At It Again

I was initially going to post this on fakebook, but the post got a little long winded for that platform. So I decided to do something that I have neglected for a while. Post it here on my blog. Surprisingly, it is still in operation despite my recent lack of blogging. Hopefully, somebody will actually read it. I'm sure the fact-checkers and the FbI will.

Just recently (January 2024), the Supreme Court might have put the final nail in the coffin of a proposed copper and gold mine in southwestern Alaska. For the past 2+ decades, Northern Dynasty Mines has attempted to begin mineral extraction operations but has been met with opposition at nearly every step.

This was a unique situation in that the high Court heard arguments for and against an EPA ruling before the suit made its way through the court system. The Supreme Court did not rule for or against the EPA ruling. The suit will now make its way through the courts in the normal manner.

Obviously, environmental groups and native groups were happy with the ruling, feeling the mine posses a threat to a valued watershed.

I get it, mining is a dirty undertaking. It does have impacts on the surrounding land. What gets me though, is these same groups are the very same groups that are trying to get us to "Go Green". This mine would be a big step in that direction. Much of the minerals that were to be mined would be used in many of the products that would further the Green Agenda. 

All this does is convince me more that the environmental movement isn't so much about "saving the planet" as it is about tightening control over the general population. The Pebble Mine would have further reduced our reliance tyrannical governments and slave labor operations that mine and produce these necessary minerals.

While no extraction process will ever be completely clean, without risks and without some level of corruption, doing so under our laws and regulations is certainly better for the environment than nearly any place on earth. China and Africa do not have the same level of oversight that governments in the US and Canada insist upon.

In a region that faces chronic unemployment this mine could have been a godsend. Mine jobs are highly paid, and often have tremendous benefits provided to the employees and their families.

This situation kind of reminds me of a similar event that caused the cold, dead hearts of environmentalists to briefly flutter. Several years ago, a company that develops port facilities proposed a deep water port in the city of Coos Bay, OR, which was once a thriving logging town on the sourt-central coast of Oregon. This was a town that was experiencing long term high unemployment and economic devastation due to the the enviro-wacko caused decimation of the timber industry. 

This deep water port had the potential to bring several hundred high paying jobs to region that desperately need revitalization. When completed, this port was going to be far and away the largest port between Portland and San Francisco. 

From the word go the environmental nutjobs took the development company to court to try and stop the project. At every turn there was a new lawsuit over some minor aspect of the project. After years of expensive litigation, the development company washed their hands of the project and abandoned the town of Coos Bay. This was by design. Death by a thousand cuts.

What has always struck me as strange is how big labor always seems to support democrat politicians. The very same politicians who write environmental laws that destroy big labor jobs. The tide is changing ever so slightly though. While the top officials in labor unions continue to throw labor money at progressive politicians, the membership is slowly but surely beginning to understand what is in their best interests. It is not with a party that aligns itself with groups that do everything within their power to stop development of high paying blue collar jobs.