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Enviros are out of touch

Letter to the Editor - From the January 24, 2005 issue of High Country News by Jim Gerber
The editors of HCN claim the Bush administration (and therefore everyone who voted for him) are out of touch with "Westerners" on environmental issues. I would argue that the environmental community is out of touch with Western values.

A small crack formed between environmental interests and the rest of America in 1994 when the Republican party took control of both houses of Congress. That crack is now a chasm across which we can no longer shout to make ourselves heard.

Environmental preservation groups could still build a bridge across the chasm, of course, but your article makes it clear that the agenda is to build tunnels and spider holes from which to fight the next four years.

A column from the San Diego Union-Tribune recently raised an interesting question: "Is the environmental movement still a movement, or is it now a tradition? A movement suggests change and adaptability. A tradition is something people cling to for a sense of stability, especially in time of fear."

It may be the environmental movement is now clinging to an idea out of a desire for stability, and is no longer a real movement.

Jim Gerber
St. Anthony, Idaho

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