Posted on 08/09/2019 9:30:52 PM PDT by Innovative
The Environmental Protection Agency told staff scientists that it was no longer opposing a controversial Alaska mining project that could devastate one of the world's most valuable wild salmon fisheries just one day after President Trump met with Alaska's governor, CNN has learned.
The EPA publicly announced the reversal July 30, but EPA staff sources tell CNN that they were informed of the decision a month earlier, during a hastily arranged video conference after Trump's meeting with Gov. Mike Dunleavy. The governor, a supporter of the project, emerged from that meeting saying the president assured him that he's "doing everything he can to work with us on our mining concerns."
The news came as a "total shock" to some top EPA scientists who were planning to oppose the project on environmental grounds, according to sources. Those sources asked to remain anonymous for fear of retribution.
The copper-and-gold mine planned near Bristol Bay, Alaska, known as Pebble Mine, was blocked by the Obama administration's EPA after scientists found that the mine would cause "complete loss of" the bay's fish habitat.
EPA insiders tell CNN that the timing of the agency's internal announcement suggests Trump was personally involved in the decision.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
I caught that too. Bull squat “would”.
Yet it was the ATT executives that gave Zucker the growth opportunities.
I get it. You have a commitment.
Yeah, they don’t understand that there Are Many conservatives who love wildlife and nature, but to an INSANE extent and to be frank, not at the cessation of all progress.
In fact, if conservatives were in charge of the environment, there would be more thriving nature.
And no fires that wipe out towns because trees couldn’t be cut down
CNN would no doubt approve of the following, even though fishermen have been protesting about them for ages:
17 Jul: Canada Free Press: Atlantic Coast States Plan Expensive Offshore Wind Farms
by Institute for Energy Research
Despite its high cost, states along the Atlantic coast from Massachusetts to Virginia are planning to invest in offshore wind. Massachusetts is preparing to obtain power from more than a score of huge wind turbines off its coast, carried to the mainland by underwater cables, with the cost passed through to households and businesses. New Jersey regulators just selected Ørsted, a Danish energy company, to build giant wind turbines 15 miles off the coast of Atlantic City that will generate 1,100 megawatts of offshore wind. Connecticut is set to start its initial offshore wind solicitation with the aim of getting 2,000 megawatts by 2030. Maryland has plans for two wind farms off the coast of Ocean City with a 328-foot meteorological tower to be installed in July about 17 miles off the coast in advance of the US Wind offshore wind farm project. New York has plans for wind farms off the coast of Long Island...
To date, the nation’s only offshore wind turbines are located off the coast of Block Island, Rhode Island. The Block Island Wind Farm went into operation in late 2016, costing $300 million—$10,000 per kilowatt—for five wind turbines totaling 30 megawatts of capacity. Operating and maintenance expenses for offshore wind farms currently add about $80,000 per megawatt each year, according to the Energy Information Administration...ETC
https://canadafreepress.com/article/atlantic-coast-states-plan-expensive-offshore-wind-farms
and Friday 9 Aug in UK!
10 Aug: Bloomberg: London Blackout Blamed on Drop in Wind and Natural-Gas Power
By Will Mathis and Mathew Carr
London and surrounding areas suffered a widespread power outage Friday during the evening rush hour after windpower and natural gas generation levels dropped, according to data from network manager National Grid Plc.
“Today what happened is a major offshore wind generation site and a gas turbine failed at the same time,” said Devrim Celal, chief executive officer of Upside Energy in London, which contracts with National Grid to help balance electricity. “There was a significant shortage of generation, and that sudden drop created ripple effects across the country.”...
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-08-09/london-blackout-occurred-amid-drop-in-wind-and-natural-gas-power
9 Aug: Grimsby Telegraph: Huge UK power cut involved Grimsby’s newest wind farm suddenly dropping off grid
Airports, roads and railways across the country were affected by the blackout from around 5pm
By David Laister
A huge power cut that brought disruption to hundreds of thousands of people as the working week came to an end involved Grimsby’s newest wind farm suddenly dropping off the grid...
https://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/news/grimsby-news/huge-uk-power-cut-involved-3195918
example:
4 Aug: Providence Journal: Rhode Island fishermen critical of wind farm plan
By Alex Kuffner
There are concerns that the South Fork Wind Farm will lead to more difficulties for commercial fishermen who ply their trade in the waters between Block Island and Martha’s Vineyard.
