Running Green

What makes Ralph run? As the Green Party's nominee in 2000, Ralph Nader appeared on the ballot in 43 states and Washington, D.C., but received only 2.7 percent of the vote overall. However as we all know his presence on local elections in Florida and others states helped Bush to “win”, together with the help of the Supreme Court and unscrupulous local officials.

This year, though environmental concerns are most urgent, the Green Party has declined to ask him to run. But he is running anyway! Is this a rerun of 2000?

When the World Trade Center collapsed in a cloud of dust and debris on September 11, 2001, the asbestos level in the air in lower Manhattan was 1,000 times the legal limit. The Environmental Protection Agency sampled the air and quickly drafted a warning-- which never saw the light of day. The EPA's inspector general, in a report two years later, related that the Bush White House's Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) instructed the EPA to lie, and say "Our tests show that it is safe for New Yorkers to go back to work in New York's financial district."

The Bush administration refuses to take the threat of climate change seriously. In an article this past weekend, Britain’s Guardian Observer reported that a secret report suppressed by US defense warns that major European cities may soon be sunk beneath rising seas as Britain is plunged into a 'Siberian' climate by 2020. The document predicts that abrupt climate change could bring the planet to the edge of anarchy as countries develop a nuclear threat to defend and secure dwindling food, water and energy supplies. 'Disruption and conflict will be endemic features of life,' concludes the Pentagon analysis. 'Once again, warfare would define human life.'

The report was commissioned by influential Pentagon defense adviser Andrew Marshall, who has held considerable sway on US military thinking over the past three decades. According to the Observer, he was the man behind a sweeping recent review aimed at transforming the American military under Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. He heads a secretive think-tank dedicated to weighing risks to national security called the Office of Net Assessment. Will this administration pay attention now?

Like Al Gore, Democratic frontrunner John Kerry is known to accept climate change as a real problem. Scientists disillusioned with Bush's stance are threatening to make sure Kerry uses the Pentagon report in his campaign. Whistleblower Jeremy Symons, who left the EPA in protest at political interference, told the Observer that the suppression of the report was a further instance of the White House trying to bury evidence of climate change. 'It is yet another example of why this government should stop burying its head in the sand on this issue.' He added; “This administration is ignoring the evidence in order to placate a handful of large energy and oil companies.”.

The Bush Administration’s close relationship to these oil interests is key to understanding current policies. Mr. Bush's so-called "Clear Skies Initiative," allows for the relaxation of pollution controls on power plants. But scientists have begun to protest. This week, more than 60 influential scientists, including 20 Nobel Prize-winners, issued a scathing accusation: The Bush administration repeatedly and willfully "misrepresented scientific knowledge and misled the public about the implications of its policies."

Will the corporate media pay attention to these urgent issues? Or will the public be distracted by such issues as gay marriage? I can understand supporting Candidate Kucinich and even Sharpton in the primaries. But in the general election, will communities such as our throw away their votes in a foolish gesture of independence? With all due respect to Mr. Nader, whom ICNA has invited to speak at previous national conventions.

A related and troubling bit of news is that the environmental movement itself is being infiltrated by the anti-immigrant right. The Sierra Club is one of the largest and most established environmental organizations. More than 750,000 members will be asked to vote by mail. Strangely, this year, a faction of Club members is demanding that the Club advocate for dramatic reductions in immigration into the United States. If any readers are members, please note that Mr. Richard Lamm, Ms. Kim McCoy, Mr. Frank Morris, Dr. David Pimentel of New York are among those supporting the SUSPS (Sierrans for U.S. Population Stabilization) immigration agenda. Please do not vote for them!

The anti-immigration movement is till growing in our nation. Nightly “news” coverage of the "immigration crisis" is seen on Lou Dobbs on CNN. Racist websites are supporting the SUSPS campaign to change Sierra Club immigration policy. Instead of moving to blame immigrants for environmental problems as well as terrorism, the Sierra Club could move from its current policy of "neutrality" on immigration policy --to affirmatively support the human and civil rights of immigrants.

Therefore to counteract this hostile takeover, I call on caring Muslims to join the Sierra Club, and vote, insha’Allah. For further information, please contact David Orr at Sierrans for Human Rights at: sierrans4rights@comcast.net. As we say, “Green is the color of Islam….”