Writer: Desert Rock poll a disservice
Staff Writer
Article Launched: 02/26/2008 11:48:32 PM MST

Editor:

The Daily Times posted an Internet poll for the public to weigh in with their responses to the proposed Desert Rock Energy Project ("Desert Rock issue, An even poll split," Feb. 21). The results are not credible nor should they be considered realistic figures representative of actual opinions on the Desert Rock opposition.

The poll, and the front-page cover story that followed, is a disservice to Four Corners residents because it manufactures a truthful sense of public opinion that is only a reflection of those individuals who happen to participate in these types of Internet media polls. In no way is the poll an accurate reflection of public opinion in this critical matter.

For a true reflection of public opinion and a very broad base of public opposition to Desert Rock, one need not look any further than the 54,000 comments that were submitted to the Bureau of Indian Affairs in September 2007 on the Desert Rock Draft Environmental Impact Statement. At the public hearings, 99 percent of citizen participation at the draft EIS hearings opposed Desert Rock on the grounds of health, existing disproportionate effects on area residents (mostly Navajo), environmental impacts and questionable economic "benefits" to the tribe and its members.

While these polls can be conducted to gain a general estimate of public opinion, we must recognize that they are not true depictions of the range of actual opinions.

There are large numbers of Four Corners residents who do not have electricity, computers and/or Internet access, and to omit their voices from the Desert Rock issue by an Internet poll flies in the face of environmental justice where public participation and fair access to information is central to Executive Order 12898: Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations.

Large numbers of Navajo residents are still without electricity and they oppose Desert Rock because cheap electricity is not worth its genocidal implications.

Further, it is illogical, laughable, and erroneous to deduce the substance of a quantitative poll to a qualitative one: i.e. Bracewell & Guiliani Representative Frank Maisano states there is a "broad swath of people who are interested in the project because of the economic need for it."

We appreciate Mr. Maisano's psychic prophecies. However, there is no evidence whatsoever in a numerical poll for the reasons motivating an individual's vote.

DAILAN J. LONG
Burnham

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Navajo brothers support project
Staff Writer
Article Launched: 02/26/2008 11:48:32 PM MST

Editor:

During the final development stages to build the Desert Rock Energy Project, my brother and I wish to express and offer our support for this economic development project.

I am a mechanical engineering student at New Mexico Tech and will graduate soon. My brother is an electrical engineering student at New Mexico Tech, graduating soon after I do. We both support this project for the opportunities it may provide to Navajo young people, like ourselves. We are interested in working on a project on or near the Navajo Nation that will utilize and expand our knowledge and skills developed during college training. We estimate Desert Rock Energy and the Navajo Transmission Project provide that opportunity.

First, the Navajo Nation is in dire need of providing private sector employment opportunities for its young people. As we get closer to receiving our degrees, opportunities to stay home and make a livelihood appear bleak. We often agonize over the thought of moving away from our homeland; away from family and friends in pursuit of a career. In essence, employment circumstances on the Navajo Nation may leave us no alternative but to move away to sustain ourselves.

Our support for this project is based on personal experiences of benefits derived from the energy industry. Currently, we live near the proposed Desert Rock Energy power plant; our parents both work in the electric energy industry. My parents have provided their children a quality of life comparable to the middle class in mainstream America. They have provided us the necessities of life; including a roof over our heads, food, access to health care, leisurely pursuits and some family vacations.

The most important reward has been the ability of our parents to pay for our educational costs, including tuition, fees, books, room and board, while my brother and I pursued our engineering degrees. During our college years, our education never hinged on any financial support from the Navajo Nation or any other government.

For reasons stated, we look forward to employment opportunities and ancillary benefits the Desert Rock Energy project may bring to the Navajo people. As we progress toward our baccalaureate degrees, we look forward to obtaining the same benefits for ourselves and others who may depend on us for support in the future. In the event Desert Rock and the Navajo Transmission Projects are authorized, many Navajo families will benefit, as we have, from the energy industry.

DAVIDSON TSOSIE

JUSTIN TSOSIE

Waterflow