‭ ‬Europe‭ ‬in primis,‭ ‬are in the band of temperate climates and have abundant supplies of water.‭ ‬Whereas,‭ ‬as Diamond rightly points out,‭ ‬almost all the countries‭ ‬mired in poverty are in the tropical zones and many of them are also without access to the sea or navigable rivers.‭ ‬So it seems reasonable to sustain that‭ “‬geographical latitude acting independently of‭ ‬institutions is an important geographic factor affecting‭ ‬poverty,‭ ‬prosperity and power‭” Ivi..‭ Even in the ten or so areas most favoured geographically and environmentally,‭ ‬which are dotted around the planet,‭ ‬man has had a constant struggle to bend nature to his will in order to satisfy the most important demand of all‭ ‬-‭ ‬that for food The demand for food resources is far from elastic,‭ ‬barely restrainable‭ (‬since if you don’t eat you die of hunger‭) ‬and inversely correlated to income because the quota of income apportioned to providing food diminishes as a percentage as income increases and vice versa.‭ ‬This is what Engel’s Law‭ – ‬one of the most common laws of economics‭ – ‬says,‭ ‬and it is verified both by developed and developing countries,‭ ‬as‭ ‬shown by Hendrik Houthakker,‭ ‬“An international comparison of household expenditure patterns,‭ ‬commemorating the centenary of Engel’s law‭”‬,‭ ‬Econometrica,‭ ‬15,‭ ‬1957,‭ ‬pp.532-535..‭ ‬He thus began to cut‭ ‬down woods,‭ ‬construct canals,‭ ‬drain swamps,‭ ‬build cities and create increasingly complex political and social systems.‭ ‬By the time of the Ancient Romans there is already a marked divide between the‭ ‬saltus,‭ ‬which was still the undisputed domain of wild beasts and untamed‭ ‬and fearsome nature,‭ ‬and the‭ ‬ager,‭ ‬territory modified by human intervention ‭ ‬Emilio Sereni,‭ ‬Storia del paesaggio agrario italiano,‭ ‬Bari,‭ ‬Laterza,‭ ‬1982,‭ ‬pp.‭ ‬50-63.‭ ‬ because it was necessary to support the burden of a growing population and manage to feed a veritable demographic monster‭ ‬such as imperial Rome,‭ ‬which had approximately one million inhabitants ‭ ‬Neville Morley shows clearly what it means to feed a city of such dimensions in‭ ‬Metropolis and Hinterland.‭ ‬The city of Rome and the Italian economy‭ ‬200‭ ‬BC-‭ ‬AD‭ ‬200,‭ ‬Cambridge,‭ ‬Cambridge University Press,‭ ‬1996.‭ ‬Besides,‭ ‬before we find a city of similar size,‭ ‬we have to wait for XIXth century London.. After the demographic stasis which followed the fall of the Roman Empire in the West and lasted until the XIth century,‭ ‬there was a fairly steady growth which doubled the population of Europe,‭ ‬rising from around‭ ‬43‭ ‬million in‭ ‬1000‭ ‬to‭ ‬87‭ ‬million in‭ ‬1340,‭ ‬necessitating extensive deforestation and reclaiming of land ‭ ‬An example of this is the Po valley as seen in Vito Fumagalli’s‭ ‬Storie di Val Padana Campagne,‭ ‬foreste e città da Alboino a Cangrande della Scala,‭ ‬Milan,‭ ‬Camunia,‭ ‬1992..‭ ‬Not long afterwards there was the greatest disaster ever in the history of Europe‭ – ‬the plague which struck in the mid fourteenth century,‭ ‬killing between‭ ‬30%‭ ‬and‭ ‬60%‭ ‬of the population,‭ ‬that is to say‭ ‬25-50‭ ‬million people ‭ ‬Ole Jorgen Benedictow,‭ ‬The Black Death1346-1353.‭ ‬The complete history,‭ ‬Woodbridge,‭ ‬Boydell,‭ ‬2004..‭ ‬It was only from the XVIth century,‭ ‬when the demographic gap had been filled and the population had begun to grow again,‭ ‬that the struggle against the environment began again to any significant degree.‭ ‬This demographic recovery was made possible not only by more intensive cultivation of land that was formerly woodland or‭ ‬marshes ‭ ‬Salvatore Ciriacono’s‭ ‬Acque e agricoltura.‭ ‬Venezia,‭ ‬l’Olanda e la bonifica‭ ‬europea in età moderna,‭ ‬Milan,‭ ‬Angeli,‭ ‬1996‭ ‬is very interesting on this point.,‭ ‬but also by the arrival of plants,‭ ‬such as maize and the potato,‭ ‬from America,‭ ‬which greatly increased the‭ ‬food resources of Europe ‭ ‬William L.‭ ‬Langer,‭ “‬American foods and Europe’s population growth‭ ‬1750-1850‭”‬,‭ ‬Journal of Social History,‭ ‬8,‭ ‬1975,‭ ‬n.2,‭ ‬pp.‭ ‬51-56.‭ ‬especially from the XVIIIth‭ ‬ century on,‭ ‬allowing the population of the continent to grow from‭ ‬ 84‭ ‬million in‭ ‬1500‭ ‬to‭ ‬194‭ ‬million in‭ ‬1800. However by now we were at the end of an epoch because the Industrial Revolution had opened up unimaginable horizons of productivity and wealth to the western world,‭ ‬affecting the environment far more deeply than before and also permitting a massive increase in agricultural productivity,‭ ‬particularly from the end of the XIXth century.‭ ‬For the first time in history growth was not only extensive‭ – ‬that is,‭ ‬due simply to a further‭ ‬increase in land which could be cultivated‭ – ‬but depended more and more on the increase in the productivity of the land and work ‭ ‬See Soren Kjeldsen-Kragh,‭ ‬TheRole of Agriculture in Economic Development.‭ ‬The lessons of history,‭ ‬Copenhagen,‭ ‬Copenhagen Business School Press,‭ ‬2007‭ ‬for the changes which took place and the important role played by agriculture in economic development.. The result was a hitherto unimaginable population explosion,‭ ‬because in just two centuries the population of Europe more than quadrupled,‭ ‬rising from‭ ‬195‭ ‬million in‭ ‬1800‭ ‬to‭ ‬818‭ ‬million in‭ ‬2000,‭ ‬while that of the world increased by six‭ – ‬from‭ ‬954‭ ‬million to‭ ‬6,175‭ ‬million ‭ ‬All figures taken from Paolo Malanima,‭ ‬Uomini,‭ ‬risorse,‭ ‬tecniche nell’economia europea dal X al XIX secolo,‭ ‬Milan,‭ ‬Bruno Mondadori,‭ ‬2003,‭ ‬p.‭ ‬9‭ ‬which considers Europe and Russia together..‭ ‬These dry figures would seem to tell the story of a war against the environment triumphantly won,‭ ‬but the reality is that we have suffered numerous defeats,‭ ‬certainly fewer than in the pre-industrial age,‭ ‬but nevertheless always a real possibility since today our alimentary survival still depends largely on variables which man is unable to dominate,‭ ‬despite all the technological progress he has made.‭ ‬I‭ ‬am referring to the climate and environmental catastrophes. There is no room here to delve into the rich and complex history of the climate and even less to enter into the lively debate which is raging about global warming and man’s eventual responsibility Reid A.‭ ‬Brown,‭ ‬Thomas J.‭ ‬Murray,‭ ‬Climates of Hunger.‭ ‬Mankind and the world’s changing weather,‭ ‬Madison,‭ ‬University of Wisconsin Press,‭ ‬1997‭ ‬is very interesting,‭ ‬also because of the period in which it was written.‭ ‬In consequence,‭ ‬thanks especially to the work of the IPCC‭ (‬Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change‭) ‬stress is laid upon man’s responsibility for the rise in temperature by putting too much strain on certain things.‭ ‬For a documented criticism of the standpoint of those who uphold anthropic responsibility of global warming see Joseph D’Aleo,‭ ‬Anthony Watts,‭ ‬Surface temperature records:‭ ‬policy-driven deception‭?‬,‭ ‬SPPI paper,‭ ‬August‭ ‬2010..‭ ‬I limit myself to pointing out that both in antiquity‭ ‬and in the modern era,‭ ‬numerous studies have irrefutably shown that the life of civilizations is greatly influenced by climatic changes.‭ ‬For example Rhys Carpenter attributes the grave crisis which afflicted the‭ ‬Mediterranean basin in the second half of the second millennium AD to a prolonged period of drought‭; ‬Wolfgang Behringer believes that the success of the Romans and the economic recovery of the‭ ‬medieval period was due to extremely favourable weather conditions,‭ ‬the exact opposite of what happened in the little ice age between the XVIIth‭ ‬and XVIIIth centuries‭; ‬John D.Post links the serious difficulties encountered by Europe in the four years of‭ ‬1816‭ ‬-1819‭ ‬to the severe weather of‭ ‬1816‭; ‬Brian Fagan attributes the crisis of the‭ ‬1870‭’‬s to the presence of an exceptionally strong Niño.