“First, it must be stated that a true right of the environment does exist, and for two reasons: First, because we human beings are part of the environment, we live in communion with it since the environment itself entails ethical limits which human activity must acknowledge and respect. Man, for all of his remarkable gifts which are signs of a uniqueness which transcends the spheres of physics and biology, is a part of these spheres. He posses a body shaped by physical, chemical, and biological elements, and can only survive and develop if the ecological environment is favorable. Any harm done to the environment therefore is harm to humanity.

Second, because every creature, particularly a living creature, has an intrinsic value, in its existence, its life, its beauty, and its interdependence with other creatures. We Christians together with the other monotheistic religions believe that the universe is the result of a loving decision by the creator, who permits man respectfully to use creation for the good of his fellow man and for the glory of the creator. But he is not authorized to abuse it, and much less authorized to destroy it. “

— Pope — and apparent Lorax — Francis I telling the U.N. General Assembly to be good to the environment.