View Full Version : Thunberg or is it Thunderberg
paraclete
Feb 11, 2020, 10:59 PM
guess no one wants to discuss all those unrecyclable and unusable discarded windmill blades filling up land fills
What are they made of? if metal they are recyclable, if plastic they are recyclable? question is; the industry isn't that old so why are the blades filling up landfill? as to batteries haven't seen anything yet wait until those lithium ion batteries get into landfill and ste the tips on fire
tomder55
Feb 12, 2020, 03:21 AM
according to the article I posted and no one read ,they are lissome fiberglass. They are as long as football fields .So they do get cut down to size for transport .
Tens of thousands of aging blades are coming down from steel towers around the world and most have nowhere to go but landfills. In the U.S. alone, about 8,000 will be removed in each of the next four years. Europe, which has been dealing with the problem longer, has about 3,800 coming down annually through at least 2022, according to BloombergNEF. It’s going to get worse: Most were built more than a decade ago, when installations were less than a fifth of what they are now.
Built to withstand hurricane-force winds, the blades can’t easily be crushed, recycled or repurposed. That’s created an urgent search for alternatives in places that lack wide-open prairies. In the U.S., they go to the handful of landfills that accept them, in Lake Mills, Iowa; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; and Casper, where they will be interred in stacks that reach 30 feet under.
talaniman
Feb 12, 2020, 03:52 AM
The science for recycling, repurposing fiberglass is here (http://info.bwfiberglass.com/blog/the-future-of-recycling-fiberglass) Tom.
tomder55
Feb 12, 2020, 04:10 AM
so all these envirowackos are allowing these blades to be thrown into landfills when recycling is viable ? I think the states that have the windmills should fill their landfills instead of trucking them out to the northern plains states .
Global Fiberglass Solutions is the only company doing recycling of fiberglass . They already have a year's worth of inventory of used blades. They transform it into composite floor boards . Then the rub is that they have to sell the boards on the open market ,competing with all other flooring ,including other composites . I don't know the science . Maybe states like Texas should mandate that new construction uses recycled fiberglass flooring exclusively . Maybe sometime in the future it can be ground down and added to road fill . My source is not lying . The blades are being decommissioned ;chopped up and sent to landfills.
talaniman
Feb 12, 2020, 05:13 AM
I have no reason to not believe you Tom, but is present practice the best answer? It's like any other recycling effort, invest the money to do it, or let the trash build up, and bury it. You know it takes years to do anything anywhere. I just see all those new facilities and the people to man them someday.
Vacuum7
Feb 12, 2020, 06:09 AM
I must admit that it is STRANGE for me to be on THIS SIDE of an ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERN: I have always been a SMOKESTACK INDUSTRY PROPENENT and have argued with radical ENVIRONMENTALIST.....But, now that I suggest killing the sh&t of birds may not be a good thing, I'M THE WACKO?!!??!! I find that your positions tend to be really disingenuous....and I only have to go back to several decades ago to find the appropriate comparative: Environmentalist and the majority of the American People were highly alarmed at the decline of birds, particularly raptors of all descriptions, back in the 50's and 60's and an all out effort to find out why produced the reason: DDT was making the bird shells super thin and they just wound make it to produce chicks....So, all grades of hell was raised and the government stepped-in and outlawed DDT: There were a lot of reasons to get rid of DDT but bird population decline was a big part of it......BUT, NOW, I'm a dumba$$ for suggesting that Wind Turbines are a problem....hmmm. I see: You all have a "selective vision" when it comes to what concerns you: You get behind the Environmental parade to save a salamander in a stream and prevent loggers from harvesting prime timber but you aren't willing to seriously look at saving birds...O.K., I get it: You have your "PETS" that are BEYOND SCRUTINY.
jlisenbe
Feb 12, 2020, 06:58 AM
I have no concern about wind turbine blades causing the deaths of .001% of birds in the U.S. (or whatever the correct number is), but the banning of DDT had terrible consequences for people who, by the millions, have died of malaria since then. It was an awful example of a poorly implemented policy.
