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The Nurture
Nature Foundation, which I founded, seeks to create public awareness
of the importance of nurturing nature to the health and well-being
of all of us. Wake up America, we say. It is later than you
think.
Yes, the world has been horrified by the flagrant mismanagement
of the relief effort in New Orleans. Investigations will shortly
be under way to place blame. Excuses are now being forged. But
what we must also bear in mind is that it was the persistent
mismanagement of the environment of the busiest coastal region
in the United States that led to the breaking of the levees
that produced the most devastating environmental disaster this
country has ever seen.
Ironically, the warning that the New Orleans coastal region
was in jeopardy was repeated in loud and clear terms by scientists,
knowledgeable environmental experts and news publications alike.
They not only saw the disaster coming; they spelled out in precise
recommendations what had to be done to prevent it. Their recommendations
not only included proper care and protection of the levees,
but also careful assessment, management and care of the vanishing
salt marshes and disappearing small islands of the watershed
that protected the levees of the coastal region of New Orleans.
And their reports of the threat and their recommendations were
sent in particular to federal officials, who ignored them.
With the same hubris and indifference that has led the United
States alone of the major industrialized countries of the world
to refuse to sign the Kyoto Protocol on global warming, they
drastically cut federal grants and unceremoniously disregarded
the urgent appeals of scientists and environmentalists.
Sadly, there was no significant public outcry. Indeed, our deteriorating
environment was hardly mentioned during last year’s presidential
election. Not surprisingly, there was no significant public
concern about the abuse of the salt marshes and small islands
on which the coastal region of New Orleans depended.
The plain fact of the matter is that the public is insufficiently
informed and, inconsequence, inadequately concerned about the
importance of nurturing nature for their own health and well-being.
True, there are many dedicated environmental organizations skillfully
underscoring the importance of nurturing nature and attacking
indiscriminate developers. But the media pays little attention
to such disagreements. Actually, the clash between environmentalists
and developers is among the most serious conflicts the world
faces. But it is most imperative that we both nurture nature
and simultaneously encourage economic development. As the former
president of Cornell University, Jeffrey Lehman, observed, the
ultimate challenge is the achievement of sustainability in this
age of development.
Theodore W. Kheel, President,
Nurture New York's Nature
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