And now for some coal strip mining through a salmon-spawning stream

[Blue_In_AK]

As if it's not bad enough that my tree got slaughtered, there's this in this morning's Anchorage Daily News:

http://www.adn.com/2011/10/24/2136589/state-rejects-petition-against.html

Sean Parnell makes Sarah Palin look like some kind of greenie environmentalist.

State rejects petition against mine in Chuitna watershed
Critics lose bid to halt coal mining by PacRim.

The state of Alaska on Monday rejected a petition seeking to declare state lands within the Chuitna watershed as unsuitable for coal mining.

<snip>

Part of PacRim's plan calls for the removal of 11 miles of Middle Creek, a tributary deemed by the Department of Fish and Game to be significant to salmon spawning in Cook Inlet. The company claims it would be able to restore the stream after more than 25 years of the mine's operation.

Sullivan ruled "that reclamation is technologically feasible."

"Gov. (Sean) Parnell should be ashamed of himself," Chuitna Citizens Coalition President Judy Heilman said in a statement. "We trusted the governor when he said his administration would never trade one resource for another. But now it's clear. The governor is willing to trade our salmon and fishing jobs in exchange for coal to power China." The Chuitna coal mine project is proposed on the west side of Cook Inlet, 45 miles from Anchorage. PacRim plans to mine an estimated 300 million metric tons of coal over 25 years.

Plans call for building the strip mine, as well as a road, a conveyor system to transport coal, housing, an air strip, a logistics center and an export terminal with a 10,000-foot trestle into Cook Inlet.

Oh, well, who needs a bunch of wild Alaskan salmon when there are Frankenfish to develop and exploit? Christ Almighty, what's wonrg with these people??

More here: http://progressivealaska.blogspot.com/2011/10/chuitna-setback-on-heels-of-wishbone.html

[KansDem]

1. Frankenfish!

http://greenberg-art.com/.Toons/.Toons,%20Environ/qqxsgFrankenfish.jpg

[Blue_In_AK]

3. That sounds about right.

I just don't understand, when the fisheries are such a huge part of Alaska's economy, probably second only to oil, and when so many people here actually depend on salmon for their subsistence, why the governor wants to allow all these big mining companies in here to tear up the place with very, very little benefit to the State of Alaska or its people. As with this Chuit project, in which PacRim has promised NO local hire and the state gets very little in tax revenue. Not to mention that the coal (which is dirty) will be going to China.

[WillyT]

2. K & R !!!

:mad:

:kick:

[Uncle Joe]

4. Little by little we trash the planet.

:(

Thanks for the thread, Blue_In_AK.

[Gregorian]

5. I think I know what's wrong with those people.

I also don't think anyone wants to hear it. If you've read my posts before, you might know what I'm talking about.


Also, in other news, I just read something very very scary- If all recoverable fossil fuels were burnt up using today's technologies, after 1,000 years the air would still hold around a third to a half of the CO2 emissions.

[Scuba]

6. What do you think is wrong with these people?

[Gregorian]

7. Nothing wrong with the people, per se.

It's the phenomenon that we're trying to fit 7 billion people on a planet that simply cannot sustain them in the way they live. If the mine isn't in one spot, it's in another. Maybe it's more or less damaging. But the real problem isn't supply, it's demand. And demand is a number.

I wouldn't be so negative about this topic all of the time if we weren't growing.

[Hydra]

8. The size is a problem

But it's also how we're doing it. For whatever reason, it's not as obscenely profitable to harvest renewable energy...even though all of this except uranium came from the sun to start with. We're also not using hemp in favor of other things we shouldn't be using.

I think the issue of how we do things is just as important as tackling population growth(which has a surprisingly easy fix). Even if there were only a billion people, I still wouldn't support using dirty energy and such.

[Gregorian]

9. Absolutely.

You get it. It is a function of the two factors. But we aren't going back to the stone age. So hot water is a part of living. But I think you're right about how we do it.

We sure have a lot on our plate now. Population has put the pressure on. It's far more than just energy. Food, medical, and all of the rest rely on resources as well as energy. The best solution is to work on both. I only see us working on one. There is a lot going on in the energy fields.

What a scary day. Now I finally realize the seriousness of the carbon dioxide emissions.

Take a look at this if you are interested-

http://www.nature.com/climate/2008/0812/full/climate.2008.122.html