"Banning DDT saved thousands of raptors over the past 30 years, but outright bans and misguided fears about the pesticide cost the lives of millions of people who died of insect-borne diseases like malaria. The 500 million people who come down with malaria every year might well wonder what authoritarian made that decision."
https://reason.com/2004/01/07/ddt-eggshells-and-me/
talaniman
Feb 12, 2020, 07:15 AM
Pick your poison.
http://www.panna.org/human-health-harms/cancer
https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/clusters/fallon/ddtfaq.htm
jlisenbe
Feb 12, 2020, 07:27 AM
Do you actually read those links yourself?
talaniman
Feb 12, 2020, 07:40 AM
YEP! Of course I do!
jlisenbe
Feb 12, 2020, 08:20 AM
I wonder because the second one basically said the whole issue basically has more question marks than anything else.
talaniman
Feb 12, 2020, 08:57 AM
Because it does need more definitive data but is scary being exposed and not knowing about it until its to late like lead paint, or asbestos, or coal dust and Black lung. Who knows what else. Being an industrial worker you think I'm not concerned? How about the rising death toll for those 1st responders during 911?
I know enough female survivors to take cancer seriously and commend what survivors go through.
jlisenbe
Feb 12, 2020, 09:30 AM
You were around DDT as an industrial worker?
talaniman
Feb 12, 2020, 11:55 AM
No, I have not but as my post alludes to humans are exposed to many things we thought were safe and find out it's not. They have alternatives for DDT, and better techniques for Malaria, so just my 2 cents why take a chance?
https://www.thespruce.com/what-is-ddt-history-impacts-1708897
jlisenbe
Feb 12, 2020, 12:48 PM
My understanding is that DDT is still the gold standard for mosquito control, but I could be wrong.
talaniman
Feb 12, 2020, 01:04 PM
In some places for sure, and controlled environments from my understanding. Just not open agricultural where it can be ingested by critters we humans will ingest. Tends to build up in animals and humans.
tomder55
Feb 12, 2020, 01:52 PM
In some places for sure, and controlled environments from my understanding correct ;banning was over kill . Blowing it like the fog across the land was excessive. This is all 20-20 hindsight .
Vacuum7
Feb 12, 2020, 02:18 PM
They knew about the Cancer-Asbestos link all the way back into the 1920's....and they HID THE INFORMATION.
jlisenbe: Yes, I can attest that DDT was off the charts as far as knocking down insects! We had a stashed batch of it that Daddy would use on an "as needed" basis when he wanted to guarantee bugs would be gone....also had Chlorodane, which was like "the nuclear option" of pesticides.
The Wind Turbine pusher want to put these damn things up all over....except in THEIR BACKYARDS! I say this with old Ted Kennedy in mind...Ted pushed the Wind Turbine agenda strongly EXCEPT when they started talking about putting them off Martha's Vineyard, then old Ted threw a hissy-fit!
talaniman
Feb 13, 2020, 04:41 AM
I hear you fellows but just think of how long it took to FINALLY find out about hazards we should have avoided, and do we want to find in another 20, 30, 40 years that we were poisoning ourselves? My first day on the job was SAFETY FIRST, so of course that lesson sticks out as we face continued challenges to our environment, and still get checked every two years as a precaution since retirement.
Yeah I get plenty notices of class action suites against manufacturers of the great chemical products we used, and later found dangerous, that go back to my youth! The examples I gave before could be the tip of the iceberg.
Hey Vac, those rich guys never want anything that spoils the view of their high class domain. There are many things you'll never see in a rich guys neighborhood.
Vacuum7
Feb 13, 2020, 06:06 AM
Talaniman: So true....RICH doesn't respect any political denomination, they are in a "club"....I don't think all rich people are bad, but a microcosm of the population.....however, I do feel that there are two sets of rules when it comes to stuff like who gets stuck with what and where....didn't used to think that in my youth but after seeing example after example of it, I have come to believe it true....best example I know: In the Southeastern U.S., if I live on a salt marsh and decide to build a deck across the marsh down to the river, I probably will not get the permit to do so claiming that the "marsh's natural environ" must be maintained...now, compare that situation to a developer who will be allowed to actually go in and FILL THE MARSH IN! Go figure!
talaniman
Feb 13, 2020, 07:43 AM
You nailed it!
jlisenbe
Feb 13, 2020, 08:35 AM
compare that situation to a developer who will be allowed to actually go in and FILL THE MARSH IN! Go figure!That's not true.