‭ ‬So‭ ‬there is an abundance of studies on the climate in the past and its impact on human society ‭ ‬Rhys Carpenter,‭ ‬Discontinuity in Greek Civilization,‭ ‬Cambridge,‭ ‬Cambridge University Press,‭ ‬1966‭; ‬Wolfgang Behringer,‭ ‬A Cultural History‭ ‬of‭ ‬Climate,‭ ‬Cambridge,‭ ‬Polity Press,‭ ‬2010‭; ‬John D.‭ ‬Post,‭ ‬The Last Great Subsistence Crisis in the Western World,‭ ‬Baltimore and London,‭ ‬John Hopkins University Press,‭ ‬1977‭; ‬Brian Fagan,‭ ‬Floods,‭ ‬Famines and Emperors.‭ ‬El Niño and the fate of civilizations,‭ ‬New York,‭ ‬Basic Books,‭ ‬1999.‭ ‬One example of collective studies on the climate throughout history,‭ ‬among the many available,‭ ‬is that of Tom M.L.‭ ‬Wigley,‭ ‬Michel J.‭ ‬Ingram,‭ ‬George Farmer‭ (‬eds.‭)‬,‭ ‬Climate and History.‭ ‬Studies in past climates and their impact on man,‭ ‬Cambridge,‭ ‬Cambridge University Press,‭ ‬1981.. If climate denotes a persistent influence on‭ ‬the fate of humanity which cannot be held in check,‭ ‬this applies even more to natural catastrophes,‭ ‬many of which are climatic in origin.‭ ‬From the economic-historical point of view,‭ ‬this is very important because catastrophes bring about the destruction‭ – ‬unforeseen,‭ ‬completely random and practically unstoppable‭ – ‬of the physical capital‭ (‬buildings,‭ ‬infrastructures,‭ ‬industrial plants‭) ‬and human capital‭ ‬which has been accumulated,‭ ‬often with great effort,‭ ‬up to that point.‭ ‬The only difference is that there are some catastrophes,‭ ‬such as the biological ones,‭ ‬which destroy only human capital,‭ ‬and others,‭ ‬such as the geophysical ones,‭ ‬which strike men and things at the same time.‭ ‬Some have hypothesized that one of the reasons why the West developed earlier than the East is precisely that Europe has suffered less from natural disasters ‭ ‬This is the theory of Eric Jones,‭ ‬The European Miracle.‭ ‬Environments,‭ ‬economies and geopolitics in the history of Europe and Asia,‭ ‬Cambridge,‭ ‬Cambridge University Press,‭ ‬1981‭ ‬from which the information in the text about catastrophes is taken.. This is true firstly for geophysical catastrophes‭ (‬earthquakes and eruptions‭)‬,‭ ‬because‭ ‬only one of the fifteen worst earthquakes in history struck Europe,‭ ‬razing to the ground Messina and Reggio di Calabria in‭ ‬1908.‭ ‬The same is true of volcanic eruptions,‭ ‬because none of the six with the highest number of victims happened in Europe,‭ ‬even though the continent was unable to avoid the climatic consequences of the great quantities of ash in the atmosphere.‭ ‬As when in‭ ‬1815‭ ‬the Indonesian volcano of Tambora‭ ‬released into the atmosphere‭ ‬80‭ ‬cubic kilometres of ash and detritus and the northern hemisphere experienced the notorious‭ “‬year without summer‭” ‬in‭ ‬1816 ‭ ‬Chris R.‭ ‬Harrington‭ (‬ed.‭)‬,‭ ‬The Year without a Summer‭? ‬World climate in‭ ‬1816,‭ ‬Ottawa,‭ ‬Canadian museum of nature,‭ ‬1992.. Even regarding climatic disasters such as floods,‭ ‬drought and hurricanes,‭ ‬there is no comparison between Europe and Asia.‭ ‬In the case of floods,‭ ‬for example,‭ ‬the figures are not even remotely comparable.‭ ‬The worst flood in Europe of the XXthcentury,‭ ‬which was in the North Sea in‭ ‬1953,‭ ‬caused around‭ ‬2,000‭ ‬deaths,‭ ‬while those of the Yellow River in China in‭ ‬1931‭ ‬and‭ ‬1975,‭ ‬caused respectively‭ ‬800,000-4‭ ‬million and around‭ ‬220,000.‭ ‬Moreover,‭ ‬adverse weather conditions,‭ ‬even when they don’t give rise to extreme phenomena,‭ ‬bring about famines,‭ ‬which in Europe have far less serious consequences than in Asia where victims number millions or tens of millions:‭ ‬9-13‭ ‬million in the Chinese famine of‭ ‬1877-78‭ ‬and around‭ ‬25‭ ‬million in that of‭ ‬1959-61‭; ‬ten million in the Indian famine of‭ ‬1780‭ ‬and three to four million in that of Bengal in‭ ‬1943-44‭ – ‬the case on which Amartya Sen built his theory of entitlements failure ‭ ‬Not by chance Wiliam A.‭ ‬Dando in‭ ‬The geography of famine,‭ ‬London,‭ ‬Winston‭ & ‬sons,‭ ‬1980,‭ ‬p.‭ ‬91‭ ‬puts Asia in the modern era among areas characterized by‭ “‬overpopulation‭ (‬or Asian‭) ‬famines in drought-prone or flood-prone,‭ ‬overpopulated,‭ ‬marginal agricultural regions with primitive agricultural systems,‭ ‬whose inhabitants‭’ ‬perennial food intake was only slightly above starvation levels‭”‬.‭ ‬An example of this is India,‭ ‬where the modern era has seen the following famines:‭ ‬1540,‭ ‬1614,‭ ‬1648,‭ ‬1659-1662,‭ ‬1677,‭ ‬1709-1721,‭ ‬1733,‭ ‬1780-1782,‭ ‬1790-1793.‭ ‬The situation was no better in the following century because between‭ ‬1800-1880‭ ‬there were four years of famine,‭ ‬19‭ ‬years of very poor and‭ ‬7‭ ‬years of poor harvests,‭ ‬as against‭ ‬9‭ ‬years of average,‭ ‬12‭ ‬years‭ ‬of good and‭ ‬6‭ ‬of very good ones‭ ‬(Brian Burton,‭ ‬Spatial and temporal patterns of famine in Southern India before the famine code,‭ ‬in Bruce Curry,‭ ‬Graeme Hugo‭ (‬eds.‭)‬,‭ ‬Famine as a Geographical‭ ‬Phenomenon,‭ ‬Dordrecht,‭ ‬D.‭ ‬Reidel,‭ ‬1984‭)‬.. On the other hand,‭ ‬in the case of biological catastrophes such as epidemics and diseases affecting animals and plants,‭ ‬there are more similarities between the East and the West,‭ ‬as they can wreak havoc in Europe,‭ ‬as demonstrated by the above-mentioned plague of the mid XIVth‭ ‬century or,‭ ‬in more recent times,‭ ‬the potato famine in Ireland.‭ ‬Between‭ ‬1845‭ ‬and‭ ‬1849‭ ‬mildew ruined the crops of what had become the‭ ‬only source of food,‭ ‬thus causing about a million Irish to starve to death and a further million and a half to emigrate ‭ ‬Cormac O‭’‬ Grada,‭ ‬Black‭ ‘‬47‭ ‬and beyond:‭ ‬the great Irish Famine in History,‭ ‬Economy and Memory,‭ ‬Princeton,‭ ‬Princeton University Press,‭ ‬2000‭; ‬Id.‭ (‬ed.‭)‬,‭ ‬Ireland’s Great Famine.‭ ‬Interdisciplinary Perspectives,‭ ‬Dublin,‭ ‬Dublin Press,‭ ‬2006.‭ ‬The‭ ‬seriousness of the Irish famine had‭ ‬however struck contemporary observers across Europe,‭ ‬as shown in Carlo Cattaneo,‭ “‬Sui disastri dell’Irlanda negli anni‭ ‬1846-1847‭”‬,‭ ‬Il Politecnico,‭ ‬vol.‭ ‬VIII,‭ ‬fasc.‭ ‬43,‭ ‬1860,‭ ‬pp.‭ ‬21-34.. It would seem,‭ ‬therefore,‭ ‬that Europe has enjoyed and continues to enjoy a position of great advantage relative to other parts of the world as regards the environment and share of‭ ‬resources.‭ ‬This has been ascertained‭ ‬again and again in books dealing with the difference between economic evolution in the West and in the East,‭ ‬beginning with Pomeranz’s influential work,‭ ‬which attributes the great divergence between Europe and China on the one hand to an‭ “‬ecological‭” ‬factor,‭ ‬such as the presence of easily workable coal mines in Europe,‭ ‬and on the other to something which is,‭ ‬however,‭ ‬closely linked to resources and agriculture.‭ ‬I am referring to‭ ‬the fact that,‭ ‬after the discovery of America,‭ ‬Europe was able to benefit from the Atlantic economy.‭ ‬The New World ensured that Europeans had access to,‭ ‬not only an abundance of agricultural products and raw materials,‭ ‬but also a growing number of work opportunities ‭ ‬Kenneth Pomeranz,‭ ‬The Great Divergence.‭ ‬China,‭ ‬Europe and the making of modern world economy,‭ ‬Princeton,‭ ‬Princeton‭ ‬University Press,‭ ‬2000.. All of which shows that‭ ‬we cannot easily rule out the environment as an explanation,‭ ‬because there is no doubt that human actions and‭ ‬environmental change are closely interrelated.‭ ‬This means that nature is not simply a backdrop to human activity,‭ ‬but plays an active role in the course of history ‭ ‬Stephen Mosley,‭ ‬The Environment in World History,‭ ‬London,‭ ‬Routledge,‭ ‬2010,‭ ‬p.‭ ‬2..‭ ‬We will look at this interaction in the next paragraph,‭ ‬considering the crucial relationship between the population and the available resources.‭ ‬If it is true that more favourable‭ ‬weather conditions constitute an‭ ‬enormous advantage,‭ ‬it‭ ‬is also true that they encourage a more intensive growth in population,‭ ‬which would quickly‭ ‬reduce available resources.