Posted on 12/24/2011 7:14:40 AM PST by ibytoohi
Mining has played an important role in the development of the western United States—providing jobs and revenues. It should be doing the same now. In Nevada’s mining towns, the unemployment rate is among the lowest in the country: 5-7%—according to Tim Crowley President of the Nevada Mining Association who says there are hundreds of mining jobs available in Nevada. Skills from the hard hit construction industry can be transferred to mining.
General Moly plans to hire 450 people by the end of the year. There are major copper operations in permitting. Companies are looking at mining rare earths and lithium—both of which are essential for cell phones, batteries, computers, and wind turbines and solar panels.
Imagine the jobs and new wealth that could be created if mining was encouraged. Senator Settelmeyer says, “It is hard enough for companies to get through the regulatory process and get a permit. On top of that there is frivolous environmental litigation that lengthens the process—cutting off vital resources and delaying jobs.”
(Excerpt) Read more at finance.townhall.com ...
Ahhhhh....Lol...!
I can’t slow down today....but will have to leave FR because I have tons of family coming in and there are still some things to get done before they arrive.
Merry Christmas!
I'm sneaking some FReepin' as they wake up!
Merry Christmas to you and yours too!
Two mules for Sister Sara ?
The problem is that the seeds of weeds are not broken down as they pass through some animal’s digestive tract. The government is worried about some agressive weed seeds being transported into areas that are free of that certain weed.
The same rules apply to outfitter horses used for transport during hunting season.
I got some manure from a local dairy several years ago and spread it on my garden. I never had a crop of wild amarath (pigweed) come up and am still fighting it today.
My neighbor raised soybeans for years. Then he decided to let grass grow for hay. He got manure to spread on his fields, now those fields are covered with millions of wild onions, which he never had in the past.
Require instead that the hay be grown/harvested within twenty miles of where it is used as feed for horses or mules. That makes any weed seed immaterial because natural forces would have spread the weeds further than twenty miles all ready.
Sarah?
One word:
Roundup.
Who can even grow hay that could be “certified weed free” and afford the cost to continually weed or spray chemicals for weeds? What risk would it be to the grower if a few weeds were found? Crazy world we live in that is being designed to destroy us on many, many levels.
Do you know why the GOP totem is an elephant?
It’s the only creature with a good enough memory to recall the last time a republican acted like they had any balls.
Does this mean that all hay must come from big-agri now? FUBO!!!
In this case, noxious weeds really can destroy the usefulness of the land for subsequent grazing, hunting, or other recreational or economic use. Why should the taxpayer pay to fix the weed problem these guys leave behind?
If you brought an equine to my land (which are notoriously poor at destroying seed as they chew), you'd have fed it purely native feed for weeks, AND cleaned its coat, or you could chase the seeds they drop for over twenty years. Even at that point, I'd still be taking chances that something got through. So, the operator has a choice: Pay a very expensive person to control the problem for decades or prevent the problem in the first place.
I deal with weeds, a lot: full time 5-7 months a year. On our land, I must distinguish 113 species of exotics from 244 species of natives. I must know them by their juvenile attributes, including grasses, which is cutting edge knowledge in management botany I promise you. Hence, weed control on our land requires the knowledge of a college graduate. On parts of my land, effective weed control requires a visit by a highly trained professional EVERY FOUR DAYS during the peak of the growing season. Not a few weeds have seed that can remain viable for decades.
The real technical question here is the requirement to use animals in the first place. Instead of mules one could bring in heavy equipment that the operator had pressure washed first and build a road. When they're done, retire the road you required to my satisfaction. On my land, it's that or no access to mine. Now, that means the mine is either worth the cost, or it's not. Don't go wrecking my place in perpetuity to chase a pittance. I expect a profit for granting access.
The one benefit of this (probably stupid) policy of requiring clean mules is that it makes the land of people who practice good stewardship in raising feed more valuable. It pays them for the extra work they do to control a problem that (in most cases) they had no role in causing. Around here, government is the primary culprit in the continued spread of noxious weeds.
600 ft? Drill laterally!
A few years back here in Colorado they restored a famous cabin which is now in designated Wilderness area. They did all the work with hand tools. Had to call in specialists in hand tools to do the work and packed everything in on Mules. Its easy to do projects like this when you are spending other peoples money.
My wife is a certified seed inspector. She inspects fields of wheat and barley as well as grass and Canola so they can be certified as being weed free. Yes they do spray the fields for weeds but this year the wind was so bad that new seeds blew into the fields and they were a mess. If she finds weeds mixed in then the farmer has to “rouge” the field or have crews go through and pick the weeds out.
What? Hand tools? OK. How do you steer that equipment? With your hands. Isn’t that dozer then a hand tool? You have to have a bridle to steer a mule. Those damn high-tech mules!
And then is the product affordable?
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