Print View From: SARA HART VIRDEN To: "snakevalley@utah.gov" Date: Wednesday - September 30, 2009 11:31 AM Subject: No to SnakeValley Pipeline! The West's addiction to growth and development is disgusting and selfish. What will happen 40, 60, 80 years from now when we have ravaged the land, drained all the aquifers, and brought millions more people out West? Our current generation of youth will have to deal with catastrophic disasters in the West if we do not immediately stop thinking of our short term profits and quick fixes and start planning responsibly for the future. It is time we start valuing the principles of the great environmentalists of our past such as, Thomas Jefferson, Chief Seattle, George Perkins Marsh, John Wesley Powell and Theodore Roosevelt. These great and influential men of America understand and advocated for the preservation and intrinsic value of our water and land as well as our responsibility to uphold these natural resources for our future generations. All of these men plus many more knew the value and preciousness of the American West and all pushed for its protection against urban development and private ownership. If it weren't for Theodore Roosevelt standing up against all of his peers and the public for national land reserves in the West, our national parks would not exist today and current generations of people would have to pay private land owners a lot of money to get even a glimpse of what our West once was. It was the insight of this one man, who was able to look outside the political, social attitudes and conditions of the time, and make educated and forward thinking decisions that have allowed us to still be able to enjoy the natural landscape of the American West. I challenge all in favor of this pipeline to do what Theodore Roosevelt did in the early 1900's, and look beyond the here and now, beyond the immediate attitudes and possibilities of today, and think progressively about the potential and probable needs, desires, and conditions of generations 100 years from now. It may be hard to have concern for those who aren't even born yet but I am very glad that some great men and women of the past, such as Theodore Roosevelt, did because you and I matter, and so do future generations of Americans. Days of manifest destiny are gone, it is time we start looking for sustainable alternatives in the West, lead the way in progressive policies, and develop a culture that can sustain itself for centuries to come. Sincerely, Sara Virden "By properly managing the environment, "higher order" humans could ensure their survival as a species at the same time ensuring the survival of other species... through "enlightened self-interest", an educated public will find an ethical basis for a new relationship between humans and the land." -George Perkins Marsh