Vacuum7
Feb 13, 2020, 10:19 AM
jlisenbe: Absolutely is true: Marsh has been filled-in by developers: The way it works is the developer buys marsh property somewhere else in the state and then makes a "trade" for the marsh he wants to develop: The problem is that the exchange of two properties/marshes in different areas is never equal: You can't take marsh from Murrell's Inlet and "trade" it for marsh in Hilton Head, just isn't the same and I don't give a sh$t what the government says.
jlisenbe
Feb 13, 2020, 12:35 PM
jlisenbe: Absolutely is true: Marsh has been filled-in by developers: The way it works is the developer buys marsh property somewhere else in the state and then makes a "trade" for the marsh he wants to develop: The problem is that the exchange of two properties/marshes in different areas is never equal: You can't take marsh from Murrell's Inlet and "trade" it for marsh in Hilton Head, just isn't the same and I don't give a sh$t what the government says.What difference would that make to a government, that property is being "traded"? There are federal laws that STRICTLY govern the use and development of wetlands.
talaniman
Feb 13, 2020, 06:55 PM
Let 'em find oil or something that is of value and you get a lease agreement, anywhere. I mean they are about to let miners destroy the salmon spawning rivers in Alaska, so yeah tell me about the law. Iminent domain is also the law. Be it oil pipe lines through private land, or a fence for the brown folks, you own your land at the grace of government. If they want it, they'll take it!
jlisenbe
Feb 13, 2020, 07:45 PM
Let 'em find oil or something that is of value and you get a lease agreement, anywhere. I mean they are about to let miners destroy the salmon spawning rivers in Alaska, so yeah tell me about the lawThat's just garbage and you know it. You have no evidence for that at all.
Iminent domain is also the law. Be it oil pipe lines through private land, or a fence for the brown folks, you own your land at the grace of government. If they want it, they'll take it!That's now what we were discussing. Eminent domain is a completely different issue. BTW, it is typically the government buying the land, not an oil company. And no, the gov cannot simply take your land because they "want to". Vac was talking about the use of marsh lands and some ideas about being able to swap land.
Vacuum7
Feb 14, 2020, 06:43 AM
jlisenbe: That's the particular point I am telling you: The government has made "exceptions" to the Wetland laws in these cases...they have more or less said that all wetlands are equal: You can destroy a given amount as long as you give an equal acreage of Wetland in return.
talaniman
Feb 14, 2020, 07:36 AM
That's just garbage and you know it. You have no evidence for that at all. That's now what we were discussing. Eminent domain is a completely different issue. BTW, it is typically the government buying the land, not an oil company. And no, the gov cannot simply take your land because they "want to". Vac was talking about the use of marsh lands and some ideas about being able to swap land.
Of course I do,
https://unicornriot.ninja/2019/alaska-mining-project-threatens-salmon-water-and-native-communities/
Regarding the government buying land have you forgotten the big fight over the XL pipeline? The problem with Eminent Domain is if you don't want to sell, they can find there own price compensation and your alternative is a lengthy expensive court battle as typified by the many cases of ranchers along the southern border for the wall. Some go back to the Bush era, still pending resolution.
Yeah according to you that's okay, but not helping a poor family with bread, milk, or lights.
jlisenbe: That's the particular point I am telling you: The government has made "exceptions" to the Wetland laws in these cases...they have more or less said that all wetlands are equal: You can destroy a given amount as long as you give an equal acreage of Wetland in return.
Land swaps are common between landowners, and dates back centuries. You are very accurate Vac.
jlisenbe
Feb 14, 2020, 08:41 AM
You can destroy a given amount as long as you give an equal acreage of Wetland in return.I'd have to see documentation about that. Everything I have read is that the feds are completely irrational in their protections of wetlands and won't give an inch.
As to the salmon story, this is your original statement. "I mean they are about to let miners destroy the salmon spawning rivers in Alaska." That is a gross exaggeration and not even your one-sided article suggested that. It is quite likely that the proposed mine, which would amount to using one acre for every 22,000 Alaskan acres, a pretty small piece of the pie, can coexist very well with the particular salmon streams in the same area.
As for the XL pipeline, it was an idiotic, politically driven decision by Obama that had nothing to do with land rights. Thankfully, Trump is reversing that and it's just one more reason why we are now energy independent, an amazing achievement that I never thought I would live to see. Of course I'm sure you'll say that it is all due to the brilliance of Obama.
As to the use of eminent domain to build pipelines, that's a tough one. I am not entirely comfortable with it, but I can see it from both sides. It would not seem wise to allow a few landowners to stop a project like that which is so important to our country.
004
tomder55
Feb 14, 2020, 09:57 AM
My whole neighborhood was built on swampland that was filled in . But that happened before wetland laws were enacted . So all the drainage went to a property with a 1 acre or so bit of a depression in the land . It was a cool deal . A drainage pond that retained run off . In the winter it froze and we got to skate on it . The owner was cool and put pvc pipe over a runoff drain that ran into pipes that eventually drained into the local stream . Eventually the Feds came and designated the land as Federal wetlands .Yes one acre on a street surrounded by homes built on fill .
