Protecting the environment is not just a political cause. It's a religious one as well.
This commitment to the environmental is recognized by Mormons,
Catholics, Protestants,
Jews, Indian tribes and even the eastern world's holiest, the
Dalai Lama.
"The environment is a moral issue," says Brigham
Young University professor JoAnn Myer
Valenti, a scholar of natural resources and mass communications.
"And that is what needs to
be communicated."
BYU ethnobotonist Paul Cox adds, "Conservation is ultimately a spiritual issue."
Elsewhere, several Protestant churches have taken up the duty
to defend the environment.
They have sponsored national forums and published position papers
on environmental
issues
Last year Roman Catholic bishops from Idaho, Montana, Oregon
and Washington issued an
"International Pastoral Letter" underscoring the spiritual
importance of preserving the
special environmental values of the entire Columbia Basin watershed.
The report was the
culmination of a penetrating study of the basin. Rangeland and
forest health, water quality,
special riparian and wildlife needs are all targeted in the bishops'
letter. Responsibility for
environmental stewardship was stressed throughout the report.
BYU's Valenti's findings on environmental attitudes deserve
attention in Idaho. They
include:
n Most Americans are pro-environment, as are most Idahoans, in survey after survey.
n Evidence shows broad support for the environment among upper,
middle and lower
socio-economic classes.
n People in cities and the country care equally about the environment
- but they split over
"who directs regulation and policy can likely lead to conflict."
Anti-federal government
attitudes in rural Idaho are more prominently expressed.
n Evidence suggests Democrats and liberals are more environmentally
conscientious and that
newspaper reporting on the environment is more trusted than that
from television.
n Science and religion differ on issues like genetic engineering
- but both groups agree on
"preserving this world that we share."
It's a good message. Unfortunately, it's not being communicated
in Idaho and much of the
West, where environmental stewardship is constantly at odds with
government policies that
care more about protecting industries.
For instance, the state has not done enough to protect Idaho's
groundwater, and it may be
too late to reverse some of the pollution.
The message certainly has not been communicated in Washington
D.C. where federal
environmental protection laws are now under siege.
Despite the Catholic bishops' views, an unprecedented federal
interagency study of the
entire Columbia Basin - one of the most penetrating and comprehensive
watershed studies
ever performed on a Western watershed - is on a shelf, gathering
dust.
The goals of protecting endangered species and ensuring wildlife
diversity place second to
enhancing special interests. For instance, recovering Idaho's
endangered salmon has been
stalled by bureaucratic machinations.
The politics of the day - religious leaders have learned -
too often miss the connection
between the message of the creation and responsible caretaking.
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