Even now that the actual exhaustion of some of them is forcing itself upon us in higher prices and the greater cost of living, we are still asserting, if not always in words, yet in the far stronger language of action, that nevertheless and in spite of it all, they still are inexhaustible.
It is this national attitude of exclusive attention to the present, this absence of foresight from among the springs of national action, which is directly responsible for the present condition of our natural resources.
It was precisely the same attitude which brought Palestine, once rich and populous, to its present desert condition, and which destroyed the fertility and habitability of vast areas in northern Africa and elsewhere in so many of the older regions of the world.
The conservation of our natural resources is a question of primary importance on the economic side.

It pays better to conserve our natural resources than to destroy them, and this is especially true when the national interest is considered.

But the business reason, weighty and worthy though it be, is not the fundamental reason.

In such matters, business is a poor master but a good servant.

The law of self-preservation is higher than the law of business, and the duty of preserving the Nation is still higher than either.
The American Revolution had its origin in part in economic causes, and it produced economic results of tremendous reach and weight.