Two views of the earth are at war: the traditional conservationists vs. the New ``Environmentalists,'' or preservationists. Conservationists strive to manage and use the world's resources wisely, for the benefit of humanity-ourselves and our posterity. Preservationists demand that we leave the Planet to Nature. To tame, cultivate, or mine the Wilderness is the equivalent of sacrilege.

Preservationists would bury a talent in the ground. Conservationists would invest it at interest.

The two views are contrasted in commentaries on the Jewish holiday of Tu B'Shevat (the 15th day of the month of Shevat, or Feb. 6, 1993):

``On Tu Bishvat..., we celebrate the environment and participate in repairing an ecology damaged through human wastefulness and selfishness. When we plant trees to help renew life, we once again acknowledge our accountability for the earth's welfare.

``I have never been able to understand how anyone could justify air and water pollution and irresponsible toxic waste disposal in the name of securing the economy and insuring [sic.] employment. The dichotomy between environmental issues and the economy is not only false but does not make any sense. If we are unable to drink the water or breathe the air, are surrounded by cancer-causing toxins [sic.], then surely our incomes will be devoted to repair our health; eventually, death will make the economic issues not only trivial but irrelevant as well. As the book of Devarim teaches, the choice between life and death is in our hands: we are commanded to choose life....''

Rabbi Gordon M. Freeman, Ph.D., Walnut Creek, CA

``I applaud the part of your editorial in our synagogue newsletter in which you remind us to celebrate the beauty of our environment, and I join in your hope that we will observe the Tu B'Shevat holiday by planting trees, to help renew life. I am thankful to the U.S. timber industry for planting more trees than are cut down, so that there are now more trees, and more biomass in the forests, than at any time since we have been born....

``I am worried, however, about the implications of your statement that you cannot ``understand how anyone could justify air and water pollution'' in the name of ``securing the economy and [e]nsuring employment.'' You must realize that every human activity generates some form of ``pollution'' as a byproduct. The very act of human life (which we are commanded to choose over death) converts oxygen into CO₂ and food into feces. We cannot support the lives of 5 billion people on earth without industry and advanced agriculture. The very act of plowing the soil releases radon gas into the atmosphere because G-d...made the earth to include multiple radioactive elements.

``You must realize that the extremists in the Green movement, in the name of zero pollution, would be happy to return human existence to that of subsistence agriculture, which would result in the death by starvation of at least 4 billion of our neighbors and their children. I sometimes wonder if the real goal of Paul Ehrlich's ``Zero Population Growth'' movement is actually zero (human) population.

``Because of the continuing cancer scares in the media (e.g. Alar, asbestos, cellular phones, etc.), you probably do not realize that the actual contribution of pollution to cancer deaths is miniscule (perhaps 1-2%), especially when compared with cigarette smoking (approximately 35%)....

``You may also believe that the EPA is justified in promulgating multiple regulations to reduce pollution, because you cannot know (nobody knows with accuracy) the indirect cost of these regulations. They represent an enormous regressive hidden tax...One estimate is several thousand dollars per year, which could have been used for education, medical care, or charity for the less fortunate. The hidden effects also include loss of jobs, because American industries under expensive or prohibitive regulations cannot compete with foreign companies which are not as tightly controlled.

``One of the tenets of Judaism is that each adult is morally responsible for his/her actions. I agree with your message that ``irresponsible toxic waste disposal'' is not justifiable. Let us also agree that irresponsible support for environmental regulation which can be toxic to our economy is also unjustifiable.

Howard Maccabee, Ph.D., MD

Radiation and Oncology Specialist

President, Doctors for Disaster Preparedness

Evergreen, ``The Truth About America's Forests''