Nader/Gonzalez Supports Ban on Destructive Mountaintop Removal Mining
Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: (Washington) Chris Driscoll, 202-360-3273, chris@votenader.org
NADER/GONZALEZ SUPPORTS BAN ON DESTRUCTIVE MOUNTAINTOP REMOVAL MINING
Independent Presidential Candidate Ralph Nader made clear his intentions today to put on-the-table the option of banning so-called mountaintop removal mining as part of his 2008 campaign platform for President. Mountaintop removal mining, which is most widely used in Appalachia, destroys vast amounts of mountain lands and forests, and pollutes waterways.
The Nader/Gonzalez ticket supports investing in renewable energies like wind and solar over wasteful coal, nuclear, oil and bio-fuels.
At the request of Ohio Citizen Action, an environmental advocacy group, Mr. Nader signed a letter stating: "If elected President, I will ban mountaintop removal mining by appropriate executive authority and by signing the Clean Water Protection Act when it reaches my desk."
If passed, the Clean Water Protection Act (H.R. 2169) would reverse recent Bush Administration changes to the 1977 Clean Water Act allowing mining waste to be dumped into wetlands and streams.
About Ralph Nader
Attorney, author, and consumer advocate Ralph Nader has been named by Time Magazine one of the "100 Most Influential Americans in the 20th Century." For more than four decades he has exposed problems and organized millions of citizens into more than 100 public interest groups advocating solutions. He led the movement to establish the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Consumer Product Safety Commission, and was instrumental in enacting the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Motor Vehicle Safety Act, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and countless other pieces of important consumer legislation. Because of Ralph Nader we drive safer cars, eat healthier food, breathe better air, drink cleaner water, and work in safer environments. Nader graduated from Princeton University and received an LL.B from Harvard Law School.
About Matt Gonzalez
Matt Gonzalez was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 2000 representing San Francisco's fifth council district. From 2003 to 2005, he served as Board of Supervisors President. A former public defender, Gonzalez is managing partner of Gonzalez & Leigh, a 7-attorney practice in San Francisco that represents individuals and organizations in mediation, arbitration, and administrative proceedings before state and federal regulatory bodies. Gonzalez graduated from Columbia University and received a JD from Stanford Law School.
About the Nader/Gonzalez Campaign
According to a CNN-Opinion Research Corp. poll conducted from July 27-29, Ralph Nader is at 6 percent nationally (equivalent to about 10 million eligible voters), higher than his highest major poll numbers during the same time period in 2000 and approaching the 10 percent threshold required for eligibility to participate in "America's Presidential Debate in New Orleans," a Google-sponsored event scheduled for September 18. In the key swing state of Michigan -- whose Democratic voters were partially disenfranchised by the Democratic National Committee -- an EPIC-MRA poll found Nader at 8-10 percent.
For more information on the Nader/Gonzalez campaign, visit: votenader.org.
