No doubt, many regular patrons of this blog tune out when they see the words politics or religion in the title of the post. After all, this is Nature's Blog and they expect a discussion on wildlife, natural ecosystems, natural history, geology and similar topics.
While I often wish I could ignore politics and religion myself, I know that politicians and religious leaders have a profound (and often negative) impact on conservation and thus on the welfare of our planet. Cutting funds for scientific research, open space protection, pollution control and efforts to combat climate change are among the political attacks on natural ecosystems. For their part, religious leaders place emphasis on the supremacy of humans, created in the image of God, not on the vital concept that we are part of nature, interdependent with all forms of life.
Of course, the right politicians can play a positive role in protecting our planet and the ballet box is our primary tool for securing that assistance. Any positive impact of mysticism, on the other hand, is not foreseeable.
