The Journey for Existence is now in the Shonto and Kayenta area on Navajoland! Join the walkers in this defense for future generations as they walk to the Sacred Mountains!
When we walked through Coppermine we asked about the number of community members who were employed by Navajo Generating Station. As we got into Lechee we were stopped by NGS employees who knew that we were walking through the area and offered us words of encouragement and support. It is not a coincidence that the only economic opportunities available to us are ones that exploit and seek to destroy us. WHAT HAPPENS TO THE LAND HAPPENS TO THE PEOPLE.
We are here, in this moment and at this time, fighting to maintain a way of life that is not based on the concept of the dollar, capitalism, the oppression of the people, and the destruction of our mother, and the land. This American system and adopted Navajo Nation system has thrived off a lack for understanding the realities of the true cost of energy that fuels mindless consumption. Navajo Generating Station continues to be one of the greatest Naayéé (Monster) we face on our land. Current annual emissions at NGS: SO2 4,076 tons, NOx 20,633 tons, CO2 19,859,041 million tons, Mercury 420-566 pounds. These toxic pollutants are known to cause respiratory illnesses such as asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia, pulmonary emphysema, lung disease, convulsions, blindness, hypertension, memory loss, depression, cancer, infertility, and acid rain. NGS accounts for 29 percent of Arizona’s emissions from energy generation. The NGS infernos consume 15 tons of coal from Black Mesa's Kayenta Mine; each minute, 24 hours each day, every day for the past 42 years. NGS uses 30,000 acre feet of water from the Colorado River to cool down the plant. The exploitation of Diné Land, Diné people and Diné water provides the basis of an ultra cheap supply of water and energy for Phoenix, Tucson and 12 southern/central Arizona Indian tribes.
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