Tag Archives: copper
Biden blocks Pebble copper-gold mine in Alaska
The Biden Administration banned the dumping of mining waste near Bristol Bay, Alaska, issuing a decree that thwarts longstanding plans to extract gold, copper and molybdenum because of potential harm to the region’s thriving sockeye salmon industry. The Environmental Protection Agency’s final determination, announced Tuesday, effectively blocks the mine planned by Pebble Limited Partnership as well as future mining of the same deposit in headwaters of Bristol Bay, home to the world’s largest sockeye harvest. Katherine Carscallen, director of Commercial Fishermen for Bristol Bay, called EPA’s final action “surreal,” because it “will finally put an end to the threat of Pebble.” Critics said the decision conflicts with the Biden administration’s commitment to accelerating the deployment of renewable power and electric vehicles that rely on critical minerals. >click to read< 15:54
No Matter How One Connects the ‘Green Energy’ Dots, America Needs Pebble’s Copper
If President Biden sees electric vehicles in everyone’s future, he ironically will have to rely on copper mines to get there. Consider the current bipartisan infrastructure package, a $1.2 trillion mishmash of boondoggles and eco-centric priorities ostensibly designed to alleviate the “climate crisis,”,, If the $1.2 trillion infrastructure package doesn’t grind your gears, the accompanying $3.5 trillion budget bill surely will. This monstrosity includes another laundry list of ‘green energy’ projects and demand. The simple fact is for every one of those projects, priorities, regulations, jobs and traditional energy transition plans, America will need to have copper. And it just so happens that my home state of Alaska has plenty of copper to support those initiatives, if Biden would just move forward with the Pebble Mine Project. By Rick Whitbeck >click to read< 13:54
To fight climate change, should we mine the deep sea?
Ancient rocks lie across vast fields miles below the surface of the Pacific Ocean. Far from people, but not entirely out of reach, they contain metals such as cobalt, used in batteries for technology like electric cars. They are numerous, about the size of meatballs or potatoes, and formed over millions of years. These stones may hold a key to fighting climate change, according to a contingent of entrepreneurs who want to mine them. To wean the world off fossil fuels that worsen global warming, scientists say, will require a lot of batteries. Opponents argue that rushing into deep-sea mining risks destroying a pristine wilderness,,, Skeptics of the industry believe it is better to focus on improving mining conditions on land. >click to read< 17:25
Seattle’s industrial waterfront remains a contamination challenge for orcas. What about Salmon?!
The Southern Resident orcas are often called some of the most contaminated marine mammals on earth. Their fat is filled with toxins like PCBs. When they don’t have enough to eat, they metabolize their fat and that poison ends up in their blood. Though outlawed decades ago, PCBs still remain in the sediment around Elliott Bay.,,, A lot of the toxic contamination issues that we have with our salmon can really be traced to the fact that the state of Washington is not enforcing the Clean Water Act to the extent that they should,” >click to read< Meanwhile, New study finds river wildlife contain cocaine, pharmaceuticals and pesticides in UK->click to read<10:07
Wastewater worries
On Tuesday, the Ontario City Council voted to have City Manager Adam Brown send a returning letter to Oregon’s Department of Environmental Quality. The letter will outline major concerns with a draft sent to the city by the department for review and comment of National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit. The permit would allow the city to discharge wastewater into the Snake River, with new limits and pollutant monitoring six months out of the year.,, Among top concerns are the exorbitant costs to upgrade existing wastewater treatment facilities,,, Arsenic, along with copper and mercury are bioaccumulative toxins that aggregate in fish tissue,,, >click to read< 18:50
Who Owns the Ocean Floor?
The ocean floor teems with metal (at least in spots we’ve targeted so far): copper and nickel, cobalt and silver, even gold. Many consider it the next frontier in mining. Yet much of the ocean remains unstudied,The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea states that the deep-sea minerals found within a nation’s marine boundaries,,, Read more here 18:49
