Wasn't the imminence of Armageddon and the belief that they were the last generation on Earth part of the rationale for Reagan's abolition of environmental regulations?
"We don't have to protect the environment, the Second Coming is at hand." "My responsibility is to follow the Scriptures which call upon us to occupy the land until Jesus returns." - James Watt (Interior Sec. under Reagan)... according to a zillion websites. I have yet to find an attribution of time and place, however; this could be as real as that popular quote in which Julius Caesar comes on like Goering at Nuremberg ("Beware the leader who bangs the drums of war...").
Or the Hanoi Jane thing.
James Watt also allegedly brushed aside concerns about Ozone depletion - "People can just wear sunscreen" - he seemed to have forgotten about the animals we rely on for food and ecology; what are we supposed to do, coat our cows in zinc? More info on the "wise use" movement here: http://www.spiritone.com/~orsierra/rogue/classics/wiseuse.htm
How about genetically modified cows whose skin cells synthesise SPF-1000 sunscreen?
The weird thing is that the ozone layer has actually generated. I guess phasing out CFCs was a good idea after all.
Yeah the Ozone layer is regenerating faster than people expected - lots of catalyst activity going on up in the ionosphere or something.
Quick, Ronald, bring back them ozone-depletin' Bic Mac packets!
People have been suggesting that this has been the driving force behind US foreign policy for about 20 years, starting with Reagan. Jello Biafra has a bit to say about it on one of his spoken word CDs - apparently the links between the top guys and hardcore fundamentalist dispensationalists are many and deep. It's not all good news for the Jews, though; the prophecy is that they'll have to be mass-converted to Christianity after Babylon has been conquered.