Now familiar to all is the cry that present rates of pollution, ecological disruption, and depletion of resources are leading inevitably to worldwide disaster. A multitude of immediate needs, however, compete for the staggering sums required to save the environment, and the reduction of consumption which must accompany such expenditures holds little popular appeal. The decisions, therefore, must ultimately be political ones -- but what choices are governments to make?

Here is the essence of what Professors Harold and Margaret Sprout term "the statesmen's dilemma." These noted...