The U.S. House of Representatives should be commended for doing their part to celebrate the thirty-fifth anniversary of Earth Day this week. Like their colleagues in the Senate, Republican representatives are finally doing something to reverse Theodore Roosevelt's pitiful legacy from the early years of the twentieth century by moving closer to opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for responsible energy exploration.
Because of Roosevelt's so-called \foresight,"" more than 504 million acres of American soil are now protected by the federal government-504 million acres too many. That's nearly one-fifth the total national landmass! These national parks and forests are nothing but hindrances to industrial and commercial interests-stifling job creation and economic growth. Not to mention that our inability to harvest the many resources of these lands forces us to do things like recycle and conserve.
How can we be expected to progress into the new century without access to these lands? Consider all of our purple mountain majesties bursting with valuable minerals. For the sake of national security and energy independence, we must strip-mine any peak still capped.
Think about the abundance of fish and wildlife that should be on our dinner plates instead of flouncing around like animated-movie characters. Perhaps some of the 1,264 endangered and threatened animal species in America are quite succulent. Only time will tell. Remember the dodo bird? Yum.
Have you even thought about the forests? All of the trees could fulfill our paper consumption as well as build houses and office buildings. In fact, our national forests can supply the timber needed to build everyone a new garage to accommodate a fleet of gargantuan SUVs - sensible, family vehicles that will soon operate on ANWR oil.
Without our national lands Americans would finally be free to do as they please - true liberty. Yes, what a wonderful world it would be.
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Earlier this week, the Wisconsin Historical Society released more than 100 pages of personal letters environmental advocate John Muir wrote to childhood friends between 1861 and 1914. Among them, Muir writes of his time at the University of Wisconsin that transformed him into a lover of all things natural.
It was Muir's passion that founded our national park and forest systems-assets now under attack. Without responsible action, the above cynicism could some day be actuality.
Take a moment this Earth Day to reflect on the space around you. Share your favorite natural wonder with your friends or roommates. As Muir wrote to a college friend late in his career, ""that wonderful botanical lesson you gave me on the steps of our dormitory ... has never been forgotten and ... has influenced all my after life.""
opinion@dailycardinal.com.