Well the owner passed on and his home was sold .The new owner wanted what the rest of the neighborhood had ,a property that had a lawn . He cut the pvc pipe down to ground level . So now instead of a retain pond ,there was real wet land that was unusable for anything except the breeding of mosquitoes .His petitions to fill in the extend his lawn were denied . He doesn't even have a tax rebate for being the retention pond for the neighborhood run off. That is one example I know of . But I have heard of others .
talaniman
Feb 14, 2020, 10:41 AM
Don't know what I would do in a very large city, though current residence is a million folks, nowhere near the NY MILLIONS you live in Tom, so what you guys did and have done now is just starting unlike where I grew up in the middle of the woods of a smalltime steeltown that grew from the migration of southerners looking for good paying jobs, growing during the early 1900, to 200, 000, in the 60's to presently less than 70,000 presently. Lots of empty rotting decayed houses and buildings which surprisingly was and is quietly being bought up by Indiana University. From small farmers to steel town to college town? Hope I get to see it.
I'd have to see documentation about that. Everything I have read is that the feds are completely irrational in their protections of wetlands and won't give an inch.
Not unusual for a small government conservative to hate whatever the feds do without bothering to understand it. Your MO on many subjects here. Not intended as a slight in any way, but I have encountered those feelings many times and believe it or not it's easily understood to have those feelings.
As to the salmon story, this is your original statement. "I mean they are about to let miners destroy the salmon spawning rivers in Alaska." That is a gross exaggeration and not even your one-sided article suggested that. It is quite likely that the proposed mine, which would amount to using one acre for every 22,000 Alaskan acres, a pretty small piece of the pie, can coexist very well with the particular salmon streams in the same area.
Yeah if the natives are willing to change their diet and ways because mining and most of man's extraction endeavors destroys a way of life that the folks enjoy and destroy the land. Profits before People at it's most stark.
As for the XL pipeline, it was an idiotic, politically driven decision by Obama that had nothing to do with land rights. Thankfully, Trump is reversing that and it's just one more reason why we are now energy independent, an amazing achievement that I never thought I would live to see. Of course I'm sure you'll say that it is all due to the brilliance of Obama.
Obama respected the PEOPLE on the land who didn't want the pipeline through their land, the dufus does NOT. More Profits over people since big energy gains all the profit. Maybe you should research it more before you talk about stuff you prove you know nothing about my low uniformed friend.
As to the use of eminent domain to build pipelines, that's a tough one. I am not entirely comfortable with it, but I can see it from both sides. It would not seem wise to allow a few landowners to stop a project like that which is so important to our country.
004
More important to big biz, who profits and to be honest so does America, because we need a robust energy policy, and so does our northern neighbor Canada which has many resources that American really rich guys control. What the heck does 004 represent?
jlisenbe
Feb 14, 2020, 11:31 AM
Not unusual for a small government conservative to hate whatever the feds do without bothering to understand it. Your MO on many subjects here. Not intended as a slight in any way, but I have encountered those feelings many times and believe it or not it's easily understood to have those feelings.I ask for documentation and instead get a lecture on feelings.
Yeah if the natives are willing to change their diet and ways because mining and most of man's extraction endeavors destroys a way of life that the folks enjoy and destroy the land. Profits before People at it's most stark.The great likelihood is that no native will be changing their diet. Did you overdo the coffee this morning?
Obama respected the PEOPLE on the land who didn't want the pipeline through their land, the dufus does NOT. More Profits over people since big energy gains all the profit. Maybe you should research it more before you talk about stuff you prove you know nothing about my low uniformed friend.That is not what Obama was doing. He opposed the pipeline because he thought it would contribute to GW and was appeasing his base. That is why we never became energy independent under his watch.
More important to big biz, who profits and to be honest so does America, because we need a robust energy policy, and so does our northern neighbor Canada which has many resources that American really rich guys control. What the heck does 004 represent?I don't think you have any idea if any of that is true. 004? That is the percentage (0.004%) of Alaskan land that the mine will occupy. Not much is it?
talaniman
Feb 14, 2020, 12:21 PM
I ask for documentation and instead get a lecture on feelings.
There was plenty of documentation but as you usually do you dismissed and ignored it because it undermined YOUR opinion. You are always more about YOUR feelings than the facts and when you do it, expect the same response.
The great likelihood is that no native will be changing their diet. Did you overdo the coffee this morning?
That's not what the natives are saying!
That is not what Obama was doing. He opposed the pipeline because he thought it would contribute to GW and was appeasing his base. That is why we never became energy independent under his watch.
