To the Editor:

The right to clean air and clean water seems to have become a partisan issue in our country over the course of the past few years. Why the weather is a political rallying point I do not know. We sing “This land is your land, this land is my land” expecting it to be so because of what we consider to be our rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. In Washington, D.C., many bills have been sponsored recently making it hard to keep up.

One bill looming on the horizon now concerning our environment is the plan to dismantle the EPA. Others that have been signed allow coal debris to once again be dumped in our waterways along with abolishing regulations concerning the release of methane gas (a greenhouse gas) into our air. 

Rep. Mark Meadows, R-Asheville, just voted yea on a bill that “would put the oversight of public lands into the hands of the state,” which may sound pretty good at first glance. However, concerns over fracking, the wildfires and the destruction caused by hurricanes to our state might make us want to slow down and think about that.

Public outcry over the recent proposal by the government to sell off 3.3 million acres of public land stopped it in its tracks. We can make a difference.

The air quality in our mountains has suffered in years past because of winds that bring in air from other states. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park straddles the border between us and Tennessee. If we as a state adhere to standards we set but our neighbors set their standards lower, what happens when the prevailing winds bring their pollution to us. Do we build a wall?

You would think Americans — given their history — would find it to be their patriotic duty to protect and maintain this land that our forefathers fought so hard to make habitable. Those who grew up in this area who love to hike and hunt with both camera and gun should feel secure that the country itself wants to maintain and protect this haven for both the locals and visitors alike. Our mountains and state are a treasure as are so many other places in our nation.

Pamela Haddock

Sylva