Taking Back Earth Day

It’s time to take back Earth Day.

Yesterday was Earth Day, and you probably saw a lot of posts about the importance of preserving our environment. We should absolutely take precautions to ensure the quality of the environment. We must also stress the importance of developing our natural resources through responsible farming, logging, and mining.

Every material thing in our lives comes from the ground. It must either be grown or mined, and there are no exceptions. Many people fail to realize that the choice between developing our natural resources or protecting the environment is now a false one.

The picture below shows that Americans will use 3.188 million pounds of minerals, metals, and fuels during their lifetime. This is true whether people believe we should mine in Minnesota, or not.

The truth of the matter is our need for natural resources is not going to go away. We can develop them in our own backyards, where environmental and labor protections are strong, or import them from other countries where these standards are not as stringent.

That’s why people who favor conservation and responsible resource development must take back Earth Day.