On this we don't have to argue just refer to the EPA studies and assessments back then. You just don't quit your BS do you? Energy independence happened because of the collective effort over many presidents to achieve that goal and as usual you think the dufus deserves all the credit for getting there. PATHETIC to the MAX!
I don't think you have any idea if any of that is true. 004? That is the percentage (0.004%) of Alaskan land that the mine will occupy. Not much is it?[/QUOTE]
I suppose we will see how much is affected since it looks like it's going to happen if the governor and the dufus gets it's way.
jlisenbe
Feb 14, 2020, 01:41 PM
Not unusual for a small government conservative to hate whatever the feds do without bothering to understand it. Your MO on many subjects here. Not intended as a slight in any way, but I have encountered those feelings many times and believe it or not it's easily understood to have those feelings.
There was plenty of documentationOK. I'll call you out on this one. Your quote I referred to is on top. Where is the documentation in your quote????? Where???
jlisenbe
Feb 14, 2020, 01:50 PM
That's not what the natives are saying!Oh. Well then of course they must be right. After all, I'm sure they are experts on mining.
On this we don't have to argue just refer to the EPA studies and assessments back then. You just don't quit your BS do you? Energy independence happened because of the collective effort over many presidents to achieve that goal and as usual you think the dufus deserves all the credit for getting there. PATHETIC to the MAX!You're kind of Mr. Sensitive today, aren't you? Well, first of all, I did not say that Trump deserved all of the credit. Learn to read. Secondly, I have linked the NBC news article from the time that Obama, in your ridiculous version, put it all on the line to protect the property owners. The article makes it clear that the environment was the driving factor, and GW in particular. There is not a mention of protecting landowners rights, so get your story straight.
You might find this part to be of particular interest IF you bother to read it.
"But ultimately, Obama’s decision on the pipeline won’t affect the export of oil from Canada. The pipeline would simply increase the distance of the already existing Keystone Pipeline, increasing the amount of barrels per day to 830,000.A 2014 report (http://keystonepipeline-xl.state.gov/documents/organization/221135.pdf) from the State Department determined that the pipeline would contribute to climate change, but no more so than any other alternative options for transporting the oil. The State Department report found that the contribution to climate change would be better with the pipeline than with the rail or tanker options.
The report also found, however, that significant economic growth would result, including 42,100 jobs and $3.4 billion or approximately 0.2 percent of the U.S. GDP."
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/obama-announce-rejection-keystone-xl-pipeline-proposal-n458651
talaniman
Feb 14, 2020, 05:49 PM
They are natives and live on the land and want to keep living off the land in peace. They don't want to be experts in mining other than the changes to their way of life the mining will bring.
jlisenbe
Feb 14, 2020, 06:14 PM
The great likelihood is that they can achieve living on the land in peace and the mine still operate.
Wondergirl
Feb 14, 2020, 06:19 PM
The great likelihood is that they can achieve living on the land in peace and the mine still operate.
Do you want a working mine in your backyard?
jlisenbe
Feb 14, 2020, 06:20 PM
No one is talking about a backyard. Keep up.
Wondergirl
Feb 14, 2020, 06:33 PM
No one is talking about a backyard. Keep up.
The mine is in the natives' backyard. And front yard. And screwing up access to places they want to go to. And the noise!!! Oh, my!
jlisenbe
Feb 14, 2020, 06:45 PM
The mine is in the natives' backyard. And front yard. And screwing up access to places they want to go to. And the noise!!! Oh, my!Well done! To be wrong four times in such a short passage is phenomenal.
Wondergirl
Feb 14, 2020, 07:08 PM
Well done! To be wrong four times in such a short passage is phenomenal.
How so? Oh, I didn't mention fouling the waterways.
jlisenbe
Feb 14, 2020, 07:14 PM
There is no mine, so it is in no one's back or front yard, nor does it make noise, and it certainly is not blocking access. It is all still in the permitting phase. But even if it was up and going, it would be over twenty miles from the nearest native settlements, so still no one's back yard or front yard will be impacted, nor will there be a noise problem, and no access problems. Fouling waterways? Most likely not.
