The Real Lesson of the Exxon Valdez is the Future of Bristol Bay.
On March 24, 1989 I was living thousands of miles away from Alaska. I had never been to Alaska. I had never thought about going to Alaska. I sort of remembered some nature show I’d seen on TV that told me that during the summertime, there were actually flowers, and the snow melted and there were a lot of frolicking caribou. But that was pretty much it. Alaska was a vast, mysterious unknown – like those old maps you see where Europe is perfectly and precisely drawn, the east coast of North America is sort of accurate, and by the time you get to Alaska it’s kind of a featureless shoreline, with no backside because people had a vague idea there was something there, but didn’t really know what. That was the Alaska in my mind on March 24, 1989.
And then the Exxon Valdez slammed into Bligh Reef hemorrhaging millions of gallons of black crude oil into the crystal blue waters of Prince William Sound. Images of oil soaked otters, waves lapping the shore with a viscosity that was nothing like water, the agonizing wait for a response team, wind and weather that foiled efforts at containment, and grown men and women in Alaska brought to tears during interviews by the media. I, like millions of Americans watched people in boots and orange suits hosing rocks in a job that looked as futile as counting grains of sand on the beach, and felt helpless, and heartbroken and overcome with a dark black feeling of loss.
I had serious thoughts about going to Alaska to do something, anything to help. Then I heard reports that scads of well-meaning but fairly incompetent outsiders were arriving in Alaska with no skills and no means of taking care of themselves…brought by grief, but becoming a burden. So I stayed away.
A friend of mine cut up her Exxon credit card. I drove past the Exxon station where I usually filled up, and went to the Shell station down the road. But the weeks after the oil spill felt like watching a horrible accident I was powerless to stop, which, of course is exactly what it was.
And the media told me it was some drunk ship’s captain that did it all. Went to the bar, pounded down a few drinks, fell asleep at the wheel and plowed that tanker right into the ground. That was the message we all took away. And as the weeks and months passed, the media’s attention went elsewhere.
Two years later, my plane touched down and brought me to live in Alaska. For many years, I couldn’t bring myself to go to the Sound. I started to hear stories from people I knew. A friend told me about his experience working on a boat near Naked Island in the Sound. His official duty was “bird rescue”. “How many do you think you rescued?” I asked, imagining him gently scrubbing some oil soaked cormorant, or shear-water. “There were none left to rescue,” he said.
I heard stories from those who saw helicopters in the darkness, dumping “something” on the oil. The chemicals in the dispersant that the helicopters dropped, were designed to sink the oil to the bottom, out of sight and out of camera range, and those chemicals were arguably more toxic than the oil itself.
I met fishermen whose livelihoods were gone, in one day. The people who were present at “ground zero” still seemed to suffer from post-traumatic stress. They had seen the killing fields, and it had changed them as people.
The first time I went to Prince William Sound I didn’t know what to expect. It was beautiful. The sky was blue, the water was blue, birds soared. Small rocky islands, covered in spruce trees, tidewater glaciers depositing icebergs in the water that looked like sculptures. On the surface you never would have known. But the dark secrets are not buried deep. One scoop of sand from a garden trowel on an island beach reveals at the bottom of the hole, thick, black oil; as though cutting the thin skin will actually make it bleed again. As I crossed the Sound silently, wind in the sails, and looked down into the water, I knew that below me were huge balls of coagulated oil send to the bottom by the dispersants, and for which 20 years was the blink of an eye in their toxic lifetime. And I knew that the ghosts of wild creatures, and the 20% of the litigants in the Exxon case who had already died waiting for some kind of healing were close. And I knew I was not the first person to add my own tears to the salt water of the Sound. But tears do not dilute oil.
Shannyn Moore was in Alaska on that day while I was on the other coast, glued to my TV screen, and has a wonderful post up today to mark this 20th anniversary.
The Myth continues…a drunk captain…an endlessly delayed response…a big storm. The truth is mired somewhere under the sediment of propaganda and media campaigns. What should be remembered as the greatest example of environmental terrorism is now better known as a drunk driver story.