The nation’s first major offshore wind farm won a key approval from Rhode Island regulators in February, but only after stirring acrimony within the state’s fishing industry.
Now, amid an atmosphere of suspicion created by the 84-turbine Vineyard Wind project, the next offshore wind proposal in line is being considered for a key approval by the state Coastal Resources Management Council. And there are concerns that the project, the South Fork Wind Farm, will lead to more difficulties for commercial fishermen who ply their trade in the waters between Block Island and Martha’s Vineyard...
Construction, however, must begin soon for Vineyard Wind to qualify for federal tax credits that it has said are crucial to the financial viability of the project...
https://www.providencejournal.com/news/20190804/ri-fishermen-critical-of-wind-farm-plan
Fortunately the EPA has set up a fish haven refugee site in the Animas river in Colorado!
Good.
The mine is more important.
Without your daily feeding of minerals you’d just wither away. Anyway, every one knows that food is made in grocery stores and organic mineral are tastier that organic salmon. < /s >
And how many ocean birds will be destroyed?
And yet nobody learns from the failures of this “clean” energy
that the mine would cause “complete loss of” the bay’s fish habitat...
is a lie.
Actually it isn't a lie - effluent from the mine flowing down the rivers would kill most of the returning salmon and even if some manage to spawn the eggs would be poisoned and any surviving smolts would die. It would be the end of the largest salmon run in the world, not to mention the end of thousands of jobs and a way of life for thousands more. The salmon don't spawn in the Bay, they spawn in the rivers.
Since many are unfamiliar with the life cycle of salmon - here's a quick course:
Salmon (in this case, sockeye, which are "vegetarians") are born in the gravel beds of rivers, emerge and swim to a lake (Iliamna in his case) where they live until able to go down stream and into the ocean, then after four years, return to the same river they came from and spawn in the same area they emerged from, then die.
You can see from the image that the entire Iliamna drainage would be effected, and the later leases would effect Cook Inlet salmon.
Salmon are more important then minerals. Organic salmon is better than the heavily chemicalized farmed salmon. If you like farmed salmon with its generous helpings of antibiotics, food dye, copper oxide, copper hydroxide and cuprous thiocyanate, you'll love eating your canned minerals - best BBQed.
“Earth first.
We’ll mine the other planets later”
If these “environmentalists” really loved “Mother Earth” they would promote mining in the USA where we have strict rules and also worker safety regulations. Mines in Second and Third World countries? Not so much.
I own a Number of stocks and options in small cap gold and silver mining companies here.
Patriot that I am :)
That and I think gold will go to 1650 during 2020.
These little guys are showing a profit and I am glad for American countries to succeed and if I make a buck, even better :)
Need to check into more.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pebble_Mine
I came across this a month ago. I thought it was a rare earth’s project. Is rhenium and palladium rare earth minerals.
No doubt want this an alternative to China if so. There is a project proposed just west of San Antonio in Hondo TX that seems should be a first priority. That and Mountain Pass CA in Mojave desert just west of Las Vegas seems should be priorities 1 and 2.
Post mining processing is where impact of environment occurs. This impact is minimized with the CA and TX locations and should be prioritized as national security and moved on quickly and massively.
And I am not NEARLY knowledgeable enough to say “My God you’re right!”
I tend to believe what you said, but the amount of time I would have to put into reading both sides of this argument (even with your generous information given) would be too long as I dont have a personal stake.
I can say this, like I said in my FIRST post.
If it was true, then the FR poster was WRONG.
Minerals are NOT more important than completely wiping out the salmon population.
It’s that kind of thinking that makes us lose some votes.
BTW, thank you again for your great information.
Obama’s EPA did such a great job covering up the Flint water crisis.
Correct. Ducks Unlimited for example? Love ducks! Always want there to be ducks, and the land they need to live. Just 1 of many, As you know.
I have no idea how much space ducks need :)
Wiping out the entire salmon population is a lot bigger than displacing some ducks though.
Sorry!!
It sounds like you really love ducks. :)
And hmmmmmmmm...avoiding knee-jerk pro-mining response here...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.