Conservation is Conservative Value

by Anthony Cobb, a REP member and member of the Board of Directors of our "sister" ConservAmerica
published in the Baltimore Sun, May 28, 2008

State Sen. Minority Leader David R. Brinkley is quoted in The Sun as saying that imposing more restrictions on development and greenhouse gases to save Maryland’s Eastern Shore would be a bad thing.

“I think it would be harmful for the economy. But they don’t care about that,” the senator said. “They don’t care about people’s lives or livelihoods. They are on this almost religious fervor, this left environmental movement. They claim it’s based on science, and I think most of it is based on faith and fear” (“Outlook bleak for state shoreline,” May 23).

That sentiment is not an expression of genuine conservatism. Indeed, for many conservatives, conservation is a religious priority based on faith and good stewardship.

Reason demands that we find a balance between libertarian and communitarian interests—one in which avoiding the destruction of our irreplaceable resources takes precedence.