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It is biblically prohibited to destroy anything useful. This applies to food, utensils, clothing, raw material, and even decorative objects. The prohibition includes destroying natural resources, such as blocking or polluting a well. In the past, an individual's ability to harm the environment was minimal, so the prohibition primarily applied to harming fruit trees and their irrigation channels. However, in more recent times, people’s ability to pollute the air, earth, and water and to destroy the environment has increased alarmingly, due to technological advances and increasing population. Therefore, world leaders have a responsibility to pass laws to protect the environment, and individuals have the responsibility to obey these laws.
This responsibility is encapsulated well in the following midrash:
When God created Adam, He took him around all the trees in the Garden of Eden and said to him, “See my handiwork. See how beautiful and wonderful they are. Everything which I created, I created for you. Make sure not to destroy or ruin My world. For if you destroy it, there is no one to clean up after you.”
