What's the biggest environmental issue facing us today? That's a pretty tough question to answer, when science seems to point towards a hundred different calamities that we're racing towards, and showing no sign of slowing or changing directions.

That said, I strongly believe that the overarching issue that is driving all of these environmental problems is environmental apathy. Our modern lifestyle is so frequently completely separate from the wild that many 21st century youths, even in affluent, relatively environmentally protected nations like the United States, aren't growing up with a strong affinity for nature. It's no coincidence that environmental activism and outdoors appreciation go hand in hand: People who genuinely appreciate and love our remaining wild places are more likely to be interested in preserving them.

People can only be expected to act, especially when action involves considerable sacrifice, when it is in some way in their best interest. For the outdoor enthusiast, protecting America's forests becomes not just a morally proper thing to do, or even just long-term wisdom for humanity as a race: it becomes a self-interested action aimed to preserve his or her preferred playground.

Modern environmentalists are trying, unsuccessfully, to make people care about catastrophes hundreds of years down the line. It is unreasonable to assume you can convince the plurality of mankind to make the sacrifices needed to achieve sustainability just to avoid some faraway disaster or protect some resource that appears only tangentially relevant to our species. However, if we are able to bring our children back into the woods, to show them the beauty of their natural surroundings, they will be faced with the immediate challenge of preserving and expanding those resources for their future enjoyment.

It may not be as idealistic as a crusade for the salvation of 23rd century Earth, but a crusade to protect the outdoors is more realistic. The only missing piece to the puzzle is the innate passion for blue skies and green lands that is suppressed by parents who leave their kids out of the "dangerous" woods and in front of the television.