I so appreciate the tone of Mr. Dennis Taylor’s column of March
23: ah, sweet reason! Very sweetly and reasonably, Mr. Taylor
trivializes the conservative position on environmentalism as:
”
Get off Olin’s back,
”
and
”
What’s wrong with a little rocket fuel in our water anyway?
”
I so appreciate the tone of Mr. Dennis Taylor’s column of March 23: ah, sweet reason! Very sweetly and reasonably, Mr. Taylor trivializes the conservative position on environmentalism as: “Get off Olin’s back,” and “What’s wrong with a little rocket fuel in our water anyway?”
I will not claim to speak for all conservatives as regards environmentalism in general nor Olin in particular, however my personal opinion is based on the following points.
One: I like drinking pure, cool water (water!) though I often deliberately contaminate it with sugar, caffeine, or alcohol, all hazardous to one’s health in large doses.
Two: Our tap water is deliberately contaminated with chlorides and fluorides, both proven toxic in large doses. We add these to our water for the greater good: ie to prevent cholera and tooth decay. I would argue that having corporations that are willing to manufacture highway flares is also part of the greater good.
Three: Olin did not “spew” perchlorates into our groundwater deliberately, as Mr. Mulhern alleged in his column of March 12; the perchlorates were not deliberately “man-administered” as Mr. Taylor implies in his of March 23. The perchlorates leaked: an accident. Olin has been quite busy cleaning them up.
To date, Olin has supplied bottled water for residents using 929 San Martin wells at a cost of $745,000 per year. It has removed the worst of the contaminated soil from the site, laced it with calcium magnesium acetate and gypsum, which should promote the growth of anaerobic bacteria to eat the perchlorate.
Olin is in the process of installing an ion-exchange well-head treatment system on the worst well. The monitoring and clean up will be continuing for the foreseeable future. And Mr. Taylor responds with accusations: “the toxin that Olin Corp. saw fit to add to our drinking water.”
Mr. Taylor’s column of March 23rd was a tremendous improvement in tone. I also thank him for asking, “What would Jesus say about what we are doing to God’s creation?”
I usually am amused or annoyed when non-believers try to use Jesus as a stick to beat Christians with. But today is Good Friday, and I am especially grateful for an opportunity to write about my Savior. My editor’s mantra of “Local, Cynthia, local,” has intimidated me to the point that I have a hard time writing about events that occurred 10 time zones away and 2000 years ago. Thank you, Mr. Taylor, for the excuse.
To answer your question, Mr. Taylor, one rarely has to resort to one’s imagination to figure out what Jesus would do or say on any given topic. One merely has to consult the original sources on His life and works.
As regard’s God’s creation, the first chapters of Genesis clearly state that God created the heavens and the earth, and they were very good. He placed human beings into the Garden of Eden “to dress it and keep it.” Modern evangelicals call this concept “stewardship;” God requires us to take care of the earth for Him. Read Psalm 108 for a magnificent poem about the beauties of creation.
And what does Jesus, God’s Son, say? In Matthew chapter 10, He says that not even a sparrow falls to the ground without God seeing it. He immediately adds, “You are of more value than many sparrows.”
As far as trees go, in Matthew chapter 21 and Mark chapter 11, Jesus curses a fig tree because it has no figs on it. (It has no figs on it because it is not fig season.) The tree promptly withers and dies. Jesus uses this miracle as an object lesson for His disciples.
In sum: birds and trees are important. Human beings are more so. Human bodies are important; human souls are more so. Jesus is quite clear that He came here to save human souls. He suffered a shameful and excruciating death “to give His life a ransom for many.” He rose again, and will come again in glory to judge the quick and the dead.
The question, Mr. Taylor, is not “What would Jesus say?” It is, “What will Jesus say?”
Happy Easter.