[snip]
The Federal Government and the State of Alaska were complicit in the Spill and the cover-up. Precautions, provisions, and preventative measures had all been made law. It seemed that wasn’t the issue…the problem was finding a government agency to enforce those laws. Exxon’s cost cutting measures insured a disaster; layed off spill responders; not fixing the disabled Raycas radar; the containment boom barge iced into dry-dock. All those profit enhancements were expected of a company that answered only to it’s shareholders. The government agencies that looked away from negligence and their responsibility have never been held accountable.
Last June, the Supreme Court gave Exxon a pass. They pledged allegiance to corporate interest and allowed Exxon to pay a total of three days profit for destroying the Sound and those who depended on it for their livelihood, and loved its unspoiled beauty and wildness. The stonewalling, and the appeals had paid off.
There is no way to turn back this 20-year clock. We look back with wiser eyes, and think of what we should have done differently. If only we had known the cost to Alaska economically, spiritually, and environmentally. We surely wouldn’t have let this happen. Never.
We are now at the beginning of another clock. We often fail to recognize these moments for what they are, but we are living in a time when we can make these decisions again, and create an outcome of our choosing. Prince William Sound is lost to us, but Alaska has other jewels. One of them is Bristol Bay – unspoiled as the Sound used to be, and home to the world’s largest salmon fishery. A double frontal assault is coming to the Bay. On the left flank is the spectre of offshore oil development. Voices questioning whether this is a wise decision, and urging us to think of fish before petroleum, are pressured to change their message or be silent. Our governor told us to vote “no” on an initiative that would have kept the Bay safe. King Oil has no use for King Salmon.
And pressing in on the other side is Pebble Mine – an open pit gold/copper/molybdenum mine, of which sulphuric acid and heavy metals are byproducts, and the largest of its kind in the world. It will sit at the confluence of two rivers at the headwaters of Bristol Bay. If you had to choose a type of mine not to have, and the place not to have it, this would be it. If Pebble Mine doesn’t irreparably damage it’s surrounding ecosystem it will be the first time ever for that type of mine.
So, today as we mourn the loss of our Sound, the priorities of our Supreme Court, and all the unquantifiable life that we will never get back, we need to look forward. We need to remember the lessons of the past and apply them to the blank slate of the future. We will decide our priorities. Do we want a toxic mine that will give us jobs for 50 years while poisoning another body of water on which so many depend, or do we want to guard that treasure with everything we have, and say that there are fish, and there is mining, and Bristol Bay is not big enough for both of them?
I never knew Prince William Sound before the spill. In some ways I don’t know what was lost. I don’t want future generations of Alaskans to say that about Bristol Bay. I want them to see what would have been lost, and know that we did what we needed to do to save it for them.
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Shannyn Moore will be hosting a Town Hall meeting tonight at Vagabond Blues in Palmer at 7:30. Come join the discussion and learn how you can act for the future of our state and its renewable resources.
I posted this early , early this a.m. ………bears repeating.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/23/opinion/23mon1.html?_r=1
dear, dear, akm.
this is your best.
Such a sad chapter in Alaska’s history. Please please, we can’t let it happen again. As a geologist, I KNOW the damage that mining in the wrong place, and/or without proper safeguards, can do. It is virtually irreversible in our lifetimes.
I remember the footage like it happened yesterday. And I hope it doesn’t happen to Bristol Bay; do not count on Palin or any of her Cabinet, or perhaps most AK Legislators to prevent Pebble Mine from opening.
Rally the citizens, rally the bloggers- another battle is brewing.
Read this link and cry. This IS the future of Bristol Bay if we don’t stop GINO and her pebbly ilk.
http://www.sprol.com/?p=268
austintx(16:29:41) :
Thanks for posting the link again. Salazar is known in our state for making educated, measured decisions- and building consensus. I hope he sees Pebble Mine for what it is: a greedy grab for profits.
