It would seem that being an environmentalist these days increasingly means raising alarms about theoretical dangers at the cost of ignoring a clear and present peril. Look no further than democratic opposition in the Congress – and a veto threat by the president — to legislation that would address the devastating Zika virus.

Zika is a real and present danger that destroys lives. A substantial body of evidence associates the virus with microcephaly—shrunken head syndrome—in babies born to infected mothers. Adults bitten by an infected mosquito can develop a paralytic nerve disease called Guillain-Barre, for which there is no known cure.