LETTER: Letter writer encouraged to rethink his accusations

Bill Baum is a good man, a dedicated environmentalist who works hard the make the world a greener place. I applaud his efforts.

But I do not applaud his periodic ad hominem attacks on environmentalists who don’t embrace his wisdom. In the Oct. 11 Daily Inter Lake, he accused Amy Robinson, Dave Hadden, and Michael Jamison of selling out, saying they “apparently believe that rubbing shoulders and capitulating with famous people will provide them with fame and money and, perhaps, a political career.”

No accusation could be further from the truth. No accusation could be more unfair.

Dave Hadden and the other environmentalists Baum cudgels are good people, hard working, deeply committed to keeping our air and water clean, and to preserving biological diversity. I’ve known some of these people for decades. Sometimes I’ve disagreed with them, but I’ve never doubted that their hearts are in the right place. They are not stooges of the extractive industries, and it is deeply unkind, and untruthful, for Baum to hint that they are.

Were Baum to stop eating his own, I would applaud loudly. —James Conner, Kalispell