‭ ‬This is a problem that‭ ‬civilizations with‭ ‬dense populations have had to tackle,‭ ‬both in the East and the West,‭ ‬and which Europe managed to resolve efficiently before most of the rest of the‭ ‬world. The‭ ‬ratio of population to resources between‭ ‬“load-bearing capacity‭” ‬and neo-Malthusian revival When we speak of an environment which is more favourable or less so and of interaction between man and the environment,‭ ‬there is no doubt that the main problem is that of the‭ “‬load-bearing capacity‭” ‬of the planet and therefore of the correlation between the number of people and available resources.‭ ‬It is certainly not by chance that Malthus’s theory,‭ ‬one of the most influential on the subject and which has recently come back into favour,‭ ‬was formed precisely when he was witnessing the unprecedented population explosion the country was experiencing thanks to the Industrial Revolution.‭ ‬For Malthus the rate at which the population was growing far exceeded that of resources‭ (‬which for him meant the amount of land available for cultivation‭) ‬with the result that,‭ ‬even though the human race was to some small extent able to take steps to slow down demographic growth,‭ ‬we began to experience outbreaks of repressive phenomena such as famines and epidemics,‭ ‬which rectified the imbalance which had been created between‭ ‬population numbers and resources ‭ ‬Thomas Robert Malthus,‭ ‬An Essay on the Principle of Population.‭ ‬As it affects the future improvement of society,‭ ‬with remarks on the speculations of Mr.‭ ‬Godwin,‭ ‬M.‭ ‬Condorcet,‭ ‬and other writers,‭ ‬London,‭ ‬J.‭ ‬Johnson,‭ ‬1798.‭ ‬A book which is very interesting because it attempts to verify Malthusian ideas in the field is that of Tommy Bengtsson,‭ ‬Osamo Saito‭ (‬eds.‭)‬,‭ ‬Population and Economy.‭ ‬From hunger to modern economic growth,‭ ‬Oxford,‭ ‬Oxford University Press,‭ ‬2000.. A theory such as this owes its persistent success to its simplicity,‭ ‬linearity and clarity,‭ ‬but we cannot escape the fact that it was based on a vision of extensive growth,‭ ‬as happened in the pre-industrial era,‭ ‬when the crucial variable is represented by the amount of land available.‭ ‬So in his influential writing,‭ ‬Malthus does not consider the possibility that increased production could be the result of increased productivity due to an improvement in the indices of harvest and/or the introduction of technological innovations.‭ ‬This,‭ ‬however,‭ ‬is the position of Ester Boserup in‭ ‬The conditions of agricultural growth,‭ ‬which turns the Malthusian view completely on its head.‭ ‬In fact the Danish economist believes that demographic pressure,‭ ‬rather than leading to the eventual catastrophe predicted by Malthus‭ (‬since for him population grows in geometric proportion while production has an arithmetical progression‭)‬,‭ ‬stimulates the incentive to search for solutions which will allow productivity,‭ ‬and therefore also production,‭ ‬to increase ‭ ‬Ester Boserup,‭ ‬The Conditions of Agricultural Growth.‭ ‬The economics of agrarian change under population pressure,‭ ‬London,‭ ‬George Allen‭ ‬& Unwin,‭ ‬1965.‭ ‬Julian L.‭ ‬Simon follows a similar logic in‭ ‬The Ultimate Resource,‭ ‬Princeton,‭ ‬Princeton University Press,‭ ‬1981,‭ ‬where he sees in the growth of the population,‭ ‬not only an opportunity for agricultural development,‭ ‬but also technological progress in other‭ ‬sectors.. Moreover,‭ ‬the question of the burden of population must be dealt with in more complex terms than the simplistic Malthusian‭ ‬vulgata which has so often been adopted ‭ ‬A recent and much criticized attempt to re-read the processes of development in a strictly Malthusian key is Gregory Clark’s‭ ‬A Farewell to Alms.‭ ‬A brief economic history of the world,‭ ‬Princeton,‭ ‬Princeton University Press,‭ ‬2007.‭ ‬Following that,‭ ‬in‭ ‬The Son also Rises.‭ ‬Surnames and the history of social mobility,‭ ‬Princeton,‭ ‬Princeton University Press,‭ ‬2014,‭ ‬the Scottish historian goes even further by provocatively suggesting that personal success and social mobility have a strong‭ “‬genetic‭” ‬component..‭ ‬This is confirmed by the fact that population growth,‭ ‬even where weather conditions are not ideal,‭ ‬such as mountainous areas,‭ ‬is not necessarily harmful but can even be turned to advantage,‭ ‬especially when highly productive crops like the potato,‭ ‬which require an intensive labour force,‭ ‬are introduced ‭ ‬A convincing application of Boserupian principles to the Alpine area is that of Jon Mathieu,‭ ‬History of the Alps,‭ ‬1500-1900,‭ ‬Morgantown,‭ ‬West Virginia University Press,‭ ‬2009,‭ ‬particularly pp.‭ ‬53-87.‭ ‬It is worth noting that,‭ ‬still in‭ ‬1900,‭ ‬the following were the hours of individual work necessary per hectare every year:‭ ‬230‭ ‬for forage meadows‭;‬ 315‭ ‬for cereals‭; ‬2,500‭ ‬for potatoes and‭ ‬2,750‭ ‬for vines.. There is no doubt,‭ ‬though,‭ ‬that it has only been possible to support sustained population growth since the XXth century,‭ ‬when we have begun to apply the innovations of the second industrial revolution and modern science,‭ ‬particularly with regard to agriculture‭ – ‬chemical fertilizers,‭ ‬the internal combustion engine,‭ ‬electrical energy and genetics ‭ ‬Giovanni Federico,‭ ‬Feeding the World.‭ ‬An economic history of agriculture,‭ ‬1800-2000,‭ ‬Princeton,‭ ‬Princeton University Press,‭ ‬2005,‭ ‬pp.‭ ‬69-93..‭ ‬Proof of this is the fact that before such innovations were generally introduced,‭ ‬Europe itself had considerable difficulty in sustaining a population which apparently more than doubled between‭ ‬1800‭ ‬and‭ ‬1900,‭ ‬rising from195‭ ‬to‭ ‬422‭ ‬million inhabitants‭ (‬while in the following century it grew by a further‭ ‬400‭ ‬million‭)‬.‭ ‬I use the term‭ ‘‬apparently‭’ ‬because the increase was actually much greater,‭ ‬since over‭ ‬50‭ ‬million people crossed the ocean from Europe between‭ ‬1846‭ ‬and‭ ‬1914 ‭ ‬See Jean Claude Chenais,‭ ‬The Demographic Transition:‭ ‬Stages,‭ ‬Patterns and Economic Implications.‭ ‬A longitudinal study of sixty-seven countries covering the period‭ ‬1720-1984,‭ ‬Broadbridge,‭ ‬Clarendon Press,‭ ‬1992,‭ ‬pp.161-175‭ ‬for a detailed reconstruction of the great transatlantic emigration.. One of the main reasons for this biblical style exodus was that,‭ ‬faced with the admittedly still limited increase in agricultural productivity‭ (‬in the region of‭ ‬20%‭ ‬between‭ ‬1850‭ ‬and‭ ‬1900‭)‬,‭ ‬land was becoming more and more scarce and a growing number of people in the country had none whatever because the search for new land to cultivate had been going on for centuries and the margins for further cultivation were very small.‭ ‬So Europe would have found itself caught in the Malthusian trap had it not been able to count on an enormous availability of land on the other side of the Atlantic.‭ ‬Suffice it to say that while in Europe there was an increase of arable land‭ ‬of only seven million hectares‭ (‬from‭ ‬140‭ ‬to‭ ‬147‭ ‬million‭) ‬between‭ ‬1860‭ ‬and‭ ‬1910,‭ ‬in the United States it went from‭ ‬66‭ ‬to‭ ‬140‭ ‬million,‭ ‬and in Canada and Argentina from insignificant levels to‭ ‬33‭ ‬million hectares.‭ ‬If we add the‭ ‬65‭ ‬million hectares of newly cultivable land in Russia it makes‭ ‬over‭ ‬170‭ ‬million hectares gained for agriculture‭ – ‬more than another Europe ‭ ‬For information on the productivity and the increase in cultivated land see the tables in David B.‭ ‬Grigg,‭ ‬The Dynamics of Agricultural Change:‭ ‬the Historical Experience,‭ ‬London,‭ ‬Hutchinson,‭ ‬1982,‭ ‬p.‭ ‬130‭ ‬and Id.,‭ ‬The Agricultural System of the World.‭ ‬An evolutionary approach,‭ ‬Cambridge,‭ ‬Cambridge University Press,‭ ‬1974,‭ ‬p.‭ ‬261.‭! So only in the XXth century has there been an explosion of the productive potential of the agricultural sector,‭ ‬demonstrated by a period in recent history which defied the gloomy predictions of Malthus,‭ ‬even in the presence of a super-growth of population.