James Watt has been attributed with saying that there is no reason to pursue a far-sighted policy of resource conservation because the end of the world is so near at hand that long range planning is a waste of time. The problems with that statement are that, one, he may be right, and two, such a view has pervaded our society for a longer period than just the current Washington administration. One of the first things I learned in elementary economics was that no one plans longer than five years into the future. No one, that is, except foresters.