By Jacqueline R. Kasun This year's celebration of the thirtieth anniversary of Earth Day has every reason to be triumphal. Environmentalism has captured the hearts and minds of the public, the information networks, and the political establishment. And understandably so.
Human beings love nature.
Only a monster could want a polluted world without trees or animals. The earliest cave paintings showed beautiful animals. The texts require kindness to animals and prescribe days and seasons of rest for men and beasts. At the same time, they strictly forbid the worship of nature and the human sacrifice that often accompanied it. Beyond this and extending far beyond Earth Day itself, President Clinton's Council on Sustainable Development, the United Nations' Environment Programme, the World Bank, the U.N. Millennium Assembly, the National Religious Partnership for the Environment, the Sierra Club, Planned Parenthood, the Audubon Society, and a host of other organizations will continue their efforts to save the planet.