A tale of environmentalists who are also meth heads comes from Wisconsin. I always thought that methamphetamines polluted body, mind, and soul. But for some people, the proper green credentials are more important than personal behavior.

Environmentalism has become a religion for many, displacing personal issues in a quest to achieve an answer to all of life's questions. It is one thing to want to reduce pollution and tread lightly on the earth; most Americans sign on to these goals, and savvy consumer product marketers  tout the environmental benefits of products they offer to the public.

But there is a disturbing fanaticism in the land, a conviction that cosmic forces are at work. It can be deranging for people with weak or diseased minds, and Lord knows, there are plenty of such folks out there who fit into this category.

At least that's how I categorize this story by Daniel Bice of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel about protestors over a proposed new iron mine:

If it seems like the northern Wisconsin protesters of the proposed Gogebic Taconite mine have quieted in recent months, there might be good reason.

The two leaders of the Lac Courte Oreilles' Harvest Camp near Mellen in Ashland County are facing new legal actions. The camp serves as a base for anti-mine protesters. 

Felina LaPointe was charged last month with possession of methamphetamine, a Class I felony, which has a maximum penalty of 3 1/2 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine. 

The criminal complaint provides only sketchy information, including the fact that the case was originally brought by chief of the St Croix Tribal Police Department for an incident in late December. A Burnett County judge issued a bench warrant for LaPointe after she failed to show up for a Jan. 22 hearing. 

LaPointe, 29, did not return calls this week.

Records show the Hayward resident also has open cases for bail jumping and using a phone to issue threats, both misdemeanors. A court has ordered her not to contact three particular individuals.

Since 2001, LaPointe has been convicted of nearly a dozen misdemeanors for everything from multiple counts of obstructing an officer to one battery conviction.

Apparently, devotion to some abstract sense of Gaia excuses all sorts of personal foibles.

People who believe in a cause -- any cause - in the conviction that it excuses misbehavior are dangerous. These days, a lot of fanaticism is found on the green left.

I will continue to recycle my paper, plastics, and metals, as required by my local government, in part because I want to do the right thing, though I do wonder about the total energy and pollution profile of sending trucks around to collect this stuff and hiring people to sort it out and haul it to places that can re-use it.

But people who believe that any extraction of resources from the earth is the raping of Mother Gaia deserve a close look. Most may be harmless, but the fanaticism has the whiff of craziness.