Wirth Warns of Future Crises

A growing world population and dwindling environmental resources will provide the most urgent international challenge of the next century, State Department Counselor Timothy E. Wirth '61 said last night in a speech in Science Center B.

But in a question-and-answer session afterward, one audience member confronted the speaker on the issue of "genocide" in Bosnia.

Before an audience of 300, the ex-U.S. Senator, now a State Department Counselor for Global Issues, stressed the importance of reproductive and human rights for women as a solution for the population boom.

The growing number of people on the globe is a problem as urgent as the Cold War once was, Wirth said. The population spiral will increase the gap between the rich and poor and drain the earth's resources, he said.

Estimating a population spurt from "today's 5.5 billion to almost 15 billion by the end of the next century," the ex-Senator focused on the need for sustainable development in the face of expanding population.

Wirth said that "perhaps the most profound" threat to "the individual and collective well-being of nations" is global environmental decline.

"The loss of land and soils stretches our ability to provide food in support of even today's population," he said. "The decimation of forests and species around the world is not only a loss of our inherited genetic promise, but also a dereliction of our duty as stewards."

People are the most important resource to preserve in sustainable development, Wirth said.

"Protection of human rights and government by the people" are essential in the nations of the future, he said.

The most troubling aspect of an ongoing global assault on human rights is when these rights are denied women, "who can be, should be and must be a powerful force for sustainable development and change," he said.

Wirth called for more effective reproductive and other health services around the world, particularly reproductive education for women.

"[We need to] significantly expand our commitment to female education, child survival and safe motherhood," he said.

During the question and answer session after the speech, however, the topic shifted to the Clinton administration's policy on Bosnia.

One audience member asked if concern with the environment would not be overshadowed by a lack of action regarding "genocide" in the Eastern European conflict.

"The perception is that you're not doing anything," the audience member said.

In response, Wirth said it is unwise to jump into policy initiatives "which might look good on the surface" but have longer-lasting negative consequences.

"I don't find in the United States broad support for sending ground troops into Bosnia," he said.

The Clinton team came into the White House too late to rectify the situation in Bosnia, Wirth said.

"It may be that activities should have been taken earlier on," he said.