oluluta chuwita

The National Environmental Policy Act, or "NEPA," requires Federal agencies to make informed decisions to protect our water, air, and the health and quality of life of our communities. On the day that Spokane celebrates Earth Day, Rep. Cathy McMorris will hold the first of 6 formal hearings around the country--part of a plan by Rep. Richard Pombo (R-CA) and other extreme pro-industry members of Congress to gut the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), one of America's bedrock environmental laws. Signed into law by President Nixon 35 years ago, NEPA is considered the Magna Carta of environmental protection - the foundation on which all other environmental laws are built. NEPA directs federal agencies to "prevent or eliminate damage to the environment." Rep. Cathy McMorris (R) has been appointed as the head of the NEPA Taskforce that is organizing these hearings.

Your attendance is urgently needed at this NEPA Taskforce hearing to show Rep. McMorris that her constituents strongly support protecting our environment and oppose efforts to gut our bedrock environmental law. NEPA is a landmark law that puts people before politics; values science over short-term thinking; and respects democracy more than dollar bills. The NEPA Taskforce hearings will focus on how NEPA has "crippled state economies," "impacted jobs" and other "inequities." These hearings, though they are public, are a being designed as a "dog and pony" show to make a case for gutting NEPA. Our participation is critical to make sure this hearing really is a public hearing. Hearing organizers are handpicking the speakers to present a one-sided viewpoint. The public will not have an opportunity to speak at these hearings, but written testimony will be accepted.

Never, never, never let anyone tell you there is a reasonable and conscienable relationship between economies and the environment. This is simply impossible. Economies are human based value constructs created to enable the enfranchised empowered to remove resource wealth from the disenfranchised non-empowered. The haves have found ways to take more from the have nots. No where in the environment is there an economy of scale of any form. Ecosystems, riparian habitats, bio-regions, biomes, all share the basic foundational principles of sustaining life simply for life's sake. And yet here we have politicians demanding that there be a relationship between the two. Jobs are more important that the protection of trees?? How can they say this? There is not way to compare them, unless you place value scales on the integrity of the environment. OOps, don't want to do that because, well, it is too difficult, it is too complex, it is not the same. Oh wait, what was that last one?? aaaaaaaahh you don't remember. bastards all...