Thank you for drawing attention to Shannyn’s excellent article, which left me leaking slightly. I, too, remember feeling helpless and angry, but my frustration that I was a continent away and could do nothing is dwarfed by those who lost their heritage and livelihoods to greed and incompetence.
Calling Summitville (read my previous link) the “Exxon Valdez of mining” is right on. We don’t want Summitville to get bumped from that title because Bristol Bay wins the award instead. LEARN the lessons of history. Do not repeat them.
Although I was only four at the time, that summer I went out on my father’s boat and helped in the oil spill response. I don’t remember much but we towed oil booms and collected oiled birds and otters. Back at home my family kept a cautious eye out for the globs of oil washing up on our beaches. The spill had so many lasting effects not just for the Sound but for my home, Kodiak Island. It was inexcusable that Exxon got off as lightly as they did. And it is frightening to think of what might happen to Bristol Bay. I continue to hope that we as Alaskans will be able to fight against the corporations that seek to exploit our state’s resources.
womanwithsardinecan (16:42:00) :
Read this link and cry. This IS the future of Bristol Bay if we don’t stop GINO and her pebbly ilk.
http://www.sprol.com/?p=268
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Yup, Salazar knows firsthand the damage improper mining can do- and this is in a state with a long history of mines. As our AG, he battled the company that wanted to just walk away from the mess, and the feds that wanted to ignore it.
We are still dealing with the toxic brew, although some progress has been made- hopefully, there will be more Super Fund dollars for Colorado. (And we have lots of old mines that leak toxic junk into our precious waterways)
CO almost nativeNo Gravatar (16:49:15) :
womanwithsardinecan (16:42:00) :
Read this link and cry. This IS the future of Bristol Bay if we don’t stop GINO and her pebbly ilk.
http://www.sprol.com/?p=268
__________________________________________________
Yup, Salazar knows firsthand the damage improper mining can do- and this is in a state with a long history of mines. As our AG, he battled the company that wanted to just walk away from the mess, and the feds that wanted to ignore it.
We are still dealing with the toxic brew, although some progress has been made- hopefully, there will be more Super Fund dollars for Colorado. (And we have lots of old mines that leak toxic junk into our precious waterways)
————
you…you…Socialist! Wanting Superfund dollars to clean up the mess that those sweet adorable mining companies left. How Dare YOU!! Earmarks!!
I remember that day like it was yesterday…
Weeping for our future, because Alaskans, alas, will not stand up against GINO, and they will let her get her way.
(Alaskans: The ball is in YOUR court! Stand up against GINO, and get her OUT OF OFFICE! RECALL her, IMPEACH her – WHATEVER IT TAKES: GET RID OF HER!!!! PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! )
Here is Greg Palast’s post: http://www.truthout.org/032409J
A bit of personal history…
I worked at Illinois Creek (CIRI NPMC exploration camp bought out from Anaconda junk bond days) one summer back in the early 90′s. I ended up in constant fights with my boss over sloppy practices and his incessant whining about OSHA making the company clean up the mine. I threatened one day to get on the goddamn plane with the rock samples if he didn’t deal with some of the mess left behind by Anaconda (he said Anaconda hadn’t had a disaster so we wouldn’t). The other geologists backed me up. He ended up storing some of the sloppily stored cyanide in his cabin. I spent the rest of my time fantasizing about murdering him with the cyanide.
Yes, we have lots of good things left in Alaska. Time now to appreciate and care for that which we have. Wildlife diversity, wild fish, healthy watersheds, healthy lifestyles, berries, edible and medicinal plants, cultural tradition, scenic beauty.
All worth caring for now. Appreciate this post, AKM.
womanwithsardinecan(16:52:23) :
heh heh…very funny:-)
Is it any co-incidence that the other country in question (besides the US) now has a right-wing government?
Politicians Censor Report on Dangers of Arctic Drilling
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,530454,00.html
I think Alaskans are getting the message on GINO and I think she knows it too. Let us hope. And as Shannyn said this morning on her blog, let us all light a candle and remember, especially for the families whose lives were destroyed and whose loved ones were so devastated they took their own lives out of sheer desperation. A sad and tragic time indeed. Let’s hope Bristol Bay can be saved.
