After what happened to the Native Americans during the settlement of this country, we have a historic obligation to do everything possible to see that they are able to rebuild a way of life, of their choice, that is prosperous.
Resistance to their choice, as in the legal action by environmentalist's lawyers against building a coal-fired power plant on their reservation—as reported by the Washington Examiner—is a tragedy.
An excerpt.
“Navajo Nation, the largest tribe in the United States, has faced a number of enemies in its long history: Anasazi warriors, Andrew Jackson and now, lawyered-up environmentalists.
“The Navajo homeland, an area that spans parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah, is endowed with abundant coal deposits. That makes it ideal for powering the Southwest.
“Navajo elders are trying to build a new coal-fired power plant to export electricity off the reservation and rev up their ailing economy. For environmentalists, however, coal is unacceptable, no matter the economic consequences, because it comes with a large carbon moccasin print.
“According to Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley, the $3 billion, 1,500-megawatt Desert Rock power plant would create more than 1,000 annual jobs during the four-year construction period, 400 permanent jobs, and generate more than $50 million annually in reservation revenues. This would be welcome relief -- the reservation is plagued by unemployment of almost 50 percent.
“A coal power plant may be an economic boon for the Navajos, but it's an eco-sin to green groups. They boast of having stopped the construction of 100 coal plants, as if imposing expensive energy on American consumers is a good thing. Now they have unleashed a phalanx of lawyers to stop the Navajo Nation from helping itself.
“Despite the Navajo Nation's efforts to ensure that the Desert Rock Plant would be up to 10 times cleaner than other regional plants for key particulate pollutants, the Environmental Protection Agency only grudgingly granted an air quality permit last summer, after a six-year delay. Then, in an unprecedented decision this April, the EPA rescinded the permit at the behest of lawyers for environmentalist advocacy groups like EarthJustice.”
