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Brad Jones |
Most of you have probably heard the Pink Floyd songs Another Brick in the Wall and Comfortably Numb. The album, The Wall, questions authority, deals with the courts and delves into human nature to sometimes build psychological walls to separate ourselves from reality. Such is the wall between environmental extremism and common sense. The wall has been built by some who fancy themselves as saviors of the planet because it's trendy. The real inconvenient truth is that many of their contrived causes are unsustainable. For instance, we need mining to sustain our way — and their way — of life. Yet, they prefer to outsource mining to poorer countries where there are little to no environmental regulations — out of sight, out of mind. How is that saving the planet?
Hello, 'ello , 'ello. Is there anybody in there?
During the May 1 California Superior Court hearing, at which miners challenged the state-imposed suction dredge mining ban, I listened to the Center for Biological Diversity attorney very matter-of-factly accuse miners of discharging mercury into California waterways and harming fish. Have we, as a society, just become so comfortably numb that we blindly accept the claims of these green activists without following the money trail or questioning the one-sided science. While it's true the '49ers of the California Gold Rush era didn't understand the risks of mercury, modern-day miners do understand them, and don't use the stuff. Yes, things have changed a little in the last century or so. Yet, the CBD and the Karuk Tribe conveniently and consistently cling to the past like mercury to gold. And, they "forget" to mention mercury comes from the mineral, cinnabar, which occurs naturally in deposits in California and throughout the world. They also forget miners remove 98 percent of the mercury they dredge up from the bottoms of our rivers and streams.
All in all, it's just another brick in the wall
The U.S. Constitution Supremacy Clause is quite clear about who has the final say on federal mining laws on federally managed public lands. The feds do! Hands down! Yet, attorneys for the state and environmental groups continue to worm their way into legalese to hide from what is as clear as day. No matter how high state legislators try to build the wall, miners have federally protected rights. Even a temporary ban is an unlawful prohibition of mining rights. Case closed!
Must the show go on?
Dredgers don't put mercury into the streams; they help remove it. They don't add pollutants to the water; they remove them, including fishing weights, lead shot and other trash. Today's miners are environmentally conscious stewards of the land. They love and respect Mother Nature and are fascinated with her treasures and beauty.
Environmental doomsayers who continue to demonize miners are denying reality — and science! It's obvious they're reachers — stretching the truth, and reaching into their bag of tricks and taxpayers' wallets. If our detractors were really interested in the truth, they would listen to Dr. Nicholas Ralston, the world's leading expert on mercury toxicology, as I have. He would tell them that one can't even begin to grasp the effects of mercury on the environment, fish or people without first understanding its "binding" relationship with another element — selenium. Let's tear down the wall and start there!
What's sad is that a generation of Millennials, many of whom drank the green Kool-Aid, are losing touch with nature — not to mention history, rights and freedoms and the Constitution.
We don't need no regulation ... No dark sarcasm in the courtroom ... Hey reachers, leave them "kids" alone!
— Brad Jones, Managing Editor
Article as featured in the June/July 2014 Pick & Shovel Gazette
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