Mountain Justice

A friend recently sent me an outraged email about the Bush administration's stance on Mountaintop Removal. She was in shock and had some choice things to say about Shrub.

Now, I'm sure it comes as no surprise to anyone but I've thought there was something wrong with that boy for a long time now...I remember the grim feeling I'd get watching him campaigning for office back in '99 on CNN, and my general blanket disapproval which stems from the fact that I am still convinced that he needed to frequent an Adult Literacy Class prior to running our country into the ground, but I digress...

Although I am frequently outraged, I wish I could say that I'm surprised by anything he and his cronies do, (short of announcing his resignation, I'll withhold any sort of shock regarding his actions). The Bush Administration's official energy policy (which would best be referred to as an official Air Pollution Policy) relies heavily on increased extraction of existing domestic resources (natural gas and coal), rather than any serious commitment to renewable energy initiatives.

This is why, of course that someone got the bright idea of building a huge LNG facility in the Puget Sound area (a rather beautiful stretch of the Columbia river), and why mountain top removal mining is waged against some of the poorest Appalachian communities in the United States (fabulous examples of environmental racism against those who are least able to defend themselves=poor people in rural areas).

The people who live in these areas and who are fighting these battles to save their communities, remind me somewhat of the Nigerian tribespeople who are locked in guerilla warfare against some of the largest oil companies on the planet (albeit less extreme here in the sense that nobody's been shot as far as I know). Both are protracted struggles of the David and Goliath variety...in all of these instances poor people in rural areas are exploited by the rich and powerful who decidedly do not have their bests interests at heart.

As I have said, George Bush and Friends don't give a rat's ass about the environment because in conservation there's no clear personal economic reward for them as individuals (or at least they are unable to perceive it). No doubt if we stood together and looked at the mountains in West Virginia, we would actually see very different things because of where our hearts are set. The politicians involved in this administration are clearly unaware of the seven generations philosophical orientation towards life. They and all who share their views--sad to say, but perhaps the majority of the Baby Boomer generation--are all banking on the fact they'll be dead and gone when the shit hits the fan.

We of course (all of the subsequent generations) will still be here living with the aftermath of their greed. And as a teacher, I regret that the kids we teach will be stuck with the very worst of it. And that my friends is why I care the most.