The Real Gold Mine is Already There

 

The Pebble Limited Partnership recently released an Environmental Baseline Document (EBD) which "characterizes the existing physical, biological and social environments in study areas within the Bristol Bay and Cook Inlet regions." The Pebble EBD contains approximately 20,000 pages of data and analysis and is divided into 53 chapters plus appendices.

According to the Partnership, the document provides a significant legacy of publicly available data, regardless of whether or not the Pebble Project moves forward.

What the Partnership does not say is that it also provides a significant baseline of exactly what the Pebble Mine is going to screw up if the project moves forward.

LINK (Via: Alaska Public Org)

You can download the entire EBD chapter by chapter HERE.

Meanwhile the Wild Salmon Center and TU have released a new report that restates much of what we already know.

Examining a wide body of studies, reports, and the best available scientific information, the report analyzes preliminary proposals for the mine, concluding there is too much at stake ecologically, economically, and culturally to risk development of the Pebble deposit.

LINK (Via: Angling Trade)

Pebble News

 

The Environmental Protection Agency has released a report detailing the entirety of known toxic chemical releases throughout the Pacific Northwest in 2010. The results? Alaska mining operations account for ninety percent of ALL toxic chemical releases in the Pacific Northwest Region of Idaho, Oregon, Washington and Alaska.

92.3 % of the total comes from metal mining.

LINK (Via: The National Wildlife Federation)

Senator Hollis French of Anchorage has filed a bill that would that would require legislative approval for  "large-scale metallic sulfide mining operation that could affect water in or flowing into or over the Bristol Bay Fisheries Reserve."

Like the Pebble Mine.....

LINK (Via: The Republic)

On the 10th Day of Christmahanakwanzakah

This is one gift you won't find under the TU Christmas tree this year.

Tonka Pebble Mine Mania is the perfect gift for the militant pro resource extraction advocate in the family. How stoked will they be as they build their own virtual Pebble Mine complete with virtual jobs and destroyed ecosystems. Pebble Mine Mania also has multiplayer capability where players can compete on-line in a race to see who can dig the biggest open pit, build the largest earthen dam or destroy the most salmon spawning habitat.

Check out these actual game screen shots.

This used to be prime salmon spawning habitat......not anymore!

Game play features realistic Bristol Bay weather.

Dig the largest open pit and score dirty gold bonus points!

Awesome first person mode puts you behind the wheel of some heavy earth busting machinery.

Act now! Buy Pebble Mine Mania today and as a holiday bonus gift you will receive this photo of Pebble CEO John Shively that is suitable for framing.

Rio Tinto owns a 19.8% interest in the Pebble Mine

Locked Out 2010 is the story of 560 unionized borax miners in the desert town of Boron, California who faced off against Rio Tinto, a British-Australian multi-billion dollar global corporation. In 2009, Rio Tinto's net earnings were almost 5 billion dollars.

Rio Tinto locked them out of work on January 31st, 2010 and replaced them with scabs.

This documentary tells the David and Goliath story of how the workers faced financial hardships but stood strong during the 107 day lockout and beat back a multinational corporation. It further reveals Rio Tinto's egregious practices in the U.S. and around the globe--from Michigan to Australia to Bougainville.

LINK (Via: What Do I Know)

Pebble Mine Can Suck My Roe

Photographer and commercial fisherman Corey Arnold says it's to kick some giant foreign corporate ass.

LINK (Via: Corey's Fishing News)

If you've never seen Corey Arnold's work you should take some time to check out his site.

Meanwhile the Pacific Seafood Processors Association has officially come out and said NO to the Pebble Mine.

Saying no to Pebble Mine is a greater battle than for metal or flesh. It turns out, this is a battle for our values.

Joel R. Johnson eloquently writes in his blog Deadbait about a Celebrate Bristol Bay event he attended in the Big Apple and what's at stake in the fight against the Pebble Mine.

LINK