From Wikipedia. "The Pebble prospect is in a remote, wild, and generally uninhabited part of the Bristol Bay watershed. The nearest communities, about 20 miles (32 km) distant, are the villages of Nondalton (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nondalton,_Alaska), Newhalen (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newhalen,_Alaska), and Iliamna (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iliamna,_Alaska). The site is 200 miles (320 km) southwest of Anchorage, Alaska.[3] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pebble_Mine#cite_note-3)"
Wondergirl
Feb 14, 2020, 07:40 PM
There is no mine, so it is in no one's back or front yard, nor does it make noise, and it certainly is not blocking access. It is all still in the permitting phase. But even if it was up and going, it would be over twenty miles from the nearest native settlements, so still no one's back yard or front yard will be impacted, nor will there be a noise problem, and no access problems. Fouling waterways? Most likely not.
From Wikipedia. "The Pebble prospect is in a remote, wild, and generally uninhabited part of the Bristol Bay watershed. The nearest communities, about 20 miles (32 km) distant, are the villages of Nondalton (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nondalton,_Alaska), Newhalen (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newhalen,_Alaska), and Iliamna (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iliamna,_Alaska). The site is 200 miles (320 km) southwest of Anchorage, Alaska.[3] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pebble_Mine#cite_note-3)"
Whose property would it be on? Bristol Bay watershed??? No fouling of waterways???
Using your Wikipedia source:
"The controversy over the proposed Pebble mine centers largely on the potential risk to the watershed, salmon and other fisheries. Mining opponents claim that the mine poses a significant and unacceptable risk to downstream fish stocks, and could cause an environmental disaster if built."
"In April 2009, a Native delegation from the Bristol Bay region attended the annual shareholder's meeting of Anglo American, the major mining company behind the Pebble project. The delegation met with Cynthia Carroll (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynthia_Carroll), CEO of Anglo American, claiming that the Bristol Bay watershed is no place for an open-pit mine."
jlisenbe
Feb 14, 2020, 08:06 PM
It would be on state property. As to your quote, I imagine the natives would be seriously interested in making certain fed law is followed concerning EPA regs. I don't blame them for that.
Of course there is potential for risk. What doesn't have potential for risk that's worth doing? If we panicked and stopped every time we found potential for risk, we'd never get anything done.
Wondergirl
Feb 14, 2020, 08:20 PM
It would be on state property. As to your quote, I imagine the natives would be seriously interested in making certain fed law is followed concerning EPA regs. I don't blame them for that.
Of course there is potential for risk. What doesn't have potential for risk that's worth doing? If we panicked and stopped every time we found potential for risk, we'd never get anything done.
Also from Wikipedia:
The fish in the watershed, and the wildlife that depend on them, are too important to risk in exchange for the mine's economic benefits. (Bristol Bay is the most valuable Sockeye Salmon (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sockeye_Salmon) fishery in the world — generating $1.5 billion in annual profit.)
Accidental discharge of process chemicals and byproducts, heavy metals (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavy_metals), and acid mine drainage to the environment are concerns in mine design and operation. Heavy metals are mobilized by acids. Downstream salmon and freshwater fish species are vulnerable to mine-generated pollutants. A threat to the fisheries would amount to a threat to the regional subsistence lifestyle.
Hard-rock mining already has a notable track record in terms of the permanent and costly legacy of heavy-metal-laden acidic leachate that continuously flows from inactive, depleted old mine sites. According to the EPA, mining has contaminated portions of the headwaters of over 40 percent of watersheds in the western continental U.S., and reclamation of 500,000 abandoned mines in 32 states could cost tens of billions of dollars.
A recent study of 25 modern large hard-rock metal mines compared water quality outcomes with environmental impact statement (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_impact_statement) (EIS) predictions from the permitting stage. 76 percent (19 mines) of the 25 mines violated water quality standards in releases to either surface or groundwater. In this study "violated water quality standards" does not necessarily mean that the mines failed to abide by their permits. When the 15 mines with high-acid drainage, high-contaminant leaching potential and proximity to ground water are considered separately, this number is 93% (14 mines).
A report commissioned by opponents criticizes for community, worker safety, public health, and environmental problems at their mining operations in South Africa (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africa), Zimbabwe (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zimbabwe), Ghana (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghana), Mali (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mali), Ireland (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ireland), and Nevada (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nevada) and notes the difference between the previous owner's stated corporate goals and their actual corporate performance. (Anglo American gave up on Pebble Project due to environmental concerns; these concerns remain under the subsequent owners of the project.)
