President’s Column October, 2004
The Current is abbreviated this month so that we can devote time to a
big, pre-election issue for November. We've polled our pols about green
issues in Minnesota and we'll print their answers in the next Current.
So look for it.
National Audubon used to have as a slogan "Towards a Culture of
Conservation." It's a good motto because if the culture is
conservation-minded, then many things drop by the wayside. Such a
society doesn't, for example, need "special interest" groups to lobby
for clean water or air. They'd be widely accepted as foregone
conclusions.
What would a culture of conservation look like?
A culture of conservation would plan for the future with several
generations in mind. It would measure an environmental concern not by
whether it would appeal to voters in the next election, but rather,
whether it would contribute to the health of the ecosystem.
Material goods in a culture of conservation would be built to last.No
spot on earth would be valued so little that it could be converted to a
landfill or a hazardous waste dump-much less a nuclear waste
repository-so we would reduce our consumption of goods, and recycle the
components when we were through using them.
We would not sacrifice monarch butterflies so that a multinational
corporation could produce genetically-modified corn.
We would rejoice in the variety and abundance of the creatures of the
earth and would be their protectors against any who would destroy them.
You, dear Audubon Reader, could add to this list. We all know that
America has a long way to go to become a culture of conservation. But
America is, still, a free society and we, the people, can make it
happen. We can begin small, today, by making one small change (I'm
going to be more conscientious about turning off electric lights.) and
then we can make another small change next week... and the week after...
Do we really have a choice in the matter?
Towards a culture of conservation-
Sue
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Wild
River Audubon Society