Environmental Religion

Mark Steyn says that environmentalism is a religion, and he cannot join the believers.

...the first condition for a healthy environment is a strong economy. President Carter and the other apocalyptic prognosticators of the Seventies made a simple mistake: In their predictions about natural resources, they failed to take into account the natural resourcefulness of the market. The government regulates problems, but the market solves them. So if, as Kyoto does, you seek to punish capitalism in the West and restrict it in the developing world, you'll pretty much guarantee a poorer, dirtier, unhealthier planet.

Discussion Question. For environmentalists, is environmental improvement the goal and attacking capitalism the means, or is it the other way around?