I do not like polluted water. It doesn’t accessorize well with pink. Sarah – my name is “Dolly” , and you are all but chum when I’m done.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_xPRJcY91HB4/SbK7aalFviI/AAAAAAAAAQ8/U_R4mJMzDio/s1600-h/pink_dolphin_1358282c.jpg
I was there.
It still hurts.
I took a tour of Valdez and PWS in oh, about 1988. The guide expounded at length about the precautions against a spill. The guide said with great authority, “there could never be a spill here. It couldn’t happen”.
As fawnskin mudpuppy said, this is your best, AKM. Thank you. As the late, great, David Brower said: ‘Never give up what you’ve never seen.’ He was referring to Glen Canyon, but it applies just as much to Bristol Bay. Who can I write a letter to?
AKM-what a fantastic article-i’m literally crying for all that has been lost, angry that big business always seems to triumph over the people in so many aspects of life and shamed at my own ignorance of what really happened 20 years ago. I and so many others are with you on this. What can we do to help save Bristol Bay?
I agree that we must look forward, however, the Supreme Court verdict might not be the final word.
Congress has overturned Supreme Court verdicts over 100 times. What verdict could possibly be more deserving than this one made with fascist activist conservative justices all appointed by Reagan, HW Bush and W Bush?
This decision provides an inexpensive permit to environmentally rape, pillage and plunder. There are no longer punitive damages.
Furthermore, there is the International World Court that could hold Exxon accountable.
Thanks for the great post AKM and thanks for linking Shannyn’s heart wrenching piece.
AKM-Heartbreaking post…we had a small oil spill recently in SF bay, the tugboat driver was impaired. Many birds lost, seals, migrating birds on their way north…but nothing like what you guys experienced.
I agree with Womanwithacan SHE must be stopped.
Also the issue of Pebble mine…Regina has a good blog post up about it.
http://palingates.blogspot.com/2009/03/pebble-mine-risk-to-villages.html
I remember this like yesterday. I was soooo concerned for the wildlife. AKM, you post brought tears to my eyes. Thanks for a great post. Each one you do is great.
Sometimes saddness is so deep and wide even our anger is washed in tears.
So that we never forget what has been and what can be if we do not stand up and stand together against man’s indifference.
AKM, love the gift of your pen! Thanks for great article, again!
I wondered if that former professor at Fairbanks was another casualty of environmental devastation? What’s his story?
To allow such mine around food source would be wrong. To increase the salmon population should be paramount.
To have a tank farm at the base of a volcano looks like an accident waiting to happen. Cheap taxes??
AKM, this is why we adore you! You speak the TRUTH!
OT- ADN has an article on the ethics complaint about the arctic cat thingy.
thanks akm for a brilliant post. i remember crying when i saw the devastation. when i was a child a neighbor used pass on his national geographic magazines and my favorites were any articles featuring alaska and the south pacific islands. i would read and look at the pictures of these edens for hours[ i am an only child and love to read]. someday i hope to visit these longed for places. someday….b
Exxon’s Deadly Legacy Lives on for Fishermen. By John Platt, AlterNet. Posted March 24, 2008: http://www.alternet.org/water/80476/
“…Back in the early 1970′s, the State of Alaska, the Federal Government, as well as a consortium of oil companies proposed putting the terminus of the Alaska pipeline in Valdez. The fisherman’s union, including my father, opposed such action, which would ultimately put their livelihood at risk if an oil spill should ever occur. Their concerns were swept away with assurances that this would never happen. United States Senator Ted Stevens was quoted as saying, ‘Using the latest technologies, not one drop would ever touch the waters of Prince William Sound.’…”
I remember my sister telling me about the spill and of course I read and saw it on TV maybe This article along with Greg Palast’s article should be sent to our Presidents notice maybe it will get Salazar’s attention at any rate. If I was computer literate I would do it but since I’m not maybe someone else is and can send it to his government site.
