Comments on: The Struggle of Our Environmental Neighbors http://blog.sojo.net/2009/11/10/the-struggle-of-our-environmental-neighbors/ A Blog by Jim Wallis and Friends Fri, 12 Mar 2010 08:52:27 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: DJ9791 http://blog.sojo.net/2009/11/10/the-struggle-of-our-environmental-neighbors/comment-page-1/#comment-97243 DJ9791 Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:38:25 +0000 http://blog.sojo.net/?p=13223#comment-97243 A tragic, but not unheard of, situation. It's long been known in the environmental community, and the Christian community, that the poor have no power, and thus become invisible people to politicians, corporate interests, and the media. What's seductive about reporting that poor people living in squalor have exponentially higher incidents of life-threatening illnesses associated with pollution and environmental neglect? The plight of the world's poor provide photo-ops for politicians, who are then whisked away to safer and more comfortable accomodations. Corporations have a long and sickening history of walking away from the resulots of their environmental plundering.<br><br>Here in the desert southwest the reservations are a prime example of this. The Navajo nation is home to two of the worst coal-burning polluting power plants in the nation; the water is badly tainted from thousands of open and untended uranium sites. In their zeal to create jobs for an area where unemployment reaches 60% for native Americans, tribal leaders have looked the other way when corporate interests promise jobs in exchange for for environmentally decrepit projects. The result is high incidence of birth defects similar to those Mr. Baldelomar decribed above. Have you seen or read anything about providing "green jobs" on the 'Rez? <br><br>If we are all our brothers' keeper, we have to stand up and act for those who cannot act for themselves, whether it be to prevent environmental or economic exploitation, here and around the world. Until the Christian community is willing to put aside our differrences and unite in Christ to protect the unprotected, as we have done in the pro-life debate, we can never truly fulfill His call to us.<br><br>Pray for Peace and Dare to Act! A tragic, but not unheard of, situation. It's long been known in the environmental community, and the Christian community, that the poor have no power, and thus become invisible people to politicians, corporate interests, and the media. What's seductive about reporting that poor people living in squalor have exponentially higher incidents of life-threatening illnesses associated with pollution and environmental neglect? The plight of the world's poor provide photo-ops for politicians, who are then whisked away to safer and more comfortable accomodations. Corporations have a long and sickening history of walking away from the resulots of their environmental plundering.

Here in the desert southwest the reservations are a prime example of this. The Navajo nation is home to two of the worst coal-burning polluting power plants in the nation; the water is badly tainted from thousands of open and untended uranium sites. In their zeal to create jobs for an area where unemployment reaches 60% for native Americans, tribal leaders have looked the other way when corporate interests promise jobs in exchange for for environmentally decrepit projects. The result is high incidence of birth defects similar to those Mr. Baldelomar decribed above. Have you seen or read anything about providing “green jobs” on the 'Rez?

If we are all our brothers' keeper, we have to stand up and act for those who cannot act for themselves, whether it be to prevent environmental or economic exploitation, here and around the world. Until the Christian community is willing to put aside our differrences and unite in Christ to protect the unprotected, as we have done in the pro-life debate, we can never truly fulfill His call to us.

Pray for Peace and Dare to Act!

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