While I respect his right to an opinion, I have to disagree with the humanistic stance Professor Steve Lovejoy takes towards the idea of resource conservation (1/30/02). I find it unfortunate that the United States is so reluctant to take even small step towards conservation and environmental sustainability. We are willing to allocate billions of dollars towards combating terrorism when environmental problems are given a backseat. The ultimate fates of many toxins we release into the environment are relatively unknown as are the effects they have on all of us on a daily basis. That is not a myth. Toxicology books abound with information about synergistic chemical interactions in which two relatively harmless chemicals can become quite toxic when mixed together. The mining processes used in extracting resources such as aluminum, copper and steel cause environmental problems such as sediment pollution, deforestation and mine drainage. The extraction of these ores and minerals releases toxins such as cyanide, mercury and sulfur dioxide into our environment. Technological improvements have minimized many of these problems but they still exist and do pose a problem. Maintaining a modern society exposes everyone to poisons on a daily basis and we must minimize this.

To me, it is preposterous that the benefits of recycling should be questioned. Its benefits far outweigh its drawbacks. Not only does it reduce the release of pollutants, it also saves energy. A reduction in resource consumption would serve everybody well. As far as economics go, I am not an economist but if we can spend $300 billion upgrading our military, I think we can afford to upgrade, or at least maintain, our recycling program. Unfortunately, President "W" and Dick Cheney would rather take their pecuniary benefits from Enron than consider promoting conservation-minded policy.