Uranium Mining almost near Grand Canyon and is Elsewhere!


Source

A British mining company is about to begin exploratory drilling for toxic, radioactive uranium in Kaibab National Forest just outside the eco-fragile boundaries of Grand Canyon National Park.

Of course, the idea of uranium is being sold as if it were an absolute necessity.

Do these companies really care about the beauty of the Earth Mother,

Photobucket

they’re altering for the worst?

Photobucket
(only photo of a uranium mine I could find)

No.

Source

This ill-conceived drilling is powerful evidence that tighter restrictions must be enacted to protect the Canyon. It further indicates the critical need to modernize the General Mining Act of 1872, which authorizes mining for economic minerals on federal public lands.

Funny thing about that capitalistic motivation is that in spite of it, there is now an example of an energy efficient home from Extreme Makeover.

So, let’s consider clean energy usage from that new Navajo home verses “high levels of cancer and areas of radioactivity.”

Source

Uranium mining has been linked to high levels of cancer and areas of radioactivity on the Navajo Reservation. The tribe has banned it. The various mining techniques used all risk contaminating the groundwater aquifer or surface water.

Next, let’s consider clean energy usage from that new Navajo home verses “how the uranium mining will affect their water, livestock and their families.”

Source

People in Wyoming and South Dakota are afraid of how the uranium mining will affect their water, livestock and their families, just like their Coloradan neighbors to the south, but they are more afraid of the ramifications of speaking up, White Face said.

Last of all, let’s consider clean energy usage from that new Navajo home verses “Uranium dust from abandoned open-pit mines in Wyoming makes its way into South Dakota, she said, and it even finds its way into the Cheyenne River, which flows into South Dakota's Black Hills, uranium-rich in its own right.”

Source

White Face said she's seen firsthand the sorts of things uranium can do to public health, even in more remote parts of the United States. Uranium dust from abandoned open-pit mines in Wyoming makes its way into South Dakota, she said, and it even finds its way into the Cheyenne River, which flows into South Dakota's Black Hills, uranium-rich in its own right.

Oh wait,
we need to consider clean energy usage from that new Navajo home verses “… make(ing) yellowcake. That material can be turned into weapons-grade uranium or enhanced for use in nuclear power plants.”

Source

Groundwater is oxidized and turned into a solution called a "lixiviant," which is forced down into the sandstone layers, where the uranium is essentially drawn to combine with the water. The solution is pumped back to the surface and combined with resin beads in a process that works basically the same way as a home water softener. Molecules of uranium hop on to the resin beads, which are taken to a processing facility to strip the uranium off, refine it and make yellowcake. That material can be turned into weapons-grade uranium or enhanced for use in nuclear power plants.

I’d said earlier that there’s a funny thing about that capitalistic motivation,

The military-industrial complex is generally defined as a "coalition consisting of the military and industrialists who profit by manufacturing arms and selling them to the government."

which is why I don’t foresee the clean energy usage from that new Navajo home being used widely anytime soon, or in my lifetime.


Uranium mining is no solution to the impending doom of it now being merely five minutes to midnight,

(emphasis mine)

IT IS 5 MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists’ Doomsday Clock conveys how close humanity is to catastrophic destruction--the figurative midnight--and monitors the means humankind could use to obliterate itself. First and foremost, these include nuclear weapons, but they also encompass climate-changing technologies and new developments in the life sciences and nanotechnology that could inflict irrevocable harm.

- snip -

Unfortunately, however, the possibility of a nuclear exchange between countries remains.

as uranium mining becomes more common, it may facilitate even more “possibility of a nuclear exchange between countries,” drawing us closer to midnight.

Threat of Nuclear Autumn

Famine sweeps the Third World. A billion people flee across borders. Vast regions become abandoned. Governments fall. Hundreds of millions die.

This is the future that might overwhelm the planet if any of the eight nuclear-armed countries — or the 35 other countries with enough weapons-grade fuel build their own bombs — start blasting their enemy’s cities with low-yield nuclear weapons.