I wanted to wait a while before commenting because probably no one will like what I have to say. I too am a geologist and worked in the mining industry
essentially all of my life, but only as an independent consultant. Needless to
say I have not worked much, but enough to become very knowledgeable in certain fields, and to enjoy a moderate standard of living. Virtually all my work is on the exploration side, to find ore deposits that could potentially be developed into mines. I tend to avoid working on certain types of prospects, but sometimes when you are looking for one thing you find something else instead. Full disclosure would take pages so I will stop there and the readers here can more or less make up their own minds as to which “side” I am on.
That said, I am on the side of sustainable development, evironmental responsibility, competent and responsible industry etc. etc. from my own perspective and so far here, admittedly a small sampling, but virtually everywhere I come across issues like this being discussed, every one talks a lot about the symptoms, but no one talks about the singular elephantine cause of all those symptoms. The growth of the human population. In my short 59 years living, the world population has almost tripled. And despite the fact that vast numbers of people in the so called 3rd world have standards of living far below those of the so-called 1st world, that still translates into one simple thing. MORE. More of everything.
So an analogy to the global situation could be as we are standing around in a burning building, debating whether to save the photo albums, the important papers, a few clothes, the pets, or the kids. And we never consider turning on the water to the sprinkler system.
More also means more greed, dishonesty, corruption, and so on. It can also mean less, less education spread more thinly across demographics, favoring only those well heeled enough to pay for it no matter what the cost. It means less representation for the great unwashed masses because the moneyed interests can buy whatever kind of government they want. And if they can’t for some reason buy it, as in the situation now, they can coerce the government by declaring a crisis. Who is left holding the empty bag? The billions of individuals who cannot collectivise their influence strongly enough to wield their due influence.
I know it is a bitter pill to swallow but as a famous cartoon from the now long defunct Pogo comic strip declared almost 4 decades ago, “We have met the enemy and they are us.”
Do I have any miraculous solutions to offer? No. If anything, in my lifetime the problems have become more intractable because the competition for scarce resources has increased immensely while the concentration of the control over those resources has shrunk to a tiny population of the super rich, individuals, corporations and yes countries. Just look at oil. Alaska’s
oil is insignificant on a global scale. You also have to bear in mind one thing that became clear to me before I even got to grad school, everything we have and use, everything, literally, comes out of the earth by one means or another. True that the ultimate source of most of our energy is derived from the hand nearby star that burns its hydrogen so relentlessly, some of our energy comes from the primordial elements formed in other stars eons ago… but for all practical purposes from the toothpaste you brush with in the mornings, to the wood that goes into your homes, to the copper that goes into your plumbing (or the PVC), to the metals that make up your eating utensils, to the cloth that makes up your clothing, to the gadgets you use to read and enjoy mudflats, all of it, every single bit of it, has been extracted, processed, and manufactured into its current state.
How can we stop mines such as Pebble from becoming potentially sources of ecological disaster? The short answer is reverse the trend of population growth of humanity. Sure we can fight them in the near term, but will that make any real difference? Apparently the answer is no because the referendum on the water quality issue was defeated with the help of the moneyed interests was it not?
As a scientist, I think it is possible to still develop and exploit resources in an environmentally responsible way. But there is a salient fact that pertains there that must also be addressed. It will cost more. Are we willing to pay for it? Historically the answer is no. Once again, look at oil. The fall in the price of crude has been due almost entirely to the retreat in demand in the
US economy. That recession resulted in a global recession, yet now we see speculators once again, pushing up the price of oil, anticipating a recovery and a return to what we used to call conspicuous consumption. The US consumes a huge fraction of all the oil in the world. By doing so, we also enrich ideologies and economies that have no great concern for our welfare. Is this a wise policy?
