Montana
Why fight a 'clean and healthful' environment when it's good for all Montanans? • Daily Montanan
Montanans are witnessing an inexplicably vicious attack on the ruling by the state’s Supreme Court that the plain language of the constitution guarantees “a clean and healthful environment in Montana for present and future generations.”
What we haven’t heard is why a dirty and unhealthful environment is good for anybody — or the future of our state.
Truly, why would anyone think they or their kids or grandkids would be better off with a degraded and toxic environment? Yet, the court’s decision has sparked a misguided rebellion against the environmental laws that protect all Montanans — and an attack on the judiciary as if it’s some kind of enemy of the people.
But it seems pretty clear that enemies of the people don’t rule to protect the people. And ensuring that the laws passed by the Legislature comply with the Montana Constitution is the primary job of the Montana Supreme Court. It’s the foundational checks-and-balances upon which our system of government relies to ensure the executive and legislative branches stay within constitutional mandates to preserve the rights of the people.
Making war on the environment is a dead-end street — which we’re increasingly finding out as the tragedies driven by atmospheric pollution stack up along with the hundreds of billions of dollars to deal with the aftermath. So, where’s the wisdom in deciding to protect polluters at the cost to the rest of the populace?
How about this little truth: Pollution does not discriminate between Republicans and Democrats, nor Independents, Libertarians, or any other organizational clusters regardless of what they call themselves. Nor does polluted air or water recognize any boundaries — we all need clean air and water, which is not only a shared resource, but a shared responsibility to provide those vital necessities to nourish, not poison, our people.
The fact is, we have many good environmental and conservation laws on the books that serve all our people well. There’s simply no good reason why one political party or another should be against those laws, none at all.
Perhaps one of the greatest mistakes of the “environmental movement” was attaching itself at the hip with the Democratic Party. Yet, in Montana’s history, it has often been Democrat governors who have been responsible for some of the worst environmental decisions.
In the mid-1980s, Democrat Gov. Ted Schwinden cut the coal severance tax in half to supposedly make Montana competitive with Wyoming. He succeeded in losing hundreds of millions of dollars for the Coal Tax Trust Fund, but it didn’t save the coal industry because distance to market was the deciding factor.
Democrat Gov. Brian Schweitzer morphed into the “Coal Cowboy” within one year of taking office. His mission? Save the coal industry by peddling economically ridiculous proposals for coal-to-liquids when fracking was producing record amounts of cheap oil and gas.
Democrat Gov. Steve Bullock allowed radioactive waste from the Bakken fracking operations to be disposed of in Montana’s landfills — because it’s illegal to do so in North Dakota.
Of course Republicans have their own rogue’s list of bad decisions and policies — but there’s not room in one column to cover all those.
There’s absolutely no reason whatsoever why a clean environment should be partisan. The great attractions of Montana are our clean rivers, our blue skies, and an abundance of fish and wildlife that are the envy of the nation and world. The Constitution plainly states: “The state and each person shall maintain and improve a clean and healthful environment in Montana” — and that’s a legacy worth upholding.
WESTERN MONTANA — Here’s a look at Western Montana’s top news stories for Wednesday.
The University of Montana removed Business Professor Anthony Richard Pawlisz from faculty after he was charged with criminal endangerment in Ravalli County court. Pawlisz allegedly pulled a gun on a man and fired a shot into the air after a fight outside of a bar in Florence on Aug. 17, according to court documents. His former class will continue under Professor Udo Fluck. (Read the full story)
Nathaniel Luke Smith pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct on Monday after posing a threat to Mission High School on Oct. 8, which prompted increased police presence while classes continued. Smith is also serving a three-year deferred sentence for intimidation from an incident in November 2024. (Read the full story)
Montana Governor Greg Gianforte said he will not be using state funds to temporarily cover SNAP benefits for nearly 78,000 enrolled Montanans if federal funding runs out on Nov. 1. Amidst a government shutdown, he said it’s a federal responsibility — despite calls from Democrats and food banks to use leftover state money. (Read the full story)
Montana
Army Veteran and Fourth-Generation Montana Rancher Announces Run for Montana’s First Congressional District
Matt Rains recently announced his campaign for Montana’s First Congressional District seat. Rains, a Democrat, is a fourth-generation Montana rancher, U.S. Army Veteran, and former Chief of Staff for the Montana Farmers Union.
“I am running for Congress because Montanans deserve better,” said Rains. “Like my neighbors and friends, I see and feel the cost of everything going up in Montana – and Ryan Zinke is making it worse by voting to support the tariffs and cutting Medicaid to drive up our health care costs.
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