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ECOCIDE example of how the vision of nature has started to change in the second half of the last century: “We travel together, passengers on a little spaceship, dependent on its vulnerable reserves of air and soil, all committed for our safety to its security and peace, preserved from annihilation only by the care, the work, and, I will say, the love we give our fragile craft. We cannot maintain it half fortunate, half miserable, half confident, half despairing, half slave—to the ancient enemies of man—half free in a liberation of resources undreamed of until this day. No craft, no crew can travel safely with such vast contradictions. On their resolution depends the survival of us all.” For a long time, the ‘frontier or cowboy ethic’ had dominated environmentalism, ascribing to man dominance and superiority over nature.'° Given the finite nature of natural resources, a variety of environmental ethics have emerged, including the so-called “/ifeboa?” theory, which argues that the survival of the Earth and its ecosystems is at risk and advocates that the well-being of nature as a whole takes precedence over the interests of individual humans. In contrast to the lifeboat ethic, the “spaceship ethic” has emerged, where the well-being of nature and the well-being of humanity are closely intertwined, and neither can take precedence over the other. Stevenson’s speech referred to this theory. This latter position implies acceptance of the Earth’s ultimate carrying capacity, the renewal and recycling of resources, and the avoidance of pollution, all aspects which are now embodied in the principle of sustainability." The increasing levels of air pollution, which, although mainly a problem in cities with advanced industry, have had the typical effect of a technological explosion and have led to a new sectoral area of environmental regulation. A striking example of air pollution was the smog in London in 1952, which resulted in the deaths of thousands of people. London’s air quality had been steadily deteriorating since the 13th century due to coal burning, which enveloped the city in a thick cloud of smoke. However, the situation worsened from the late 1700s onwards, precisely due to the effects of the Industrial Revolution. The general picture of London is ° Caldwell, Lynton K.: The Corning Polity of Spaceship Earth. In: Roelofs, R. T. Crowley J. N.— Hardesty, L. (Eds.): Environment and Society. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, Prentice-Hall, 1974, p. 250. 10 Shrader-Frechette (1991): pp. 311-321. "Hardin, Garret: Lifeboat Ethics: the Case Against Helping the Poor. Psychology Today, September 1974. 18