Few of you may remember, but concerning the big bugaboos that have been flaunted by the right wing over the past decade two milestones are notable. One is that in Clinton’s administration Bin Laden declared war on the US. When Clinton responded to Bin Laden’s attacks on our embassies in Africa the right wing screamed that he was trying to divert attention from his own problems with the Monica Lewinsky dust up. In 2001 Bin Laden attacked the US inflicting nearly 3,000 casualties. The right wing proclaimed it was Clinton’s fault because he did not take the threats seriously, yet only a few weeks before the attacks, Bush was warned that they were imminent and there was sufficient evidence among disparate agencies to even predict them. Shortly after the 2001 attacks, Bin Laden declared his intent was to “bankrupt the US”. With the help of the right wing, he managed that attack
as well, for today, we are indeed bankrupt.
I have to apologize for this rant, because it is uncharacteristic of me to hold forth in such a fashion. That said I want to point out one or two small criticisms for AKM that may be of benefit in the future.
For one thing, do not embrace slogans or sound bites that seem useful if you do not understand their implications. By this I mean, referring to Pebble as a “sulphiric acid mine” is patently false and absurd and will only allow your critics to dismiss you as a wingnut. To the best of my understanding it is a potential copper mine, as such, yes, runoff from it and leaching of the mine tailings will produce a low concentration of H2SO4 in the water, but no one is mining sulphiric acid. More dangerous and damaging are the heavy metals that an acidic ground water can leach from the tailings and mobilize.
Secondly, do not take the position that no mine could be developed that is environmentally responsible because that is simply not true. It would be much more expensive, and perhaps therefore not cost effective to develop a mine in a way that would be environmentally safe, but to claim it is impossible is not realistic. The technology exists. What does not exist is the political responsibility to see to it that things are done in a way that results in a zero threat to the downstream watersheds. So far as I can see, the proposals made for the Pebble are just exactly the opposite, they intend to put the watersheds at risk because it is so much cheaper to do it that way than to build and engineer their containment according to best practises.
I’ll STFU now and leave it to the rest of you to chat about this, if you are even interested.
Ciao, from Brasil
I did not mean to suggest that the mine was mining for sulphuric acid. It will mine for gold, copper and other metals, of course. Mining for sulphuric acid seems like such a silly notion, I certainly didn’t think anyone would think that’s what I meant. LOL! I will rephrase in the post. The type of mine that it is has never NOT damaged its environment. If Pebble does it clean, it will be a first. That’s not a risk we should be willing to take. Anyone wishing further information on Pebble can go to the Renewable Resources Coalition website. AKM
PPs I did not say anything about Palins coat because if she could get her board to go her way with troopergate she will do the same with this.Bet Blago wished he had a board he could have hired to say he was innocent. Did anyone look up Gov Jindal I did and I got to day he is far far more right wing than Sarah Palin is,Hope he doesn’t get out in front. Maybe the GOP is putting up Jindal so when they put up Palin she won’t look so bad.Just a thought
Thank you AKM, for speaking to this……….
@Krubozumo Nyankoye (18:46:06)
very well said. thank you for your thoughtful and heartfelt post.
Krubozumo Nyankoye (18:46:06) :
Thank you for your post. I appreciate your reasoned discussion, and I agree about the impact of the growth of humanity. One point I do differ:
“As a scientist, I think it is possible to still develop and exploit resources in an environmentally responsible way. But there is a salient fact that pertains there that must also be addressed. It will cost more. Are we willing to pay for it? Historically the answer is no. Once again, look at oil.”
We hear this argument all the time from oil and gas interests in Colorado, especially fighting the new regulations moving through our legislature. The more balanced rules are going to pass- along with tax credits and subsidies for smart energy: wind, solar, and who knows what else- including credits for efficiency and conservation. Once educated, citizens will support more expensive ways of extracting, if it will lead to a better future for all.
I do believe mining can be done responsibly, but I have my doubts about a mine located in the headwaters of the best salmon fisheries/fishing in Alaska. Too much risk-
ah, yeah, Kruz, Ciao, from Brasil……from what I read you are a frickin paid plant.