‭ ‬I refer to the second half of the XXthcentury when we saw an unprecedented rise in world population,‭ ‬which doubled in only‭ ‬45‭ ‬years‭ – ‬going from two and a half billion in‭ ‬1945‭ ‬to five billion in‭ ‬1990.‭ ‬To grasp the full significance of this,‭ ‬remember that in the modern era,‭ ‬it took three hundred years‭ (‬1500-1800‭) ‬for the population to double for the first time‭ – ‬from‭ ‬460‭ ‬to‭ ‬954‭ ‬million,‭ ‬the second time it took a little more than a century,‭ ‬since in‭ ‬1900‭ ‬the figure was‭ ‬1,650‭ ‬million,‭ ‬while in the twentieth century,‭ ‬due largely to the boom which took place after the Second World War,‭ ‬world population almost quadrupled,‭ ‬easily exceeding six billion in‭ ‬2000‭ ‬and touching seven billion in‭ ‬2011 ‭ ‬The exceptional demographic growth of the‭ “‬golden age‭” ‬is also confirmed by the rate of increase in world population which in the last two thousand years passed the threshold of‭ ‬1.8%‭ ‬per year only in the forty years between‭ ‬1950-1990‭ (‬Thomas Piketty,‭ ‬Le capital au XXIe siècle,‭ ‬Paris,‭ ‬Seuil,‭ ‬2013,‭ ‬p.‭ ‬135‭)‬.. It is also worth noting that this super-growth is largely due to the demographic‭ ‬explosion in the less developed countries‭ (‬just one example is India and Pakistan,‭ ‬where the population almost trebled between‭ ‬1950‭ ‬and‭ ‬2000‭ – ‬going from‭ ‬434‭ ‬to‭ ‬1,270‭ ‬million‭)‬,‭ ‬with the result that the percentage weight of the population of Europe against that of the world almost halved between‭ ‬1960‭ ‬and‭ ‬2010,‭ ‬dropping from‭ ‬20%‭ ‬to‭ ‬10.6%.‭ ‬This trend is destined to continue since Eurostat estimates that by‭ ‬2050‭ ‬Europeans will count for little more than‭ ‬8%‭ ‬of the planet’s population‭ (‬750‭ ‬million as against nine billion‭)‬,‭ ‬and above all a really high percentage of the population will be old people because the old-age dependency ratio‭ (‬those aged‭ ‬65‭ ‬and over as a percentage of the population aged between‭ ‬15‭ ‬and‭ ‬65‭) ‬will be double that of the world average‭ ‬-‭ ‬50.6%‭ ‬as against‭ ‬25.3% ‭ ‬Eurostat,‭ ‬Europe in Figures.‭ ‬Eurostat yearbook‭ ‬2011,‭ ‬Belgium,‭ ‬European Union,‭ ‬2011,‭ ‬pp.‭ ‬112-114.. However in the‭ ‬45‭ ‬years in which our numbers were doubling,‭ ‬production of our key commodity‭ – ‬cereals‭ – ‬tripled.‭ ‬A miracle such as this,‭ ‬which was quite inconceivable before the second industrial revolution,‭ ‬is due to the concomitant appearance of several processes on a world scale,‭ ‬some of them‭ “‬traditional‭” ‬and others completely new.‭ ‬Among the first are,‭ ‬of course,‭ ‬on the one hand the addition,‭ ‬between‭ ‬1950‭ ‬and‭ ‬1995,‭ ‬of‭ ‬165‭ ‬million hectares of arable land as a result of the felling of equatorial forests,‭ ‬and on the other the unprecedented expansion of irrigated areas,‭ ‬thanks to the construction of huge dams‭ (‬the number of which has risen from around‭ ‬5,000‭ ‬to over‭ ‬45,000‭ ‬and the surface area of irrigated land has more than doubled to more than‭ ‬300‭ ‬million hectares‭) The number of dams refers to those which are at least‭ ‬15‭ ‬metres high and comes from the World Commission on Dams,‭ ‬Dams and Development,‭ ‬London,‭ ‬Earthscan,‭ ‬2000,‭ ‬p.‭ ‬17.‭ ‬For irrigated land-surface see Stefan Siebert et al.,‭ “‬Groundwater use for irrigation‭ – ‬a global inventory‭”‬,‭ ‬Hydrology and Earth System Science,‭ ‬14,‭ ‬2010,‭ ‬pp.‭ ‬1863-1880.. What stands out particularly among the second are the explosion of the use of chemical fertilizers‭ (‬from the beginning of the century to the end of the eighties,‭ ‬this passed from‭ ‬4‭ ‬to‭ ‬130‭ ‬million tons‭) ‬and insecticides‭; ‬the spread of mechanization,‭ ‬with the use of bigger and more powerful machinery‭ (‬tractors,‭ ‬combine harvesters,‭ ‬etc‭) ‬and the great strides made in genetics which have led to the so-called‭ “‬green revolution‭”‬.‭ ‬So productivity and production have increased as never before,‭ ‬and in the twentieth century the production of wheat by one worker rose from about‭ ‬80‭ ‬to‭ ‬20,000‭ ‬quintals,‭ ‬and land worked by one person from a little more than‭ ‬10‭ ‬hectares to over‭ ‬150 ‭ ‬Marcel Mazoyer,‭ ‬Laurence Roudart,‭ ‬A History of World Agriculture from the Neolithic Age to the Current Crisis,‭ ‬London,‭ ‬Earthscan,‭ ‬2006,‭ ‬pp.381-395.. Once again Europe was one of the protagonists of these epoch-making changes,‭ ‬even though in the way most appropriate to an already advanced economy which was heading more and more towards a post-industrial economic and social reality dominated by services.‭ ‬This means that there were no significant advances in the availability of land for cultivation‭ (‬on the contrary in many European countries there was a decrease in agricultural land‭)‬,‭ ‬and even less so in the irrigation network,‭ ‬which had been well developed for some time.‭ ‬However it is a different story for chemical agriculture and mechanization:‭ ‬between‭ ‬1950‭ ‬and‭ ‬2000‭ ‬the consumption of fertilizers in western Europe increased from‭ ‬46.9‭ ‬to‭ ‬182.1‭ ‬kilos per hectare‭ (‬in the world‭ ‬-‭ ‬from‭ ‬11.3‭ ‬to‭ ‬90.9‭); ‬in the same period the number of tractors per hectare rose from‭ ‬0.009‭ ‬to‭ ‬0.080‭ ‬as against world figures of‭ ‬0.005‭ ‬to‭ ‬0.018 ‭ ‬Giovanni Federico,‭ ‬Feeding the World,‭ ‬cit.,‭ ‬pp.‭ ‬99‭ ‬and‭ ‬101..‭ The result was that the hunger that had gripped the West for centuries disappeared and life expectancy increased with the unprecedented increase in available calories.‭ ‬In‭ ‬1880‭ ‬life expectancy at birth in England,‭ ‬France and the United States‭ – ‬that is in some of the most developed countries in the world‭ – ‬was still well below‭ ‬50‭ ‬years,‭ ‬whereas in‭ ‬1999‭ ‬it had risen to almost‭ ‬80‭ ‬years ‭ ‬In‭ ‬1880‭ ‬it went from‭ ‬42.1‭ ‬years in France to‭ ‬47.2‭ ‬years for the white population of the U.S.A,‭ ‬while in‭ ‬1999‭ ‬it went from‭ ‬76.7‭ ‬in the U.S.A to‭ ‬78.7‭ ‬in France‭ (‬Massimo Livi Bacci,‭ ‬Storia minima della popolazione del mondo,‭ ‬Bologna,‭ ‬Il Mulino,‭ ‬2002,‭ ‬p.‭ ‬159‭)‬..‭ ‬By the same token France and Great Britain passed from a daily intake of calories of around‭ ‬2,300‭ – ‬2,400‭ ‬in the mid nineteenth century,‭ ‬to close to‭ ‬3,500‭ ‬in‭ ‬1989 ‭ ‬Robert W.‭ ‬Fogel,‭ ‬The Escape from Hunger and Premature Death,‭ ‬1700-2100.‭ ‬Europe,‭ ‬America and the Third World,‭ ‬Cambridge,‭ ‬Cambridge University Press,‭ ‬2004,‭ ‬pp.‭ ‬22-26..‭ ‬Obviously‭ ‬these changes have been accompanied by an‭ ‬equally remarkable growth in the per capita‭ ‬PIL which has continued with very few interruptions until today,‭ ‬since the countries of the European Union,‭ ‬together with the United States and Canada,‭ ‬who are,‭ ‬in fact,‭ ‬largely a projection of Europe outside‭ ‬Europe,‭ ‬accounted for‭ ‬12.6%‭ ‬of the population of the world‭ (‬about‭ ‬890‭ ‬million out of‭ ‬7,050‭ ‬million inhabitants‭) ‬but produced over‭ ‬40%‭ ‬of the world’s PIL‭ (‬€29,000‭ ‬billion‭ ‬out of‭ ‬€71,2000‭) ‬and‭ ‬had a per capita PIL of‭ ‬€32,569,‭ ‬as against a world average of‭ ‬€10,100 ‭ ‬Thomas Piketty,‭ ‬Le Capital,‭ ‬cit.,‭ ‬p.109.. Italy is an excellent example of this,‭ ‬for after participating in the great transoceanic exodus‭ ‬-‭ ‬more than ten million Italians left between the mid nineteenth century and the First World War‭ – ‬it experienced its economic miracle in the period following the Second World War.‭ ‬Between‭ ‬1900‭ ‬and‭ ‬2011‭ ‬life expectancy increased from‭ ‬42.8‭ ‬to‭ ‬79.8‭ ‬years‭ (‬but in‭ ‬1951‭ ‬it was little more than‭ ‬60‭ ‬years‭)‬,‭ ‬while the national wealth,‭ ‬judged by prices in‭ ‬2003,‭ ‬went from‭ ‬875‭ ‬billion Lire in‭ ‬1914‭ ‬to‭ ‬1,629,000‭ ‬in‭ ‬1951‭ ‬and then,‭ ‬with an extremely strong growth of more than ten times,‭ ‬reached‭ ‬17,943.000‭ ‬billion in‭ ‬2004,‭ ‬with a wealth/PIL ratio of seven.‭ ‬And even in per capita terms the‭ ‬post-war growth was sensational because from‭ ‬1951‭ ‬to‭ ‬2004‭ ‬the population in Italy went from‭ ‬47.5‭ ‬million inhabitants to‭ ‬58.4‭ ‬with an increase of only about‭ ‬23% ‭ ‬Pierluigi Ciocca,‭ ‬Ricchi per sempre‭? ‬Una storia economica d’Italia‭ (‬1796‭ ‬-2005‭)‬,‭ ‬Turin,‭ ‬Bollati Boringhieri,‭ ‬2007,‭ ‬p.