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NGS was demolished TODAY-largest coal plant in the West. Read Navajo & Hopi statements on this historic moment
https://www.navajoequitableeconomy.org/2020/12/18/navajo-and-hopi-statements-on-the-demolition-of-smokestacks-at-largest-coal-plant-in-the-west/ Reflections in thread + LINK TO VIDEO below frm #NavajoEquitableEconomy partners
cc @NNPrezNez @NavajoCouncil @Interior @DebHaalandNM @JoeBiden
https://www.navajoequitableeconomy.org/2020/12/18/navajo-and-hopi-statements-on-the-demolition-of-smokestacks-at-largest-coal-plant-in-the-west/ Reflections in thread + LINK TO VIDEO below frm #NavajoEquitableEconomy partnerscc @NNPrezNez @NavajoCouncil @Interior @DebHaalandNM @JoeBiden
âThe demolition of the smokestacks at NGS is a solemn event,â said Nicole Horseherder, executive director of the Navajo grassroots group TĂł NizhĂłnĂ ĂnĂ, which has worked for 20 years to move the Navajo Nation past coal ...
âItâs a reminder of decades of exploitation subsidized by cheap coal and water from the Navajo and Hopi. Coal provided jobs and revenue to the Navajo Nation, but Navajo ranchers and farmers, who depended on the land that was mined and the water that fed the mine and power plant,
...shouldered the cost. While miners were provided safety gear as they worked, hundreds more living near the coal industrial complex had to endure asthma and other health issues without any recourse."
âThat chapter is now closed,â Horseherder continued. âBut the work is far from over. We have to make sure Kayenta Mine is cleaned up. We have to secure water and electricity for many communities that lack access to both...
...We have to replace the millions of dollars in lost coal revenue from the abrupt closure of the plant and coal mine. And we have to make sure investment flows back into building a more sustainable economy for the Navajo and Hopi.â
âWeâre hopeful that this marks the continuation of our transformation into a sustainable economy that is built on fundamental Navajo and Hopi respect for air, land and water and that will have direct, measurable benefits for our communities, not exploit them,â said Carol Davis,..
...executive director of the Navajo grassroots group DinĂ© CARE. âWe hope the incoming Biden Administration follows through on commitments it has made to Native American tribes and assists us in addressing the many problems left behind by 50 years of over-dependence on coal.â
âSo far, the federal government has failed to meet even its most basic trust responsibilities to the Navajo and Hopi,â said Ben Nuvamsa, a former chairman of the Hopi Tribe. âThe massive coal pits and piles that stretch across thousands of acres at Kayenta Mine remain...
...as they were when the mine closed more than a year ago. Billions of gallons of pristine water were pumped from the Navajo Aquifer and Iâm not sure if it will recharge in our lifetime...
...There must be accountability for cleaning up this mess, for restoring vital groundwater that was taken from us and for returning the countless artifacts and burial sites that were removed for the mine.â
Link to aerial videoCredit: EcoFlight / Jonathan Kloberdanz. EcoFlight is a non-profit that provides the aerial perspective for conservation, with a strong focus on tribal communities and energy issues. https://www.dropbox.com/sh/fa67lfjhh163q7j/AACyU-0CLq1bA4YCFAZvnZwja?dl=0
Credit: EcoFlight / Jonathan Kloberdanz. EcoFlight is a non-profit that provides the aerial perspective for conservation, with a strong focus on tribal communities and energy issues. https://www.dropbox.com/sh/fa67lfjhh163q7j/AACyU-0CLq1bA4YCFAZvnZwja?dl=0