@ Krubozumo Nyankoye (18:46:06) :
You have brought up some very good points and it is true – those that own or hold title to the desired natural resources – are the ones with power.
Altho I don’t believe it is true for the people on THIS site, may people in the US believe beef “comes from the store” They don’t realize that calves are born & innoculated, tagged, branded, and fed/watered, etc. until such time they are big enough for slaughter. THEN they actually get to a “store”. But it is a lot of work to get to that point.
Thank you for your rant -
Delegation to Obama: No “rash actions” on Arctic policy
In the letter signed by Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Democratic Sen. Mark Begich and Republican Rep. Don Young, the delegation told the president they are “acutely aware of the resource management issues and the economic challenges facing our state.”
“We are also aware of the meaning our great state holds for the rest of the country, but to us, Alaska is more than just an environmental symbol. It is where we live, work and raise our families.”
http://community.adn.com/adn/node/139648
Got hope?
CO almost native )10:20)
I do believe mining can be done responsibly, but I have my doubts about a mine located in the headwaters of the best salmon fisheries/fishing in Alaska. Too much risk-
I agree. A food source must be protected.
@Krubozumo Nyankoye
…The technology exists. What does not exist is the political responsibility to see to it that things are done in a way that results in a zero threat to the downstream watersheds. So far as I can see, the proposals made for the Pebble are just exactly the opposite, they intend to put the watersheds at risk because it is so much cheaper to do it that way than to build and engineer their containment according to best practises.
______________________________
And there’s the rub. There is no desire or willingness to work toward even minimal risk. Investors tend to want the most bang for the least amount of money, and devil take the hindmost.
Krubozumo Nyankoye (18:46:06) :
I did find you point of view very well spoken. I wish that I had your fluid way with words and ability to express such a powerful yet soft message. Plant or not, I believe it was a moderate point of view from a deep place. Thank you for sharing and expressing yourself.
Personally, I think our oceans and sea life in general are already fighting a losing battle. Developing offshore oil rigs and open pit mining in the head waters of Bristol Bay , or anywhere else on this planet, is not what I believe to be prudent development with the present state of the planet.
Personally, I thing the best situation we can attain as a planet is to create a steady state of well-being for all. This race to extract natural resources of all kinds, at ever faster and more profitable rates is killing the planet.
The capitalistic goal of bigger and bigger economic growth every year after year is a myth. When is enough enough?
I hope we will use are creative intelligence, and unlimited inventiveness to recycle, reuse, renew, repurpose, redirect, redistribute, reclaim, rebuild, restore, re-grow, recover, rediscover, and relearn the living systems of planet earth.
Work with the most powerful forces of the planet. The sun, wind, and moving water.
Before you decide for Bristol Bay residents please consider;
Most of the resource in BB is for natural gas drilling, not oil.
The transfer can happen on land.
The economies of BB are not making it on fishing alone as the state has seen fit to send 90% of the value added manufacturing out of the state.
Most residents are for moving forward to explore how to do this safely.
Drilling has been happening for years off the coast of CA and the deep south, areas rich in sea life. Learn from them.
When it comes to Pebble Mine. Help BB by making sure the industry and all the ‘conclusions’ they base their plans on are solid. Make them use the best technology around to develop it.
An example – there is a fault line that runs near the mine, but it is no one knows EXACTLY where it is.
If they are going to say a structure is safe based on where that fault is – then make them PROVE it before we OK it.
Make them show the SCIENCE behind the decisions, and understand it!!
Get involved now and make sure the regulations are followed and are open to the public.
Question each and every plan and move and IF they can show it can be done well, give them a chance.
Anchorage and the rest of the US does not want to support the villages through state and federal “give aways”, then let us develop the resources if it can be done safely.
This is a fine, heartfelt piece of writing.
Krubozumo Nyankoye,
Thank you for your words. I also believe that we are stuck with mining in this high population industrial society, but we MUST do it responsibly, including walking away from sites that are just too risky to the environment.
