Part of the cure to the materialism and greed that rules our country and state is nurturing the gifts of nature with which we are blessed. I don’t envy the expensive properties owned and extravagant galas held by Goldman Sachs oligarchs and corrupt political bosses. I pity them for dismissing what our beautiful world has to offer. They ignore the Earth’s needs, and they desecrate its abundance.

It is not surprising Governor Christie doesn’t care about environmental protection. We stopped counting on him to operate with concern for the environment years ago. What’s troubling is that the big bosses in the Democratic Party, like Steve Sweeney, are on board with the same anti-environment agenda to boost corporate profits. Recently Senator Sweeney scheduled the date of a crucial vote on Christie’s proposed appointment of Robert Barr to the Pinelands Commission, with very little notice, when the key “no” vote was out of town. The absent senator was replaced with Jeff Van Drew, who voted in favor of Barr, allowing the confirmation to get out of committee and to a full vote where Barr was later confirmed.

Commissioner Barr, as expected, voted in favor of the Pinelands Pipeline at the February 24th meeting, throwing the mandate to protect the Pinelands under the bus and allowing a dangerous project threatening communities and the evnorinment with increased pollution in the name of continued addiction to fossil fuels. As governor I’ll only appoint commissioners committed to environmental protection, willing to work to undo the damages done by Christie, Sweeney and the top dogs in their two parties, who choose to put profit over the planet and people. To help me defend the environment against the establishment, please click here to donate to my campaign.

Now let’s be clear. When I prioritize the environment I am motivated by my belief that earth itself,our air and water, all deserve recognition as having been treated ‘last’ and so they must be ‘first.’ The earth needs advocates and I am one of them. While we should be worried about the earth for the sake of the planet itself, we also must address issues about the environment for the sake of the people excluded and marginalized by the dominiant economic and soclal system. The last are first and therefore the contamination of drinking water in our cities, especially for families that can’t afford to buy Dasani or Evian every day, must be a priority problem to resolve. No child should suffer brain damage or any illness due to drinking dirty water or breathing soot-filled air invading their neighborhoods from major highways, and nearby oil refineries..

Environmental justice isn’t met by stopping the damage, it’s brought about by building a beautiful future. We need to work for sustainable towns, with improved and greener public transportation. We need to design a state plan mapping out where our renewable energy will come from in tandem with a vision for job creation. By the end of my first term, I want to reach 20% renewable energy generation as a first step toward bringing pride back to our title the Garden State. On this Earth Day 2017, please support the candidate and party who put the environment first. Your contribution today and all of your other contributions mean so much to me.

Peace,
Seth Kaper-Dale, The Last Are First

Green Party of New Jersey candidate for Governor