Conservation the American Way

Conservation the American Way

In honoring America’s 250th birthday, environmentalists often point to the creation of national parks during the late 19th century or to the inaugural Earth Day in 1970. No doubt those are important milestones. But a focus on them overlooks enduring forces less visible, yet fundamental, to environmental progress: the constitutional framework the Founders left behind. The Founding Fathers did not envision environmental problems that came centurie…