Just got in from one of those “public’s opportunity to comment on an ongoing government action” thingees, and I’m both uplifted and disheartened. Uplifted to realize how many people really do care enough to show up for a boring, unsexy three hour gov’t hearing, and to speak out for the environment. Disheartened to realize that corporations really do run our government, no matter how much we want to believe otherwise. Mining is a “hot” news topic these days, and this post is being filed away for a future ’I told you so’ moment I have no doubt we’ll someday have over the mine in question. It won’t surprise you at all to hear that essentially, it’s yet another case of short term corporate profit winning out over logic, common sense, science, popular will, and long term environmental concerns. And economic concerns, as that is understood to affect all, and not a few, people in this state.

Here’s the deal: a pristine, and undeveloped (except logging decades ago) area of northern Michigan is the target, and a very bad company wants to put in a sulfide mine. The supporting view is that it will “bring jobs and tax revenue to Michigan.” But that isn’t really grounded in fact, and the citizens of this state know it. Too bad one of the bureaucrats told me that he didn’t really care and that the mine would likely go in anyway.  Read more