Summitville is called the mine that never should have happened. I want Pebble to be the mine that didn’t happen because we got it right.
We need to be recycling our metals, now and forever, and support technology that reduces our need for metals.
And the next dumbass miner who complains about those meanies making them clean up their mess is going to get kicked in the bollocks by me. I’m really tired of that whiny irresponsible crap.
I appologize for flying off the handle and accusing geologist Krubo of being a plant, I’m sorry. I put down the wine and went to bed, lol.
I totally disagree going ahead with any new mining or additional oil exploration anywhere at this point. I don’t care the perceived need for it, we can use and re-use what we have right now, live more responsibly and slow down. You can’t eat or breath money, steel, gold, copper, oil or tailings. We have to use renewable resources. We have been sloppy and careless long enough, we see the results and damage. Can we please learn from our mistakes?
The ballet measure 4 would not have passed if Palin hadn’t been underhanded and “used” to sway the vote to no. This was a last minute tactic to “steal” the vote, she should have been busted for that.
The Valdez spill would not have happened if very real concerns had been taken seriously in the first place and if politicians had not convinced and lied to people. If greed had been denied.
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Gotta Jump IN wrote: The economies of BB are not making it on fishing alone as the state has seen fit to send 90% of the value added manufacturing out of the state.
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Then I’d say this is 90% outsourcing is something that “should” change to help the economy of the area rather than turn to mining to improve the economy.
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Ted Steven’s should have been yanked from office the minute this spill happened. Selling B*llsh*t to the public should be a crime.
“United States Senator Ted Stevens was quoted as saying, ‘Using the latest technologies, not one drop would ever touch the waters of Prince William Sound.”
Say No….
Gotta Jump IN wrote: The economies of BB are not making it on fishing alone as the state has seen fit to send 90% of the value added manufacturing out of the state.
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Then I’d say this is 90% outsourcing is something that “should” change to help the economy of the area rather than turn to mining to improve the economy.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>.
Good Luck – you have businesses worth billions who are not going to give it up without a fight and a state that does not even MENTION the idea of having the industry based in the state.
Thus you think fishermen can make it happen??? NOW that makes me laugh!
Nice idea but not reality based!!
This has been an interesting discussion. I was in Cordova this past June the day the Supremes issued their opinion. It was a travesty. We can not let the same thing than happend to Prince William Sound happen to Brisol Bay. The old saying: “Fool me once…fool me twice…” seems to apply here.
As pointed out above, the technology may exist to mine safely, but the political will doesn’t. Until we devlope the politcal will, we have to stop the mine. Keep up the fight to save Brisol Bay!
I was living in Seward when the oil spill happened. I still remember the silence and the heaviness of the contaminated tide, sluggishly lapping upon the shore there. Both of those proposed developments should be stopped – period.
AKM-
Just tip toeing in , after everyone has left, so no one will see me cry.
This is a beautiful post. Thank you.
Rep Edgmon wrote a song about fishing forever or mining for a season. I heard him play it at a concert here in Juneau.
Afterwards I walked south of Sandy beach and the Treadwell mine cave-in site…
to the place where nothing grows. I can’t remember which mine was once there but it is a place where nothing grows- not even now-100 yrs later.
We are funny critters- we humans. Our short lives are our infinity.
We always assume we will have time to tidy things up before they get really bad-
The way we do business, the way we treat each other, the way we use the bounty around us…the way we take supplies from the earth.
That place where nothing grows is where I go to stay clear, if only for a short while, that we fall short far too often.
Far too often , we let things get really bad… too bad to fix.
I’m still here. I agree, and thanks. AKM
Another great post by AKM, thanks very much. I would like to offer a few comments because just today (3-25) I received a check for my participation in the class-action lawsuit against Exxon for the Exxon Valdez oil spill. The date on the check is March 23, 2009 – almost 20 years to the day after the ship hit Bligh Reef. The courts determined that the claimants in my class were to divide up a total of 98 million in damages. So what was my individual share, after two decades of waiting? About 850 bucks.
Whoopee.