The re-election of President Obama is a victory for nature, a sign that many Americans care about our natural environment and reject the claims of the Conservative Right that industrial regulations, open space protection, mass transit initiatives and a shift toward clean, renewable energy will stifle the growth of our economy. The President's re-election also helps to insure that our country will not ignore the negative effects of pollution, habitat destruction and global warming on natural ecosystems and will foster the conviction that the welfare of human civilization is directly tied to the health of our natural environment.
The pro-business agenda of the Conservative Right, which is focused more on profits than on the environmental effects of industry has long overlooked the threats imposed by air pollution, urban sprawl, over-fishing, groundwater contamination, agricultural runoff and fossil fuel recovery in fragile ecosystems. Granted another four-year reprieve from their destructive political views, we will hopefully renew efforts to establish long-term, conservation policies that protect our natural environment and mitigate the negative effects of human activity. Though Conservative Republicans have predicted dire consequences if we proceed down the road of more environmental regulations, the American public has expressed their support for these measures and, in the end, both nature and human society will benefit.
A less obvious but no less important message of Obama's re-election is the repudiation of religious-based restrictions on our funding of birth control. The availability of these products is essential to the prevention of unwanted pregnancies and to the reduction of human pressure on our limited natural resources. Failure to address unbridled population growth, especially in developing countries, will negate any progress that we might achieve on the conservation front.