Groundtruthtrekking.org claimed that earthquake hazards in the area are poorly known.
jlisenbe
Feb 14, 2020, 08:24 PM
And the same article also says, "
The mine and supporting activities would provide significant tax revenue to the state. The State of Alaska predicts that direct mining tax revenue, even without Pebble, will be one of the most important sources of non-oil tax revenue (exceeding revenue from fishing).[87] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pebble_Mine#cite_note-auto-87)
The mine will create well-paying jobs in an increasingly poverty-stricken region[87] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pebble_Mine#cite_note-auto-87)—a 2007 estimate indicated roughly 2,000 jobs for construction, dropping to 1,000 permanent jobs during the 30- to 60-year expected lifespan of the mine.[88] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pebble_Mine#cite_note-88). However, the current expected mine life has been decreased to 20 years following changes to the development plan in 2018[89] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pebble_Mine#cite_note-89). Also, the recent and well-documented trend towards automation of mining means that actual employment figures will be substantially lower than those quoted in 2007. Automation of mines will further increase in the future.
The mine would provide a domestic resource of raw materials lowering the United States reliance on foreign sources.[90] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pebble_Mine#cite_note-90)
Environmental[edit (https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pebble_Mine&action=edit§ion=23)]
Protection of the environment and fisheries will be ensured by the stringent environmental review and permitting process, including an EIS, that is required before development is allowed.[citation needed (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)]
Much of the poor environmental track record of mining occurred before current technologies and regulations.[citation needed (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)]
Northern Dynasty has a "no net loss" policy for fisheries.[91] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pebble_Mine#cite_note-91)"
Wondergirl
Feb 14, 2020, 08:28 PM
If fish and wildlife are at risk, earthquakes can very possibly result, my water source will be contaminated (because Trump is killing the EPA), and the beauty of my environment will be destroyed, I won't worry about jobs whereby I'll get screwed in other ways.
jlisenbe
Feb 14, 2020, 08:36 PM
No such thing as life without risk. You don't worry about a job because you don't need one.
Wondergirl
Feb 14, 2020, 08:37 PM
No such thing as life without risk. You don't worry about a job because you don't need one.
The stats indicate they don't want it.
jlisenbe
Feb 14, 2020, 08:52 PM
Then maybe we should let "them" work it out?
Wondergirl
Feb 14, 2020, 09:27 PM
Then maybe we should let "them" work it out?
No!!! I'm going up there and make sure they do this right!!!!
talaniman
Feb 15, 2020, 02:16 AM
Should we not look at the accidents and environmental damage of previous mistakes, accidents, spills, and how these companies have responded? Has Mississippi and other guld states fully recovered from the gulf spill? How long ago was Exxon Valdez? How about the power companies and factories that have fouled land and water and still haven't fully brought the land or water? No risk no reward? Or do you really mean Profits over people! Don't answer, we already know that answer.
paraclete
Feb 15, 2020, 02:31 AM
let the lone crusader go Tal
talaniman
Feb 15, 2020, 02:57 AM
That's what happens Clete when you have nothing else to do and no friends. Seriously though, I'm all for big biz, but they should clean up their own mess and a simple google search show they do not. They make money and leave the mess for taxpayers to deal with. There is no plan on their part to MANAGE the risk, but they are gung ho for the rewards. Alaskan natives can delay that outcome but the dufus is hell bent on giving Big Biz what it wants so say good bye to another pristine unspoiled eco system to be seen only in the books of old pictures.
Did learn a darn thing from the Exxon valdez disaster.
jlisenbe
Feb 15, 2020, 06:17 AM
Sure guys. Let's just do away with oil, mining, bridges (they collapse), vaccinations, chemotherapy, banks (they fail), mortgages, cars (30,000 deaths a year), airplanes, electricity, and live back in the dark ages. All of your platitudes sound so appealing until they are put to the test, and then it becomes apparent how crazy they are. Managed risk has always, and will always, be the only road to progress.
WG, dress warmly. It's cold up there!!
talaniman
Feb 15, 2020, 06:28 AM
Sure guys. Let's just do away with oil, mining, bridges (they collapse), vaccinations, chemotherapy, banks (they fail), mortgages, cars (30,000 deaths a year), airplanes, electricity, and live back in the dark ages. All of your platitudes sound so appealing until they are put to the test, and then it becomes apparent how crazy they are. Managed risk has always, and will always, be the only road to progress.
WG, dress warmly. It's cold up there!!
