Submitted to the AEU 63rd Assembly

Whereas, it has become increasingly evident that one of the consequences of unchecked industrial development has been the progressive deterioration of the environment; and

Whereas, this deterioration endangers not only the quality but the very existence of human life; and

Whereas, materials which are now being dumped as pollutants into the air and water and onto the land are in fact valuable natural resources which are being wasted; and

Whereas, despite these facts and their knowledge, industrial enterprises and cities and towns continue to pollute, and the former continue to promote expansion of the demand for their products which will inevitably increase the rate of pollution; and

Whereas, they will continue to do so as long as the legal and tax structure makes it permissible and profitable;

Therefore Be It Resolved, that the American Ethical Union endorses legislation to prohibit pollution, to require that cost of waste removal and purification be borne by those who produce the waste, and to allocate sufficient resources to solve the problem of preventing degradation of the environment.