‭ ‬15.. But even in the presence of these exceptional results neo-Malthusian positions have recently been gaining ground,‭ ‬furthermore they have never disappeared‭ (‬think only of the famous report on the limits of development which was published in‭ ‬1972‭ ‬by the Club di Roma‭)‬,‭ ‬and we have even gone as far as speculating about the need to decrease ‭ ‬Serge Latouche has been most influential about this in‭ ‬Le pari de la décroissance,‭ ‬Paris,‭ ‬Fayard,‭ ‬2006.‭ ‬Also of interest,‭ ‬on account of its decidedly more pessimistic view,‭ ‬is Julian Cribb,‭ ‬The Coming Famine.‭ ‬The global food crisis and what we can do to avoid it,‭ ‬Berkeley,‭ ‬University of California Press,‭ ‬2010..‭ ‬Indeed,‭ ‬there is now even more doubt whether it is possible to continue to sustain exponential growth in a world where most of the resources are not unlimited.‭ ‬This is a delicate question because increased agricultural production,‭ ‬on which the survival of the human race still depends today,‭ ‬is based on four pillars:‭ ‬agricultural land,‭ ‬water,‭ ‬chemical products,‭ ‬knowledge of genetics and science.‭ ‬Now obviously the first two,‭ ‬being resources which we are scarcely,‭ ‬if at all,‭ ‬able to reproduce,‭ ‬have a far more limited chance of increasing than the production of fertilizers or scientific discoveries. A intense debate has thus ensued,‭ ‬pitting those who maintain that the persistent growth in population ‭ ‬An example of this view is David Pimental,‭ ‬Marcia H.‭ ‬Pimental,‭ ‬Food,‭ ‬Energy and Society,‭ ‬Boulder,‭ ‬Colorado University Press,‭ ‬1996.‭ ‬is the reason why the resources which are fundamental to life,‭ ‬like water and land,‭ ‬are becoming ever more scarce in per capita terms,‭ ‬against those‭ ‬who‭ ‬believe that industry and science will be our salvation,‭ ‬allowing us to increase productivity even further,‭ ‬so as to compensate for the‭ ‬ per capita‭ ‬reduction in land and‭ ‬water ‭ ‬Similarly,‭ ‬it is no great problem that agricultural production is increasing less rapidly than in the first post-war decades,‭ ‬because the main problem is not one of production but of distribution.‭ ‬In other words‭ ‬“the main cause of malnutrion or the failure to satisfy‭ ‬the need for food lies not so much in the lack of food but rather in the absence of sufficient income to buy it‭” (‬Gian Tommaso Scarascia Mugnozza,‭ ‬Enrico Porceddu,‭ ‬Ezio Capizzano,‭ ‬entry‭ ‬Agricoltura,‭ ‬in‭ ‬Enciclopedia Italiana,‭ ‬VI Appendice,‭ ‬Rome,‭ ‬Istituto dell’Enciclopedia Italiana,‭ ‬2000‭)‬..‭ ‬Then we come to the position of the more orthodox economists,‭ ‬who maintain that capital and work can effectively take the place of natural resources in production,‭ ‬either directly or indirectly.‭ ‬Therefore‭ ‬degrowth is not to be deliberately sought after,‭ ‬since even if it happens at some time in the future,‭ ‬it will be a totally physiological process,‭ ‬that is,‭ ‬regulated by the principles of market,‭ ‬and will‭ ‬only happen when the economic system has developed to its absolute maximum with respect to the availability of resources ‭ ‬This implies that degrowth would be far from‭ ‬pleasant,‭ ‬as augured instead by Latouche.‭ ‬But equally radical criticism has been levelled at the students of‭ ‬degrowth by Marxist oriented scholars such as John Bellamy Foster,‭ “‬Capitalism‭ ‬and Degrowth:‭ ‬an Impossibility Theorem‭”‬,‭ ‬Monthly Review.‭ ‬An Independent Socialist Magazine,‭ ‬62,‭ ‬January‭ ‬2011,‭ ‬n.‭ ‬8.. In reality this is by no means a simple matter and‭ ‬to realize all the implications we should think a little about what is happening with water,‭ ‬which is‭ ‬a very special‭ ‬resource and the one chosen,‭ ‬not by chance,‭ ‬by Smith to‭ ‬explain the difference between the value of use and that of exchange.‭ ‬With his customary lucidity,‭ ‬the father of classical economics writes,‭ “‬nothing is more useful than water:‭ ‬but it will purchase scarce anything‭; ‬scarce anything can be had in exchange for it.‭ ‬A diamond,‭ ‬on the contrary,‭ ‬has scarce any value in use‭; ‬but a very great quantity of other goods may frequently be had in exchange for it‭” Adam Smith,‭ ‬An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations,‭ ‬London,‭ ‬Methuen‭ ‬& Co.,‭ ‬1904‭ (‬5th edition‭)‬,‭ ‬p.‭ ‬107..‭ ‬In actual fact our perspective here is an illusion‭ ‬because there is only a limited amount of water on the planet which man can use.‭ ‬97%‭ ‬of the earth’s water consists of seas and oceans and of the remaining‭ ‬3%,‭ ‬68.7%‭ ‬is trapped in polar ice and glaciers,‭ ‬30.1%‭ ‬is underground‭ (‬over half of which is saline and requires a slow and difficult process to reconstitute‭)‬,‭ ‬while the surface water is no‭ ‬more than‭ ‬0.3%‭ ‬of the total ‭ ‬Mainly lakes‭ (‬87%‭)‬,‭ ‬which however contain only‭ ‬0.0007%‭ ‬of the earth’s water‭ (‬rivers only‭ ‬0.0002%‭) ‬which is estimated‭ ‬at‭ ‬1‭ ‬billion,‭ ‬386‭ ‬million Kmᶟ‭ (‬Peter H.‭ ‬Gleik,‭ ‬Water resources,‭ ‬in Stephen H.‭ ‬Schneider‭ ‬(ed.‭)‬,‭ ‬Encyclopedia of Climate and Weather,‭ ‬New York,‭ ‬Oxford University Press,‭ ‬1996‭ ‬,‭ ‬vol.‭ ‬11,‭ ‬pp.‭ ‬817-823‭)‬.. The main problem with water,‭ ‬without which,‭ ‬we must not forget,‭ ‬there would not be life on the‭ ‬planet,‭ ‬is that,‭ ‬not only is it scarce in many parts of the world,‭ ‬but it has many different uses which compete with one another.‭ ‬It is true that still in‭ ‬2003‭ ‬70%‭ ‬of the earth’s water was destined for agriculture,‭ ‬22%‭ ‬to industry and‭ ‬8%‭ ‬to domestic use.‭ ‬But the marked prevalence of agriculture is the result of a combination‭ ‬of two very different situations:‭ ‬on one hand that of countries with a high income,‭ ‬where an average of‭ ‬30%‭ ‬of the total water was destined for the primary sector,‭ ‬and on the other that of the developing countries and those of‭ ‬a medium income,‭ ‬where in many cases it was more than‭ ‬80% ‭ ‬See Unesco,‭ ‬Water for People,‭ ‬Water for Life,‭ ‬United Nation World Water Development Report,‭ ‬2003.‭ ‬Moreover already in‭ ‬1995‭ ‬India,‭ ‬China and Egypt were over‭ ‬80%,‭ ‬while Great Britain was‭ ‬5%‭ ‬below and France‭ ‬10%‭ ‬below‭ (‬Hans L.F.‭ ‬Saejis,‭ ‬Marc J.‭ ‬Van Berkal,‭ ‬The global water crisis:‭ ‬the major issue of the Twenty-first century,‭ ‬a growing and explosive problem,‭ ‬in Edward H.P.‭ ‬Brans,‭ ‬Esther J.‭ ‬De Haan,‭ ‬André Nolkaemper,‭ ‬Jan Rinzema‭ (‬eds.‭)‬,‭ ‬The Scarcity of Water:‭ ‬Emerging Legal and Policy Responses,‭ ‬London,‭ ‬Kluwer Law International,‭ ‬1997,‭ ‬pp.‭ ‬3-20‭)‬..‭ ‬A result‭ ‬which was‭ ‬due‭ ‬basically‭ ‬to the‭ ‬extension of‭ ‬irrigation,‭ ‬seeing that nowadays over two thirds of the‭ ‬301‭ ‬million hectares under irrigation‭ ‬are in Asia and,‭ ‬thanks to their extremely high productivity,‭ ‬have allowed the‭ ‬exceptional demographic growth of the East to be‭ ‬sustained in the aftermath of the Second World War ‭ ‬The irrigated areas are divided thus:‭ ‬68%‭ ‬in Asia,‭ ‬17%‭ ‬in America,‭ ‬9%‭ ‬in Europe and‭ ‬1%‭ ‬in Oceania,‭ ‬while the greatest surface areas under irrigation are in India‭ (‬57.3‭ ‬million hectares‭)‬,‭ ‬China‭ (‬53.8‭)‬,‭ ‬USA‭ (‬27.9‭) ‬and Pakistan‭ (‬14.4‭) (‬Stefan Siebert et al.,‭ ‬Groundwater,‭ ‬cit.‭)‬.‭ ‬And it is precisely the introduction of a second harvest during the dry season which has made it possible for the majority of Asian countries to face the population explosion of the post-war period.‭ ‬The figures calculated in‭ ‬2006‭ ‬by The international Water Management Institute bring the world surface irrigation up to‭ ‬480.6‭ ‬million hectares because the second harvest is also calculated,‭ ‬distributed as follows:‭ ‬first harvest‭ ‬262.7‭ ‬million,‭ ‬second harvest‭ ‬176.5,‭ ‬continuous cultivation‭ ‬41‭ (‬http://www.iwmigmia.org/data/gmia/maps_aggregated‭_‬8‭_‬class/jpg/giamv2-8classes-supermaster-1h-preview.jpg‭)‬.. However problems are already beginning to arise because,‭ ‬for one thing there does not seem to be much prospect of‭ ‬any further development in the construction of dams for irrigation purposes,‭ ‬and for another a large part of the water today used for irrigation is from underground sources,‭ ‬difficult to replace in the short term,‭ ‬but relied upon to supply‭ ‬39%‭ ‬of the irrigation system in India,‭ ‬19%‭ ‬in China and‭ ‬17%‭ ‬in the USA.