Dear HCN,
I am responding to
several letters in the May 8 edition. One letter said that “enviros
are mostly intruders funded by wealthy foundations.” Those
foundations are set up by nonprofit corporations supported by the
donations of many environmentally conscious citizens and companies.
An individual cannot make any impact on the money-obsessed power
structure of the West without joining with other like-minded people
who are willing to put their money where their mouth is. The
“enviros’ are not some faceless
foundation.
Donations that support environmental
groups are given in direct support of the actions taken by the
groups. In contrast, the targets of environmental actions are often
extractive industries funded by stockholders and consumers who have
no idea what environmental havoc they are supporting. The
devastation is hidden from view even when an interested consumer
tries to find out the truth. Unlike the companies causing the
environmental damage, the “enviros’ have no money-making agenda. In
that way, their motives would be considered more pure, not less
so.
The same letter said that environmentalists
“don’t have grassroots support in local communities.” This may be
true in the communities that are directly
affected. But the point of environmentalism is to stop damage to
private or public property that has far-reaching repercussions to
other people’s land and environment. We don’t
think anyone has the right to ruin other people’s air, water, and
wildlife, nor destroy our public lands to make a buck for
themselves. So the environmentalists do have
grassroots support in areas that are indirectly
affected. That’s the whole reason they are involved at
all!
If you want to poop in your own sandbox,
that’s fine as long as only you are affected. When the rest of us
are affected, then environmentalists will get involved. We’re not
trying to take away your private property rights or destroy your
way of life, we’re just trying to stop you from trampling on all of
our rights to breathe clean air, drink clean water, and enjoy
unspoiled public lands.
One way or another, the
West is changing. If control is put on development, that in itself
is a change. If control is not put on development, those moving
here will impose the change. My fear is that the change will be to
an abusive recreational emphasis, rather than an abusive extractive
one.
Another letter says, “We will always have
extractive industries in the West because our survival depends on
them.” Our survival doesn’t depend on them, our way of life does –
there is a difference. However, the point is valid. An
environmental “win” over the extractive industries does not
represent a complete eradication of those industries, but to force
those industries to clean up after themselves and conduct their
business in a way that is environmentally responsible. We will all
have to pay more for the products of the extractive industries, but
those products are now heavily subsidized by the destruction of the
West.
Sandy
Doumas
Tucson,
Arizona
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline In defense of ‘enviros’.
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