Editors Note: The following story is being published in honor of Earth Day, April 20, 1994.
by Kevin M. Watson
My wife handed me and our eleven year-old daughter, Becky, a glass of lemonade as she joined us on the front porch swing. We had all spent the day working in our yard planting flowers and pruning shrubs in an attempt to not only beautify our property, but to also raise its value. It was a day many people referred to as Earth Day. I laughingly referred to it as Real Estate Day, a moniker that seemed more appropriate.
With our work done and the sun down, the three of us sat together enjoying the starry night and the cool April breeze. I was looking forward to a quiet evening, but all that changed when Becky asked, ``Why is tonight so beautiful?''
``What do you mean?'' I said, not quite understanding her question.
``Well,'' she said, ``in school we studied global warming, but the weatherman on the news said that the temperatures last summer and winter were below normal? How can that be if global warming is true?''
Before I could answer, a voice in the distance cried out, ``I don't care! It doesn't matter!'' The voice seemed to echo throughout the neighborhood, but it was actually hundreds of voices repeating, ``I don't care! It doesn't matter!''
``What is that?'' asked Becky.
``That,'' I said, ``is the Call of the Environmentalists.''
``Listen,'' said my wife. She cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled, ``If the hole in the ozone is caused by man-made pollutants, then why was it absent in 1988?''
``I don't care! It doesn't matter!'' came the response again.
Becky laughed.
``Now it's my turn,'' I said. ``If CFC's are heavier than air, how do they reach the ozone-layer to destroy it?''
``I don't care! It doesn't matter!''
``Why do they keep saying that?'' asked Becky.
``That's all they can say,'' I said, ``when you offer them some evidence that contradicts their beliefs or if you ask them for scientific proof to back up their claims.''
``Here's a good one,'' said my wife. ``How can Alar be a threat to humans if it can only cause cancer by eating 28,000 pounds of Alar-coated apples a day for 70 years?''
``I don't care! I doesn't matter!'' echoed the voices again.
``Why was DDT banned,'' I asked, ``when it was scientifically proven that it had no ill effects on humans or wildlife, only insects, most importantly, the malaria-carrying mosquito?''
``I don't care! It doesn't matter!''
``Don't they see it doesn't make any sense?'' asked Becky.
``They refuse to see,'' I said.
``Don't they care about the facts?'' she said.
``They only care about preserving the natural environment,'' I said, ``without regard to what kind of environment is necessary for human life.''
``In other words,'' said my wife, ``they believe that it's better to leave a tree standing in a forest than to turn it into a house or a coffee table. They believe that a mosquito-infested swamp is more valuable than an 18-hole golf course or a shopping mall.''
``They see man-made structures,'' I said, ``like factories, shopping malls, office buildings, supermarkets, billboards and even hospitals as destroyers of natural beauty, instead of seeing them as vital to our survival. They refuse to accept the fact that humans are different than animals that we have to change the environment to suit our needs, otherwise, we are forced to live like animals with our existence threatened by severe weather or any number of natural disasters or diseases.''
``It almost sounds like they don't like people,'' said Becky.
``Do you think so?'' I asked. ``Let's see.'' Cupping my hands to my mouth, I yelled, ``DDT virtually eradicated malaria by the early 1960's. Since DDT was banned, millions of people have died of malaria.''
The call of the environmentalists echoed again throughout the neighborhood, ``I don't care! care! care! It doesn't matter! matter! matter! matter!''
Copyright 1993 K. M. Watson, all rights reserved.