Earlier this month, I visited the Northern Cheyenne Reservation, where the people are battling environmentally destructive methane gas development; the Akwesasne Reserve on the beautiful St. Lawrence River, which industry has used as a dump; the Oneida Nation, where mercury is in the water supply; and Onondaga Territory, which is surrounded by some of the most polluted waterways in North America. Undaunted, the Onondaga people are pursuing the funds and technology to renew regional waterways. With these memories fresh in my mind, I watched the final presidential debate and was reminded once again of the environmental threat of a Bush presidency.
Some people have the luxury of voting for a presidential candidate who has no chance of winning the election. We can’t take that chance. We have too much at stake to vote for Nader and help catapult George Bush into the White House. Because a great deal of the “marketable natural resources” so coveted by Bush’s oil industry colleagues are on Native lands, we are especially concerned about the possibility of a Bush election. When Bush advocates an oil policy dependent on domestic supplies, he is referring to the further exploitation of our lands, including those of Alaska Native people. Alarmingly, Bush has pledged to allow oil and gas companies to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, destroying one of America’s most ecologically balanced areas and disrupting the ways of life of Alaska Native people.
Al Gore is opposed to drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife refuge and supports the moratorium on oil and gas drilling off the coasts of Florida and California. As a senator, Gore was a sponsor of the 1987 Water Quality Act. Gore has been a leading voice on the issue of global warming, while Bush is a friend of the polluters. The Gore budget contains $171 billion for the environment, while Bush has set aside only $7.1 billion. One of these two men will become our president on Nov. 7.
Bush’s almost meek performance during the final presidential debate reminded me of Jesse Jackson’s apt description of Bush as a “wolf in sheep’s clothing.” A Bush presidency, Bush Supreme Court and a Republican-controlled Congress would wreak havoc on the rights of women, elders, people of color and the environment, and would further erode the legal and treaty rights of sovereign tribal governments, rights which are viewed as an impediment to the indiscriminate development of uranium, methane gas, oil and coal.
The people directly affected by these issues will pay the price for those who vote for a candidate who doesn’t have the remotest chance of winning. They rationalize their vote for Nader by arguing that if he can garner 5 percent of the vote, the Green Party will become a viable party eligible for federal matching funds. One need only look at the Reform Party to know that viability is not derived from eligibility for federal matching funds. Viability is derived from doing the right thing for the land and the people. The right thing to do is vote for Al Gore.