‭ ‬The problem‭ ‬is not so much that of getting further access to water but making sure that it does not run out too soon,‭ ‬as seen in the High Plains of America where‭ ‬“extrapolation of the current depletion rate suggests that‭ ‬35%‭ ‬of the southern High Plains will be unable to support irrigation within the next‭ ‬30‭ ‬years‭” Bridget R.‭ ‬Scanion et al.,‭ “‬Groundwater Depletion and Sustainability of Irrigation in the US‭ ‬High Plains and Central Valley‭”‬,‭ ‬Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America,‭ ‬109,‭ ‬2012,‭ ‬n.24,‭ ‬pp.‭ ‬9320-9325..‭ In a situation which is already difficult,‭ ‬the growing‭ ‬demand for water for industrial use also in the countries that are fast developing,‭ ‬especially China,‭ ‬further exacerbates the problem‭ ‬of‭ ‬finding sufficient supplies of water for agricultural use,‭ ‬as required by the continuous growth in world population.‭ ‬This is the inevitable consequence of adopting a model of growth,‭ ‬like that of the West,‭ ‬which assumes that organic,‭ ‬or rather vegetable economy will be abandoned‭ ‬in favour of intensive exploitation of‭ ‬raw materials of mineral origin,‭ ‬which will‭ ‬produce considerably more energy ‭ ‬An example of this is Edward A.‭ ‬Wrigley,‭ ‬Energy and the English Industrial Revolution,‭ ‬Cambridge,‭ ‬Cambridge University Press,‭ ‬2000.,‭ ‬but which requires the use of more and more water. Nowadays water is used not only to produce energy in hydroelectric power stations,‭ ‬but also in numerous industrial processes and equipment and especially as a thermal vector for cooling and heating.‭ ‬Furthermore modern economic progress has led to an explosion‭ ‬of civilian consumerism,‭ ‬particularly with the affirmation of the all-electric house and household appliances‭ ‬after the Second World War.‭ ‬The difficult situation which is threatening the planet’s agriculture was effectively summed up in the report from the United Nations in‭ ‬2006‭ ‬which says‭ “‬looking to the future,‭ ‬prospects for extending irrigation are limited,‭ ‬while pressures from industry and‭ ‬domestic water users are rising‭” United Nations Development Programme,‭ ‬Human Development Report‭ ‬2006,‭ ‬New York,‭ ‬UNDP,‭ ‬2006,‭ ‬p.‭ ‬176.‭ ‬. Moreover it is difficult to ignore the fact that,‭ ‬given the close correlation between the availability of water,‭ ‬development and consumption of energy,‭ ‬there are growing discrepancies on a world scale.‭ ‬This applies first‭ ‬of all‭ ‬to the per capita availability of water given that in‭ ‬2000‭ ‬North America‭ – ‬the most highly developed area in the world‭ – ‬had‭ ‬nearly five times more renewable water per capita than Asia‭ (‬19.992mc as against‭ ‬4,079mc‭) ‬and individuals could avail themselves of‭ ‬1,663mc each compared with the‭ ‬631mc on‭ ‬the Asiatic continent ‭ ‬See the table,‭ ‬Freshwater Resources produced from the data furnished by the FAO,‭ ‬the UN and the World Bank‭ (‬http://earthtrends.wri.org/pdf_library/data_tables/wat2‭_‬2005.pdf‭)‬..‭ ‬Per capita consumption of water was‭ ‬also much higher.‭ ‬With‭ ‬550‭ ‬litres per day the USA are the undisputed leaders in the field,‭ ‬followed by other developed countries,‭ ‬whose consumption is between the‭ ‬150‭ ‬litres of Great Britain and the‭ ‬470‭ ‬litres of Australia.‭ ‬China is around‭ ‬80‭ ‬litres and the poorest countries less than‭ ‬50‭ ‬litres ‭ ‬United Nations Development Programme,‭ ‬Human Development,‭ ‬cit.,‭ ‬pp.‭ ‬263-265..‭ ‬An even greater disparity is to be seen on the energy front,‭ ‬for in‭ ‬2011‭ ‬the per capita consumption of energy in equivalent kilograms of petroleum was more than seven tons in Canada and the USA‭; ‬around two tons in China‭; ‬a little over‭ ‬600‭ ‬kilograms in India and in the poorest countries,‭ ‬like Bangladesh,‭ ‬Haiti and Afghanistan,‭ ‬it was less than‭ ‬300‭ ‬kilograms ‭ ‬World Bank,‭ ‬World Development Indicators,‭ ‬based on data from the International Energy Agency,‭ ‬consultable at url‭ ‬http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EG.USE.PCAP.KG.OE‭ ‬(access‭ ‬25th October‭ ‬20015‭)‬.. Evidently an issue as complex and delicate as the rapport between the environment and resources cannot be resolved‭ ‬simply,‭ ‬schematically,‭ ‬and ideologically.‭ ‬For what has been said about water can easily be applied to land,‭ ‬which is an equally limited resource.‭ ‬Only‭ ‬11%‭ ‬of exposed land is,‭ ‬in fact,‭ ‬suitable for agriculture,‭ ‬and furthermore,‭ ‬FAO studies have shown that three quarters of the‭ ‬13.494,7‭ ‬million hectares‭ ‬of agricultural land‭ ‬in the world have problems‭ ‬of some degree of decay for one reason or another:‭ ‬from erosion by water or wind to insufficient drainage,‭ ‬from a strong acid content to a high level of ferric oxide and salines ‭ ‬Gian Tommaso Scarascia Mugnozza,‭ ‬Enrico Porceddu,‭ ‬Ezio Capizzano,‭ ‬entry‭ ‬ Agricoltura,‭ ‬cit..‭ ‬Moreover,‭ ‬land,‭ ‬like water can serve alternative and competing purposes‭ ‬since the earth can produce food for humans,‭ ‬but also for animals,‭ ‬or even‭ – ‬as is happening today‭ – ‬to feed the motors of machines in the production of biofuels.‭ In an article entitled,‭ ‬rather significantly,‭ ‬The end of cheap food‭ ‬which appeared in The Economist on December‭ ‬6th‭ ‬2007,‭ ‬the writer pointed out how the prices of cereals had soared,‭ ‬rising by‭ ‬75%‭ ‬in real terms between‭ ‬2005‭ ‬and‭ ‬2007.‭ ‬The ever-increasing prices were attributed‭ ‬on the one hand,‭ ‬to‭ ”‬long-running changes in diet that accompany the growing wealth of emerging economies‭ – ‬the Chinese consumer who ate‭ ‬20Kg of meat in‭ ‬1985‭ ‬will scoff over‭ ‬50Kg of the stuff this year.‭ ‬That in turn pushes‭ ‬up demand for grain:‭ ‬it takes‭ ‬8‭ ‬Kg of grain to produce one of beef‭” ‬On the other hand it underlined that‭ “‬the rise in prices is also the self-inflicted result of America’s reckless ethanol subsidies.‭ ‬This year biofuels will take‭ ‬a third of America’s‭ (‬record‭) ‬maize harvest.‭ ‬That‭ ‬affects food markets directly:‭ ‬fill up an SUV’s fuel tank with ethanol and you have used enough maize to feed a person for a year.‭ ‬And it affects them indirectly,‭ ‬as farmers switch to other crops‭”‬. The‭ ‬environment in Europe today between sustainable development and new challenges. Within this framework of great change,‭ ‬which does not bode well for the future,‭ ‬there has emerged the idea of sustainability‭ – ‬and it is a totally western concept.‭ ‬In‭ ‬1987‭ ‬the Bruntland Report stated that‭ ‬“humanity has the ability to make development sustainable to ensure that it meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs‭” United Nations,‭ ‬Our Common Future.‭ ‬Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development,‭ ‬New York,‭ ‬UN,‭ ‬1987,‭ ‬p.‭ ‬15.‭ ‬See Gianluca Senatore,‭ ‬Storia della sostenibilità.‭ ‬Dai limiti della crescita alla genesi dello sviluppo,‭ ‬Milan,‭ ‬Franco Angeli,‭ ‬2013,‭ ‬for a careful study of sustainability..‭ ‬An idea‭ ‬which it is‭ ‬easy to share,‭ ‬but which would mean radical changes in the life style of the most developed countries,‭ ‬and would certainly not be easy to‭ ‬export‭ ‬tout court to the developing countries. Indeed,‭ ‬in the light of‭ ‬the route taken by western economy,‭ ‬the expression‭ “‬sustainable development‭” ‬is clearly an oxymoron.‭ ‬If‭ ‬entropy is endemic‭ ‬in‭ ‬physical processes‭ ‬on earth,‭ ‬it is also true that the technological paradigms which‭ ‬were established in the Industrial Revolution have done nothing to help the health of the planet because their effects have increased‭ ‬entropy‭ ‬exponentially.