On Mon, 14 Jul 2008 00:24:32 -0800, Jan Flora <snowshoe@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
wrote:
>In article <n7oe749blqu935iq6gsmmo76eqcaakksr4@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>,
> bookburn@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
wrote:
>
>> I'm seeing a lot of ads promoting opposition to Proposition 4 on the
>> upcoming ballot, which is evidently about "shutting down" mining in
>> Alaska.
>>
>> I'm wondering if this is mostly about environmentalists vs. mining
>> companies, the expected law suits regarding impact on fi****ng, water,
>> habitat, etc., or more specific than that. I did hear about a mining
>> closure in Southeast because of a contamination from tailings problem.
>>
>> I'd be interested if anyone has a point of view about this I could
>> learn from. I admit bias, because I'm not up for a triple digit
>> mining job or live, in a bush area where jobs are scarce, or see the
>> need to extract minerals, now at least. Should we accept what Native
>> leaders in the ads say about living with mine operations?
>>
>> bookburn
>
>I'd be all for the Pebble Mine if it can be done without tra****ng the
>place. I'd like to work over there. But the EVOS SCOTUS decision just
>let cor****ations off the hook for environmental damage, and that changes
>everything.
I hadn't thought of that.
>I haven't seen the ads you're referring to, so can't comment on that. I
>do know that people need jobs. In Alaska, that means resource
>development and extraction. Our wealth is in our natural resources.
>
>As a former small scale gold miner, I'm pro-mining. I've seen it done
>the right way. (One of my buds in Chicken won a national award for the
>reclaimation work he did on his claims. He also fixed an ugly mess that
>the old-timers left behind, while reclaiming his ground.)
>
>Did you get that mining survey in the mail, sent by the pro-mining
>folks? The names of the sup****ters worries me. Not an illustrious list
>of leaders. And the questions on the survey are extremely slanted. Any
>time someone can't or won't clearly state their reasons for sup****ting a
>position, I wonder what they're up to.
I got the "survey," which is really an ad. But some of the sup****ters
do seem significant: the presidents, CEO's, and managers of the
Native cor****ations, former Governor Sheffield, former LTV. Governor
Loren Lehman, some Anchorage politicians.
>All of the "greenies" in Homer are opposed to Pebble. Most of us blue
>collar types sup****t the idea, but a lot of us are concerned that it
>can't be developed without compromising the water and fisheries. We're
>the people who would get the high paying mining jobs, but we're still
>concerned about the environment. We're listening to both sides right now
>and reserve the right to state an opinion at a later time.
>
>That isn't much help, is it?
It brings into focus what the Pebble People are looking at, I assume.
They would be spreading around incentives to vote the right way among
those who have a voice in Alaska. They would not want to see Alaska
legislation on environmental issues, nothing like a very large bond
insuring against contamination and clean-up. They would know exactly
what and how much leverage is needed to go ahead with operations.
Nobody seems interested in the history of mining in other states or
Pebble's track record. I think it was a Canadian company that mined
in, was it, Idaho or Montana, leaving the place a ruin.
Frankly, I'm looking at the response by our Alaska Legislature,
whether they are going to milk this puppy as they have been the
petroleum companies. No doubt they expect to extract something for
the cost of doing business on their turf, but may be shy now as a
result of the FBI investigations. bookburn
> Jan
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