Re: let's build a unified movement, not fight each other

["Sam McClintock" <scmcclintock@ipass.net>]

  Alan Watson wrote:
  
  > Give me a break!  And please don't assume that the 
  > contributors to this list are all starry eyed idealists 
  > with their heads in the clouds.  I spent seven years with 
  > the UK Department of the Environment before I realised 
  > that if I was interested in maintaining my integrity, 
  > sleeping easily in my bed AND protecting the environment 
  > it would have to be outside.  I jumped ship.
  
  So you chickened out?  False characterization on my part I'll bet. 
  Maybe your experience in your offices were very bad, I can't tell.  But
  I do know a lot of regulatory officials in the USA, Canada, and
  overseas.  MOST sincerely believe in trying to do a good job, MOST try
  to do that job well.  MOST are just like anybody us - the neighbor next
  door, he/she has kids, they try to do their job as best they can within
  the constraints of their office (this is known in some countries as the
  law).  
  
  And every time you chastise all as a group, you ARE practicing bigotry,
  and you are contributing to the problem.  We need to keep the most
  dedicated honest people there, and calling them names, directly or
  indirectly, does not encourage said retention.
  
  > A LOT more than community activists fighting to protect their
  families 
  > and their community from pollution that has been permitted by the 
  > regulators.  And an awful lot more per hour than practically any 
  > 'professional' environmental campaigner I know. (Or than me for that 
  > matter!)
  
  Oh, give me a break yourself.  That is their job, the one they are paid
  to do, and unless your system reeks of capital, they are just as
  underpaid as their counterparts in the USA for the amount of work they
  do and the responsibility they are given.  In the USA, those scientists
  and engineers who work in the private sector can almost count on a
  minimum 25% pay differential above their government counterparts. 
  Don't complain because they are paid something.
  
  > I'd really like to meet them. If they are true environmentalists 
  > then I hope we would have a lot to discuss.  Maybe things are 
  > better in the US and my faith would be restored?
  
  You have faith in the people you know.  I can name my share of idiots,
  but MOST people working for government environmental agencies want to
  make a difference.  Don't hamstring or insult them because they do not
  believe in the extremes of issues as you do.  I can't imagine any more
  senseless policy than to insult the bulk of environmental engineers
  that are reviewing the facility or situation you object to.  Talk about
  sowing the seeds of your own destruction . . .
  
  Sam McClintock
  scmcclintock@ipass.net