Hurricane Andrew

The tragedy of Hurricane Andrew, which has dominated last week’s news, should teach us a grim truth. No matter how much we love the Earth, the Earth does not love us back.

For decades, we have been taught that we must protect the environment. Environmentalism is the only religion that can be taught in our public schools. And in return, the Earth attacks us with vicious storms like Andrew, destructive earthquakes and natural disasters of every kind. And there is nothing new about Earth’s campaign to rid itself of its human inhabitants. After all, thousands of innocent life forms have become extinct on this planet long before humans appeared with our chemicals, cars and clutter.

Andrew is just the first of many storms. California will continue to have earthquakes. Thunder and lightning, blizzards and plague will keep menacing our survival. The Earth is not a mother we should love, or a goddess we should worship. It is an enemy with whom we are at war.

THOMAS A. SCHENACH, Huntington Beach