Radioactive Waste Disposal at Sea: Public Ideas ... - IMO

208 Notes to pp. 67–74
27. See P. Haas 1990a, p. 74. For several examples of rivalry and competition
among international organizations involved in issues of marine pollution, see Boxer
1982. On how the IMCO (then the IMO) made use of the Torrey Canyon oil spill
to invigorate itself, see M’Gonigle and Zacher 1979, p. 42.
28. See also other contributions in this special issue of International Organization
on the UN and the environment (volume 26, spring 1972).
29. Christian A. Herter Jr., “Statement,” in U.S. Senate, Committee on Commerce,
and House of Representatives, Committee on Science and Astronautics,
International Environmental Science: May 25 and 26, 1971 (92nd Congress, 1st
session), p. 27.
30. For example, in a 1974 internal memo (quoted in Haas 1990a, p. 256), a highlevel
UNEP official wrote: “I continue to support FAO’s tactic of stressing the effect
on fisheries as a way to stimulate action on pollution in the Mediterranean, but suspect
that the tourist angle is also one which should be played, particularly in relation
to oil on beaches, but also in relation to sewerage.”
31. On the preparations for the conference, see Farvar and Milton 1972, pp.
974–975.
32. See Caldwell 1970, pp. 198–204; Caldwell 1984, pp. 39–40.
33. Pryor was quoting from what he called Paul Ehrlich’s “persuasive fable on the
future of the ocean titled Eco-Catastrophe.”
34. PCBs are chlorinated organic substances that are very toxic and do not degrade
easily. They accumulate in organisms and move up the food chain. Among their
effects are reduced reproductive ability and reduced resistance to infection.
35. “Interdependency Resolution: A Committee Resolution Prepared by James
Pepper and Cynthia Wayburn,” in Johnson 1970, p. 337. See also Flateboe 1970,
pp. 179–182. Barry Commoner also recommended that action should be taken
through the United Nations in his background paper “The Ecological Facts of Life,”
which was reprinted in an anthology of papers presented at the conference. (For an
earlier version of the latter paper, see Commoner 1970.)
36. In 1966 the Subcommittee on Marine Science and Its Application (formed by
the Administrative Committee on Co-ordination of the United Nations) and IMCO
surveyed all UN member countries on ocean pollution. Out of the 66 replies, 19
governments declared that pollution of the seas was no problem; of the 47 stating
positively that pollution was a problem, 36 indicated that harm to living resources
was a major concern, 20 identified threats to human health as a concern, 12 referred
to hindrance of marine activities, and 19 to reduction of amenities. See Pravdic
1981, pp. 3–4.
Chapter 5
1. Committee on International Environmental Affairs, Task Force III, US Priority
Interests in the Environmental Activities of International Organizations (1970), p. 23.
2. See note 8 below.