Total reductionist possibility here:
Tree-Hugging Greenie: "Look, you Native Americans, you need to do X and Y and Z to protect the Earth!"Seriously, though, the Hopi and Navajo tribes are not pleased with enviro-crusaders who want to shut down coal operations on tribal lands. The tribes are concerned that doing so will further harm their already-bad economies.
Annoyed Native American: "Your ancestors massacred my ancestors and forced the survivors onto this reservation. And now you want to tell me how to live? BACK OFF, MAN."
MM: *snort-giggle*
Even better is this quotation by Navajo leader Joe Shirley:
"Environmentalists are good at identifying problems but poor at identifying feasible solutions," Shirley said in a news release. "Most often they don't try to work with us but against us, giving aid and comfort to those opposed to the sovereign decision-making of tribes."Indeed.
. . . "Unfortunately, many of these people don't know about Navajos, sovereignty or self-determination," he said. "They just want any use of coal stopped. However, coal is the Navajo Nation's most plentiful resource, and our prosperity depends on it."
But who cares about the livelihood of a bunch of minorities anyway, man? We gotta SAVE THE EARTH BECAUSE AL GORE SAID SO!
Anyhoo, this is just the sort of thing that I'm talking about: enviro-nuts simply do not seem to understand (or care) that many of their "green" policies ultimately mean the economic devastation of many people, a large number of whom are already poor! Plus it's much easier and more glamorous and much more narcissistically satisfying to cavort around on some wild-eyed messianic mission to SAVE THE WHOLE FREAKING PLANET than to deal with the harsh practical realities of folks trying to pay their bills and make a living for themselves. Oh, don't EVEN get me started on cap-and-trade!
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