“A nation that destroys its ….”
Franklin D. Roosevelt thrashed his brains to create a powerful quotation. It was then he fell heels over head into a rabbit hole. Like a demented Alice, he fell deeper into a troubling horror show. He saw ugly carnage of an abominable future. Pollution, litter, filthy smoke, chemical sludge!
The sea was a disgusting infinite vortex of garbage. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch churned his stomach. Plastic and floating rubbish choked wildlife. Thousands of tons of plastic waste!
The President fell into choking fumes and chemicals. People wearing industrial masks were trying to breathe but their unearthly green skin only wept dirty tears. Black smoke and filth obscured sickly sun rays.
Roosevelt landed with a nauseating thud in rubbish. Trying to stand up, he sank deeper. To his dismay, he realised that litter covered Earth. Its whole surface! The soil was poisoned and nothing grew!
Bang!
The President landed back in his Oval Office. He finished the quote with dramatic realism.
“A nation that destroys its soil destroys itself. Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people.”
Yet, this was not enough for the President. He had to protect the environmental balance of the future. History, culture and nature must be protected.
He realised that, “There is nothing so American as our National Parks.”
Yes, as the President, he must create more National Parks. To protect them, the oceans, air, land and water he must establish everlasting laws to serve nature. “Conserve and protect,” would be his battle cry. On his own land he had planted numerous trees, but he must plant more over the whole of the USA. He must fight the wretched “timber famine” he witnessed.
He would redouble his efforts in the Civilian Conservation Corps. These men loved their purpose of improving public lands, parks and forests. They would fight enthusiastically for a better, cleaner future and involve all Americans in conservation.
At all costs, Roosevelt would protect natural resources, champion conservation, preserve wildlife as the President of Environmental Balance.