‭ ‬This was the inevitable result of using‭ ‬things like steam engines and the internal combustion engine which,‭ ‬besides using up non-renewable resources,‭ ‬such as coal and petroleum,‭ ‬also wasted most of the energy produced in the form of steam ‭ ‬As Nicholas Georgeschu-Roegen has shown in‭ ‬The Entropy Law and the Economic Process,‭ ‬Cambridge Mass.,‭ ‬Harvard University Press,‭ ‬1971,‭ ‬the process of development in the West is by its very nature environmentally unsustainable.‭ ‬.‭ On the other hand we can be somewhat provocative and state that sustainability is a‭ “‬luxury for the rich‭”‬.‭ ‬It is no accident that Gro Harlem Bruntland was the Prime Minister of a country‭ – ‬Norway‭ – ‬which permanently occupies first place in the‭ ‬Human Development Index.‭ ‬And there is no doubt that this makes it difficult to spread the word of sustainability globally,‭ ‬if for no other reason than the obvious contradiction in inviting developing countries to slow down their growth in order to protect an environment which we have been devastating for centuries to achieve the very wellbeing to which they are now aspiring. In other words it seems downright hypocritical to fear the‭ ‬environmental unsustainability of China’s eventually becoming motorized when‭ ‬we live in a country,‭ ‬like Italy,‭ ‬where there are‭ ‬621‭ ‬vehicles every‭ ‬1,000‭ ‬inhabitants compared‭ ‬with the world average of‭ ‬120,‭ ‬and figures of around‭ ‬52‭ ‬and‭ ‬24‭ ‬in Asia and Africa ‭ ‬Fondazione Filippo Caracciolo-ACI,‭ ‬Rottamazione e rinnovo del parco circolante.‭ ‬Una strada per lo sviluppo,‭ ‬la sicurezza e l’ambiente,‭ ‬Roma,‭ ‬ACI,‭ ‬2014,‭ ‬p.‭ ‬6..‭ ‬Just as,‭ ‬although it is undoubtedly meritorious to promote biological food,‭ ‬typical products and the agro-alimentary‭ ‬excellence‭ ‬of more or less‭ ‬slow food,‭ ‬we must realize that‭ ‬this is a remedy which could hardly be applied to the whole world,‭ ‬since it would be a little complicated to feed seven billion people on‭ ‬gastronomic delicacies like‭ ‬lardo di Colonnata and Castelmagno cheese. If we take a look at the richer countries there is no doubt that the relationship with the environment has changed‭ ‬significantly,‭ ‬on the one hand there is the growing awareness of the damage being done,‭ ‬on the other the demand for a better quality of life,‭ ‬since by now fundamental needs such as food,‭ ‬clothing and housing have been abundantly satisfied.‭ ‬So,‭ ‬even at community level,‭ ‬we have seen the launch of policies aimed at tackling the most noticeable of the‭ ‬problems which were becoming apparent,‭ ‬particularly pollution and the disposal of rubbish. Regarding the first of these,‭ ‬there have been numerous attempts to limit‭ ‬greenhouse gas,‭ ‬especially through the‭ ‬European Union Emissions Trading Scheme‭ (‬EU ETS‭)‬,‭ ‬even in the knowledge that without a global policy and coordination,‭ ‬the efforts of the European countries count for little ‭ ‬For more on this see‭ ‬Analisi delle ipotesi di intervento per una riduzione delle emissioni di gas a effetto serra superiore al‭ ‬20%‭ ‬e valutazione del rischio di rilocalizzazione delle emissioni di carbonio,‭ ‬a document from the Europen Commission of‭ ‬26th May‭ ‬2010‭ ‬(http://www.minambiente.it/sites/default/files/comunicazione ce‭ ‬26‭ ‬05‭ ‬2010.pdf consulted October‭ ‬25th‭ ‬2014‭)‬..‭ ‬The problem is that if they continue to use‭ ‬particularly polluting processes in other parts of the‭ ‬world the health of Europe itself can only get worse,‭ ‬since greenhouse gas and other harmful substances are carried for thousands of kilometres on the wind and by evaporation.‭ ‬This is confirmed by the high concentration of persistent organic compounds that are highly polluting and dangerous for human health ‭ ‬Sara Villa,‭ ‬Marco Vighi et al.,‭ “‬Historical trends of organochlorine pesticides in an Alpine glacier‭”‬,‭ ‬Journal of Atmospheric Chemistry,‭ ‬46,‭ ‬2003,‭ ‬pp.295-311.,‭ ‬which have been found even in apparently pure and uncontaminated places,‭ ‬such as the poles or alpine glaciers. Equally significant,‭ ‬if not more so,‭ ‬is the effort which has been made to produce and promote less polluting combustion and diesel engines‭ (‬a Euro5‭ ‬diesel engine releases‭ ‬27‭ ‬times less‭ ‬fine powder than a Euro1‭) ‬because in the developed countries it is primarily cars that are responsible for the emission of CO2 ‭ ‬In‭ ‬2010‭ ‬in Italy‭ ‬38%‭ ‬of emissions were produced by the energy sector industries,‭ ‬followed by road transport which accounted for‭ ‬27%‭ ‬-‭ ‬a value which had been continuously increasing since‭ ‬2000,‭ ‬although had slowed down in‭ ‬2008‭ ‬due to the economic crisis.‭ ‬Industrial production accounted for just‭ ‬13%,‭ ‬as did the domestic sector.‭ ‬Then came the commercial sector and agriculture with‭ ‬6%‭ ‬and‭ ‬2%‭ ‬respectively‭ (‬OECD,‭ ‬Rapporti dell’OCSE sulle performance ambientali.‭ ‬Italia‭ ‬2013,‭ ‬Paris,‭ ‬OECD,‭ ‬2013,‭ ‬pp.‭ ‬165-166‭)‬..‭ ‬In almost all European countries‭ ‬they are concentrating on the renewal of the population’s cars‭ ‬through demolition campaigns,‭ ‬backed by the government,‭ ‬and‭ ‬the promotion of hybrid or electric vehicles,‭ ‬which have considerably less impact on the environment ‭ ‬However the European Union alone counts for‭ ‬30%‭ ‬of the vehicles circulating in the world‭ (‬245.5‭ ‬million out of‭ ‬847‭)‬,‭ ‬it also has the highest number of vehicles per person in the world,‭ ‬0.49.‭ ‬And in many countries,‭ ‬starting with Italy,‭ ‬the vehicle pool is still obsolete and therefore highly polluting.‭ ‬In Italy,‭ ‬in fact,‭ ‬51%‭ ‬of vehicles in circulation are classed between Euro0‭ ‬and Euro3,‭ ‬and‭ ‬40%‭ ‬of the total are more than ten years old‭ (‬Fondazione Filippo Caracciolo-ACI,‭ ‬Rottamazione e rinnovo del parco circolante,‭ ‬cit.,‭ ‬pp.‭ ‬15‭ ‬and‭ ‬18‭)‬..‭ ‬They have been obliged to do this because a recent study of the USA,‭ ‬the country with a carbon footprint five times bigger than the world average‭ ‬(roughly‭ ‬50‭ ‬tons‭ ‬-compared with‭ ‬10-‭ ‬of CO2‭ ‬per household‭ ‬each year‭)‬,‭ ‬has shown that a very large part of CO2‭ ‬emissions are not due to industry but‭ ‬to the consumer life style of American families and their cars,‭ ‬which have such a hugely negative impact on the environment ‭ ‬Christopher Jones,‭ ‬Daniel M.‭ ‬Kammen,‭ “‬Quantifying Carbon Footprint Reduction Opportunities for US Households and Communities‭”‬,‭ ‬Environmental Science and Tecnology,‭ ‬45,‭ ‬2011,‭ ‬pp.‭ ‬4088-4095.. However‭ ‬here we are treading on different ground,‭ ‬far beyond‭ ‬government norms and intervention,‭ ‬because we are dealing with people’s life style and relationship with‭ ‬the environment.‭ ‬This,‭ ‬of course,‭ ‬means everybody,‭ ‬and is not just a question of the family car,‭ ‬but also the way in which we deal with our rubbish and the way we eat.‭ ‬We know that the developed countries are both the biggest consumers of industrial raw materials in the world‭ (‬over‭ ‬60%‭) ‬and the biggest‭ ‬producers of rubbish,‭ ‬with the US clearly leading the field,‭ ‬with more than‭ ‬750‭ ‬kg of urban refuse per person per year,‭ ‬compared with an average of‭ ‬503kg in the European Union ‭ ‬United Nations Environment Programme,‭ ‬Vital Waste Graphics,‭ ‬New York,‭ ‬UN,‭ ‬2014..‭ ‬In order‭ ‬to reduce the impact of a gigantic mountain of rubbish on the environment‭ ‬(the USA and the EU alone produce almost half a billion tons‭ ‬of urban waste a year‭)‬ it is becoming more and more important to adopt‭ ‬such virtuous practices as the differential collection of rubbish which is organized and promoted by the institutions,‭ ‬but which depends upon the active collaboration of the citizens.‭ ‬Regarding this the EU has now reached‭ ‬40%‭ (‬and with almost‭ ‬35%‭ ‬in‭ ‬2012,‭ ‬Italy is coming close to this‭)‬,‭ ‬while Austria and Germany are the most‭ “‬virtuous‭” ‬countries with over‭ ‬60% ‭ ‬Eurostat,‭ ‬Europe in Figures.