(Take accordingly. I don’t think anyone but real intelligence has the real numbers, but the point is made)

• Where are the bombs?

• Pakistan —
- 52 warheads
• India —
- 85 warheads
• Israel —
- 116 warheads
• Britain —
- 200 + warheads
• France —
- 350 warheads
• China —-
400 warheads
• USA —
- 10,315 warheads
• Russia —
- 16,200 warheads

Think how much uranium had to be used to make all those nuclear weapons and how much beautiful land had to be ruined. Furthermore, think of how much “uranium dust from abandoned open-pit mines” caused health problems, how much uranium mining affected “water, livestock, and families,” and the cumulative effects of the “high levels of cancer and areas of radioactivity” caused by all those uranium mines.

The uranium mining companies must be soooooooooooooo concerned about the possible future of our planet,

Photobucket

or not.

http://culturekitchen.com/winter_rabbit/blog/uranium_mining_almost_near_grand_canyon_a
Mouse over the text to select it, then press Ctrl-C to copy it.
No votes yet
winter rabbit's picture



Comment viewing options

Select your preferred way to display the comments and click "Save settings" to activate your changes.
blog comments powered by Disqus ">
mole333's picture

Uranium

You bring up the "necessity" of uranium. I always wonder why? It is needed for Nuke weapons, something that the world has not used for more than 60 years and no nation expresses the desire to use. Deterrent Nukes may be necessary for now, but they already exist. (Note, really most of our Nukes are H-bombs, but even those are detonated by fission bombs that may need either uranium or plutonium). As for nuclear energy, such reactors require more than 10 years to build. So this is NOT a viable alternative energy option for dealing with global warming since we need solutions that are in effect in the next 5-10 years. Not one single nuke reactor started now would make a difference when it came to global warming in a time frame that was significant.

So nukes should be de-emphasized. Not necessarily eliminated, but de-emphasized. Anyone who pushes for a primarily Nuke option for either energy or strategic needs is being foolish. It is a minor component of EITHER our energy or military policy. I feel we need our nuke aresenal to remain a dominant power right now, but it won't in any way help us in fighting the terrorist threat that is our main strategic problem. So focusing on uranium is foolish and short sighted.

Post new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
  • You may link to webpages through the weblinks registry
  • You may post code using <code>...</code> (generic) or <?php ... ?> (highlighted PHP) tags.
  • Flash node macros can be added to this post.
  • Insert Flickr images: [flickr-photo:id=230452326,size=s] or [flickr-photoset:id=72157594262419167,size=m].
  • You may use [inline:xx] tags to display uploaded files or images inline.
  • Images can be added to this post.
  • Easily link to terms in various wikis. For help, see <a href="/interwiki/1">interwiki</a>.
  • Links to specified hosts will have a rel="nofollow" added to them.

  • You may post PHP code. You should include <?php ?> tags.
  • You may use <swf file="song.mp3"> to display Flash files inline
  • Textual smileys will be replaced with graphical ones.
  • Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically.
  • E-Mail addresses are hidden with reCAPTCHA Mailhide.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

User login

The Publisher
Liza Sabater

Daily servings of political dissent
culturekitchen

Grassroots News and
Activism for New Yorkers

Daily Gotham

Feminist Bloggers
Network

BlogSheroes

A new kind of vouyerism
Voogling

Art + Code + Philosophy
Potatoland.blog

Got any dirt, tips, leads or money for us? Then drop us a line or two at editors [at] culturekitchen [dot] com or use our general contact form to reach everybody in the editorial team ASAP.

Nibble daily on our brainy goodness with our daily syndication digest. You'll receive an email with a list and links to the previous day's posts.



Powered by FeedBlitz

Upcoming events

  • No upcoming events available

QUOTES

The much vaunted Clinton campaign operation, billed as the biggest, baddest game in town, had no post-Super Tuesday strategy because its leaders apparently didn't think one was needed. Whether that's due to arrogance or ignorance, it's the campaign equivalent of what President Bush did in invading Iraq without a post-Saddam plan.

Poll