In Minn., copper mining runs afoul of wild rice

[phantom power]

MINNEAPOLIS – Wild rice is sacred to the Ojibwe of Minnesota, but that may not be enough to protect it from the promise of jobs that a new copper-nickel mining industry would bring to the state.

Lawmakers and business interests are working to loosen Minnesota's water quality standards to make it easier to start copper mining in the northeastern part of the state, but it could come at an environmental price. The fight is being closely watched by the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, who fear that weaker standards could wipe out important natural stands of wild rice that provide food and medicine.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_food_and_farm_wild_rice

[CrispyQ]

1. "...but it could come at an environmental price."

And who always picks up the tab for that price? The taxpayers & the people who live in the area. I am sick of privatized profit, socialized risk.

[Scuba]

2. Meanwhile, nextdoor in Wisconsin....

20-mile open pit mine proposed upstream of Great Lakes Basin largest undisturbed wetland



http://www.jsonline.com/business/119665664.html

<snip>

Gogebic Taconite of Hurley plans to release on Tuesday a report that says that the large open pit iron ore mine would create 700 mining jobs; and stimulate more than 2,800 jobs in a 12-county region.

The mine - directly and indirectly - would generate an estimated $604 million annually for the regional economy, the report says.
The mine could operate at least 35 years.

<end snip>

followed by blog post by Penokee Rambler: "This proposed mine is just south of the Kakagon / Bad river slough. The site is
directly in the watershed of the largest undisturbed wetland system in the whole great lakes basin. The first phase mine is to be an open pit twenty miles long running from Mellen to Upson and removing 3.5 billion tons of taconite. This will not be an unseen underground mine it will be a huge hole the damage will be permanent.

[Angry Dragon]

3. Follow the money and to hell with people and the environment

[Odin2005]

4. Don't mess with the Ojibwe, you corporate fuckers!