‭ ‬Eurostat yearbook‭ ‬2012,‭ ‬Luxembourg,‭ ‬European Union,‭ ‬2012,‭ ‬pp.‭ ‬482-489.. As for food,‭ ‬we are living in a paradoxical world where over‭ ‬800‭ ‬million starving people live alongside a billion who are‭ ‬overweight‭ (‬among whom‭ ‬300‭ ‬million are obese‭)‬.‭ ‬This is a serious problem because,‭ ‬as the OECD has pointed out‭ “‬overweight and obese people are a majority today in the OECD area.‭ ‬The obesity epidemic continues to spread,‭ ‬and no OECD country has seen a reversal of trends since the epidemic began‭”‬.‭ ‬In some countries,‭ ‬starting with the‭ ‬USA,‭ ‬well above‭ ‬a worrying‭ ‬30%‭ ‬of the adult population are obese.‭ ‬Nor has Europe escaped this trend,‭ ‬which will foreseeably have a devastating impact on‭ ‬health service costs,‭ ‬since half of the adult population is now overweight,‭ ‬and‭ ‬20%‭ ‬are obese.‭ ‬Even more worrying is the fact that one in three children is overweight or obese.‭ ‬Regarding overweight and obese children,‭ ‬Italy comes a hardly flattering second in the world,‭ ‬after Greece,‭ ‬as it now applies to‭ ‬35%‭ ‬of those between the ages of‭ ‬5‭ ‬and‭ ‬17 ‭ ‬OECD,‭ ‬Obesity Update,‭ ‬June‭ ‬2014‭ (‬http://www.oecd.org/els/health-systems/Obesity‭ ‬-Update-2014.pdf‭ ‬consulted‭ ‬25th Oct.‭ ‬2014‭)‬.. This situation calls for‭ ‬institutions and education to take ever more drastic measures,‭ ‬now and in the future,‭ ‬and not only to safeguard‭ ‬the‭ ‬health of the people,‭ ‬for‭ ‬a diet which is too rich in proteins and calories‭ ‬is also unsustainable for the planet.‭ ‬We‭ ‬only‭ ‬need to think that the ever growing‭ ‬consumption of meat means that over a quarter of the world’s cereal production‭ – ‬estimated at about‭ ‬2,400‭ ‬million tons‭ ‬-‭ ‬today goes to feeding cattle ‭ ‬Gian Tommaso Scarascia Mugnozza,‭ ‬Enrico Porceddu,‭ ‬Ezio Capizzano,‭ ‬entry‭ ‬Agricoltura,‭ ‬cit..‭ Although Europe is now doing much to solve‭ ‬environmental problems,‭ ‬there‭ ‬still remains the‭ ‬difficult question of occupying the earth’s‭ ‬ground-space.‭ ‬This is a problem which led to the drawing up of the‭ ‬Tabella di Marcia verso un’Europa efficiente nell’impiego delle risorse‭ ‬(Schedule for the achievement‭ ‬of‭ ‬an efficient use of resources in Europe‭) ‬in which it is proposed to set‭ ‬the target for zero increase in the‭ ‬net occupation of land to be reached by‭ ‬2050.‭ ‬An objective which was reinforced by the European legislator in‭ ‬2013‭ ‬with the approval of the Settimo‭ ‬Programma di Azione Ambientale‭ ‬(Seventh Programme of Action for the Environment‭)‬. Italy is a good example of this because recent estimates have shown that between the‭ ‬1950‭’‬s and‭ ‬2012‭ ‬the amount of occupied land rose from‭ ‬8,700‭ ‬to‭ ‬21,890‭ ‬sq.km,‭ ‬that is from‭ ‬2.9‭ ‬to‭ ‬7,3%‭ ‬of the national surface area‭ (‬the E.U average is‭ ‬4.6%‭)‬,‭ ‬but Lombardy and Veneto are over‭ ‬10%‭ ‬and the province of Milan over‭ ‬61%.‭ ‬So there has been a considerable loss‭ ‬of‭ ‬even really productive agricultural land,‭ ‬which shows no sign of slowing down,‭ ‬given that in the period‭ ‬1990-‭ ‬2008‭ ‬alone,‭ ‬the‭ ‬area designated for cultivation and sowing fell from‭ ‬37,5‭ ‬to‭ ‬33,3%‭ ‬of the national territory.‭ ‬It is not,‭ ‬as one might think,‭ ‬buildings which take up most of the land‭ – ‬only‭ ‬30%‭ ‬-‭ ‬but infrastructures such as roads,‭ ‬railways and car parks,‭ ‬which account for over‭ ‬50%.‭ ‬Nor is the huge increase in the occupation of‭ ‬ground-space due to soaring population figures,‭ ‬as we can see from the fact that per capita occupation of land almost doubled,‭ ‬from‭ ‬178‭ ‬to‭ ‬369‭ ‬sq.‭ ‬metres,‭ ‬between the‭ ‬1950‭’‬s and‭ ‬2012 ‭ ‬All the information here about land occupation is taken from the Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale‭ ‬(Institute for environmental protection and research‭)‬,‭ ‬Il consumo di suolo in Italia.‭ ‬Edizione‭ ‬2014,‭ ‬Rome,‭ ‬ISPRA,‭ ‬2014.. Something which is particularly relevant to this is the increasing number‭ ‬of secondary homes in Italy in the years since the economic miracle.‭ ‬A problem which came into the‭ ‬lime-light‭ ‬after the referendum in‭ ‬2012‭ ‬which blocked the construction of secondary‭ ‬homes in the Swiss Confederation,‭ ‬limiting them to a maximum of‭ ‬20%‭ ‬of the total number of residences in each commune ‭ ‬This means that the building of secondary homes will be banned in all the Swiss Communes where this limit has already been overtaken,‭ ‬which is about a fifth and includes all the tourist localities.‭ ‬.‭ ‬In Italy in‭ ‬2011‭ ‬almost‭ ‬5‭ ‬million homes‭ (‬which means‭ ‬17%‭ ‬of the national total number‭) ‬were empty‭ ‬ or not permanently lived in.‭ ‬But in tourist areas,‭ ‬like those in the mountains,‭ ‬there were well over‭ ‬40%,‭ ‬and in certain well-known Alpine ski resorts,‭ ‬over‭ ‬90%.‭ ‬While the serious impact of these homes on the environment is quite obvious,‭ ‬what is less well known is how little‭ ‬they benefit the local economy in terms of tourism.‭ ‬Whereas just the opposite is demonstrated by the thriving economy of areas like the Alto Adige,‭ ‬where their policy since the Seventies has been to severely restrict‭ ‬the building of second homes ‭ ‬Luca Mocarelli,‭ “‬Il‭ ‘‬miracolo economico‭’ ‬valdostano tra mano pubblica e interventi strutturali:‭ ‬una rincorsa truccata‭?”‬,‭ ‬Histoire des Alpes,‭ ‬17,‭ ‬2012,‭ ‬pp.‭ ‬211-226.. As these problems have‭ ‬arisen and we have been trying to solve them,‭ ‬it has also become apparent that the environment itself can also become an extraordinary resource.‭ ‬So I will conclude by mentioning two important developments.‭ ‬The first is‭ ‬a strongly backed political incentive to‭ ‬return to‭ ‘‬pre-industrial‭’‬ sources of energy,‭ ‬obviously using very different technological means.‭ ‬I am referring to renewable energy,‭ ‬in particular,‭ ‬biomasses,‭ ‬hydroelectric power,‭ ‬wind‭ ‬power‭ ‬and‭ ‬photovoltaic which in‭ ‬2008‭ ‬met‭ ‬8%‭ ‬of the total energy needs of the EU and provided‭ ‬15%‭ ‬of the total electricity generated ‭ ‬There are obviously still great disparities inside the continent,‭ ‬where the Nordic countries stand out,‭ ‬seeing that‭ ‬Norway’s contribution of renewable energy to the total energy consumption is‭ ‬around‭ ‬90%,‭ ‬that of Sweden‭ ‬43%‭ ‬and Finland‭ ‬30%‭ (‬Eurostat,‭ ‬Europe in Figures.‭ ‬Eurostat yearbook‭ ‬2011,‭ ‬cit.,‭ ‬pp.‭ ‬559-565‭)‬.. The second is the exploitation of the environment for tourism which means,‭ ‬not only creating protected areas and parks‭ ( ‬which in the‭ ‬27‭ ‬countries of the EU cover over‭ ‬80‭ ‬million hectares,‭ ‬that is‭ ‬18.5%‭ ‬of the total surface area‭)‬,‭ ‬but also saving‭ ‬stratified realities such as the countries,‭ ‬which vary not only in landscape,‭ ‬but also culture,‭ ‬traditions,‭ ‬wine and food and so on.‭ ‬And this holds true not only for places like Le Crete Senesi or Bourgogne with their fascinating atmosphere of cultural,‭ ‬art and gastronomic excellence,‭ ‬but also for those of little or no interest to tourists.‭ ‬Germany can offer an‭ ‬outstanding example of this in the environmental recovery and‭ ‬subsequent transformation into‭ ‬tourist attraction of an industrial area which was formerly one of the most important and highly polluted in Europe,‭ ‬the Ruhr basin.‭ ‬In a long-running project which was shared with others,‭ ‬and thanks to huge investments,‭ ‬6,000‭ ‬hectares of land from abandoned industries‭ ‬were cleaned up,‭ ‬reinstated and recuperated‭ ‬,‭ ‬giving an unparalleled archeological-industrial heritage,‭ ‬which in‭ ‬2010‭ ‬was named the European capital of culture,‭ ‬and was visited by‭ ‬17‭ ‬million tourists ‭ ‬Salvatore Gianella‭ “‬La cultura‭? ‬Nella Ruhr tedesca ha un cuore d’acciaio‭”‬,‭ ‬L’Europeo,‭ ‬11,‭ ‬2012,‭ ‬gives a brilliant reconstruction of the process which transformed one of the most industrialized and polluted zones in the world into‭ “‬an oasis of culture which generates money and well-being‭”‬.. 23