Who said do away with anything, oh, that's right, YOU did! See how that distraction fraction deal gets away from what I wrote? Of course you don't. None of your posts addresses the real deal I posted. I knew you wouldn't understand the idea of companies or corporations managing their risks I mean holding a company to cleaning up their own mess is unthinkable to you.
jlisenbe
Feb 15, 2020, 06:34 AM
Here is your statement. " No risk no reward?" Well, that is exactly correct. All progress requires managed risk. What did we learn from Exxon Valdez? We learned that Exxon had to pay for the cleanup. We learned that the area was, indeed, cleaned up. We learned that the oil has continued flowing and now we are energy independent. Same thing in the Gulf. The oil company paid for the cleanup and it has been cleaned up. If we want to continue to move forward, we have to start acting like grown-ups and not like little baby girls who hide in a corner crying and whimpering when anything goes wrong.
talaniman
Feb 15, 2020, 06:53 AM
Here is your statement. " No risk no reward?" Well, that is exactly correct. All progress requires managed risk. What did we learn from Exxon Valdez? We learned that Exxon had to pay for the cleanup. We learned that the area was, indeed, cleaned up. We learned that the oil has continued flowing and now we are energy independent. Same thing in the Gulf. The oil company paid for the cleanup and it has been cleaned up. If we want to continue to move forward, we have to start acting like grown-ups and not like little baby girls who hide in a corner crying and whimpering when anything goes wrong.
You cannot possibly be that NAIVE!
https://www.hakaimagazine.com/news/wounded-wilderness-the-exxon-valdez-oil-spill-30-years-later/
AND
https://www.edf.org/ecosystems/whats-ahead-gulf
Go ahead tell me again what a great job of cleaning up the mess the corporations did. That's just TWO examples, before you spout off nonsense again.
jlisenbe
Feb 15, 2020, 07:06 AM
Hakaimagazine? Really?
As to the second loony link, even though I should know better by now to follow your links to nowhere, I looked at that one from the no doubt fair and even-handed Environment Defense Fund. Even your own article could find nothing of real consequence to report! The best they could do was this. "But more mysterious and just as worrying is what scientists have a much harder time measuring, like the impacts on deepwater corals, zooplankton and various marine life that lives in the middle depths of the sea, explains (https://www.edf.org/blog/2014/04/18/oil-and-water-lessons-deepwater-horizon-bp-oil-spill) EDF chief oceans scientist Douglas N. Rader."To top it off, all of this occurred near the Mississippi River Delta, an ecosystem already under enormous pressure," Rader says. This pressure is driven by century-old development choices that favored commerce and development over sustainability. And now research has shown that the rate of marsh shoreline erosion increased with oiling."
Bottom line. The Gulf is back in business, no areas of real concern have been identified, and the oil company was out 20 billion for the cleanup. And yes, it was cleaned up, which is what I said. Are there still some ares of concern. Could be, but the oil has been cleaned up. Same thing is true of the EV incident. Are there still some areas where oil can be found? Probably. Several hundred miles of remote wilderness would mean you can still find some places with oil. That's just life. Get over it.
I'd love to know what you want. Do you want to shut down all offshore oil production? Do you want to do away with oil tankers? We can do that, but the price of gasoline is going to double along with natural gas and heating oil. What will that do for you? What will that do for poor people? What will it do for the economy? So what is it that you want? You love to bellyache because Trump is the pres and you hate him which clouds your thinking about everything. At some point you have to stop whining and make some proposals. What do you want???
talaniman
Feb 15, 2020, 07:57 AM
Glad your happy that you bought the cosmetics spin, so you can ignore the longer term effects of spoiling the Earth for profits over people. I want you to reverse your attitude and put the people first. Is that just so undoable or unreasonable?
jlisenbe
Feb 15, 2020, 10:33 AM
So again. I'd love to know what you want. Do you want to shut down all offshore oil production? Do you want to do away with oil tankers? Do you want to shut down all open pit mining? We can do that, but the price of gasoline is going to double along with natural gas and heating oil. In fact, the price of everything will rise dramatically. What will that do for you? What will that do for poor people? What will it do for the economy? So what is it that you want? You love to bellyache because Trump is the pres and you hate him which clouds your thinking about everything. At some point you have to stop the endless complaining and make some proposals. What do you want???
Vacuum7
Feb 15, 2020, 08:20 PM
Look, I have seen enough "Super Fund" sites to know that the damages inflicted by industrial usage of lands can be near permanent when the spillages of process chemicals and wastes were not "policed"....but these were normally sites where chronic missteps were perpetuated over decades, not solitary instances of excursions. However, the Super Fund sites can be so bad that the "owners" are forced to keep the sites in their ownership because the cleanup costs are TOO HIGH for them to pay for it: better just keep it fenced off and perform whatever level of remediation is necessary (as in accordance to the orders of the EPA) to get by the requirements over time.
While the EPA may have been somewhat "overweight", putting the EPA on an Anorexic diet may not be what we need: Normally, throwing the baby out with the bath water is not usually a good idea.