Talking recently with an acquaintance who, among other things, is a public relations consultant and environmentalist, the subject of Bush’s environmental policy (or lack thereof) based on his Christian beliefs came up.

I’ve heard this argument before; i.e., Bush disregards the destruction of the environment, perhaps even encourages it, because we are nearing the Biblical prophecy of the end of the world. But since I’ve caught only bits and snippets of this theory, I decided to do a little unscientific Internet search on the subject.

According to TheocracyWatch.org, “The Bush administration is waging a virtual war on the environment.” The president’s belief in the “end of times” allows him to take liberties with the environment and even help hasten the Biblical predictions he and the Religious Right adhere to.

Whether or not we are at the “end of days” or even believe in the Christian construct, the troubling issue is that the president bases his environmental policy for the country on his religion.

There are many leaders who believe that they are divine instruments of God, but the most infamous ones are dead (Jim Jones or David Koresh, anyone?).

Does Bush fancy himself a tool through which divine decree is done? Does he believe that destroying the earth’s natural resources will hasten Armageddon, thus ensuring him his rightful place in heaven as a holy steward?

It’s a thought.

Obviously, we know that no person, president or not, is unbiased in his or her decision-making. But when you’re deciding for millions of people, many of whom don’t share your same religious beliefs, how do you justify decisions that place them directly in harm’s way due to the effects of those decisions?

Do you dismiss the damage of global warming, pollution, and reliance on nonrenewable energy sources? Are you unconcerned about the extinction of wildlife, the destruction of rainforests, and the obliteration of precious natural terrain? Or are these the sacrifices one must make to ensure God’s will will be done?

Having been familiar with the Bible in younger years, I’m not quite sure why Bush and Co. have interpreted scripture to mean that we are not responsible for our environment. What I’m reminded of, though, is a passage in Genesis, the first book of the Bible, describing the days of Earth’s creation (Genesis 1:20-21):

20. And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky.”

21. So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

Desiree Aquino