Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is necessary today when it was not in the past:

• modern society's have a faster, more widespread and larger impact on the natural environment.
• the individualism of modern societies requires legal controls to replace traditional community control
• political priorities and environmental awareness has changed

The changes brought about by previous civilisations were sometimes large but occurred very slowly so there was time to assess them. Also the environmental impacts of their actions tended to be localised and limited in impact. Today it is possible to pollute whole oceans and even the earth's atmosphere with materials that will persist long into the future.

A second change is the change in how societies are organised. Ancient civilisations exerted more social control over the community than modern societies. You may of course disagree with this. Thomas implies that EIA is a mechanism of social control in that it controls development by individuals or groups of individuals.

Another change is the changing political priorities that have come with affluence and the growing public awareness of and dissatisfaction with environmental degradation. If you are particularly cynical you might argue that EIA is necessary today because a vocal section of the community demand it.

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An Engineering Point of View