Monday, March 5, 2012

Walker's Mining Ploy Scratches The Surface

Scott Walker has added the image of the miner with a shovel on the State Flag and the origin of the Badger nickname for the state (miners were said to have burrowed like badgers) to his pitch for the iron ore mine near Ashland.

But miners a hundred and sixty-odd years ago worked with picks and shovels in narrow tunnels: the proposed mine up North will include a taconite mill, excavation draglines, trucks, and roads at a massive open pit - - up to a mile and a half wide, at least seven hundred feet deep and initially 4.5 miles long.

Here is what large-scale open-pit mining looks like:
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Does Walker want that image added to the state flag?

You won't see the Department of Tourism slapping it on brochures selling the Northwoods and the pristine Penokee hills and Bad River watershed to anglers, hunters, hikers and seekers of a weekend getaway.

Let's dig a little deeper into the issue.

Photo from the Wisconsin League of Conservation voters, which is organizing opposition.
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3 comments:

  1. DaveMarch 5, 2012 at 10:58 AM

    Have you ever been to Minnesota's Iron Range? Open pit mines coexist nicely with lakes, rivers, and recreation. It has been done.

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  2. AnonymousMarch 5, 2012 at 11:59 AM

    Brilliant. Let's turn northern Wisconsin into Hibbing.

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  3. Dave324March 5, 2012 at 12:13 PM

    Sure there are differences between historical pick/axe mining and today's massive industrial operations. Still, there are many similarities:

    1. Mining remains a very dangerous job. As in the "old" days, mining of any type carries high risks of on-the-job accidents and long-term exposure to toxic pollutants;

    2. Mining causes long-term damage to surrounding ecological systems, regardless of how carefully it is done;

    3. Mining is the largest discharger of toxic pollutants to the North American environment;

    4. Inappropriate locations for mining continue to be exploited and future problems are ignored or unknown.

    As for mining in minnesota, these mines continue to pollute the air and water. However, they are located outside of the BWCAW watershed so they pollute the St. Louis river and Lake Superior instead.

    I guess Dave's comment above that the "Open pit mines coexist nicely with lakes, rivers, and recreation." don't apply to the wetlands, forests, streams, and wildlife that once existed in the mine sites before they were dug.

    Moreover, now that Polymet is trying to mine within the BWCAW watershed in Birch Lake, Dave's statement is even more ridiculous since recreation, water quality, and ecological integrity has already been affected.

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