Ralph Nader joins columnists on Albany Herald Editorial pages

ALBANY — Albany Herald readers will notice a new — but very familiar — face gracing the newspaper’s Editorials section starting today.

Ralph Nader, a man named by The Atlantic as one of the hundred most influential figures in American history, has made his columns available to Herald readers.

Nader is one of America’s most effective social critics. His analyses and advocacy have enhanced public awareness and increased government and corporate accountability for decades. He first made headlines as a young lawyer in 1965 with his book “Unsafe at Any Speed,” which led to congressional hearings and the passage of life-saving automobile safety laws in 1966.

Nader founded or inspired a wide variety of citizen action organizations including Public Citizen, the Congress Project, the Center for Auto Safety, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, the Clean Water Action Project, the Pension Rights Center, the Princeton Alumni Corps, and the Appleseed Foundation — a nonprofit network of 17 social justice centers. In addition, Nader conceived and helped establish the state-based PIRGs (Public Interest Research Groups) run by university students and their full-time staff.

“The Herald is always looking for editorial content that will spur constructive conversation among its readers,” newspaper Editor Carlton Fletcher said. “Ralph Nader has inspired generations of Americans with his tireless pursuit of government accountability, and the addition of his columns should indeed provide insider insight for southwest Georgia readers.”

Nader played a pivotal role in advancing and improving the safety laws such as the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the landmark Freedom of Information Act. He worked tirelessly to launch federal regulatory agencies such as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

An author, lecturer, attorney, and political activist, Nader worked for safer cars, healthier food, safer drugs, cleaner air and drinking water, and safer work environments. Time Magazine has called him the “U.S.’s toughest customer” and in 1974, a survey conducted by U.S. News and World Report rated him as the fourth most influential person in the United States.

Nader continues to work to advance resourceful civic institutions and citizen supremacy over big business control of our governments, including our Congress.