I would say that California has been focused on climate change to

Hear the words of Andrew R. Wheeler, who once bore the weight of responsibility for the stewardship of air, water, and land: “I would say that California has been focused on climate change to the detriment of the other environmental programs.” These words do not dismiss the crisis of a warming planet, but rather they caution against the narrowing of vision. For he warns that in the fervor to address climate change, other wounds of the earth—rivers polluted, forests mismanaged, communities poisoned—may be neglected, left festering in silence while all attention is fixed on the single flame of carbon.

When Wheeler speaks of California, he speaks of a land at once blessed and burdened. It is the frontier of environmental innovation, where laws are crafted to reduce emissions and lead the world in the fight against global warming. Yet he suggests that this focus, while noble, has come at a cost. To fight one battle with all one’s strength while ignoring the others is to invite defeat from the flanks. For the environment is not a single battlefield, but a vast tapestry of challenges, each connected to the others, each demanding care.

The phrase “to the detriment of other environmental programs” calls to mind the balance that is often lost in human affairs. Clean air programs, water infrastructure, habitat restoration, and the fight against toxic waste—these are not lesser struggles, but companions to the climate cause. To focus solely on carbon is to forget that poisoned water can kill as swiftly as rising seas, and that communities may suffer as much from chemical exposure as from heat waves. Wheeler reminds us that justice for the earth is broad, not narrow, and that balance must be preserved.

History provides us a stark example in the tragedy of Flint, Michigan. While national leaders spoke often of global climate policy, the people of Flint drank water tainted with lead, their cries unheard for years. It was not the warming of the planet that poisoned their children, but the failure of local and national leaders to guard the purity of water. This story echoes Wheeler’s warning: that an unbalanced focus, however noble in intent, may leave other vital causes untended, and the people may suffer as a result.

The deeper meaning of Wheeler’s words is this: true stewardship requires breadth as well as depth. A farmer who waters only one crop while the others wither has not preserved the harvest. So too with the environment—climate change is urgent, yet it is but one thread. To preserve the whole, we must weave together efforts against pollution, deforestation, waste, and the poisoning of air and soil. The health of the planet depends on many guardianships, not one alone.

This is both a rebuke and a summons. A rebuke, for it reminds us that in our zeal we may forget the whole picture. A summons, because it calls us to widen our gaze and take up the many causes of preservation. It is not enough to measure progress only by the reduction of emissions; we must also count the cleanliness of streams, the vitality of wildlife, the safety of communities from toxins, and the resilience of lands scarred by industry. Each of these is a pillar of true environmental justice.

Children of tomorrow, take this lesson into your hearts: do not let urgency in one area blind you to the suffering in another. The earth is vast, and its wounds are many. Strive for balance in your labors—fight against climate change, but also plant trees, protect waters, reduce waste, and heal poisoned lands. In your homes, in your cities, in your nations, remember always that stewardship is a harmony of tasks, not the beating of a single drum.

Thus the wisdom of Wheeler’s words endures: that climate change, though mighty in its threat, must not eclipse the other struggles of creation. For the earth is not a single wound but a living body, and to heal it, one must tend to every part. Let this teaching be carried forward, that your generation may not fight only one battle, but win the war for the whole of creation.