Pebble Mine: An Environmental Disaster Waiting to Happen
Reed Tennyson
Prof Deborah Farris
USEM 102, CRN 1665
June 4th 2012
Pebble Mine an Environmental Disaster waiting to happen
A world away from everyday businesses and corporate office cubicles, commercial salmon fishing in Alaska isn’t the ordinary boat ride. Every season, the Alaskan salmon fisherman put their lives at stake in hopes of good pay and the experience of a lifetime. The populations and economy of every fishing village in Bristol Bay flourish during the salmon season. Salmon bring in people from literally, all corners of the globe. The excitement, raw adventure, and potential for a great compensation that commercial fishing possesses is something very few occupations offer. Fishing is a gamble, a new kind of reality. Fisherman are gambling and putting everything on the line: their sanity, body, and life. Only when they’re out on that 32-foot long fishing vessel do they realize how insignificant and small they really are in the middle of Bristol Bay. Fishermen are at the mercy of Mother Nature and all she can throw and propel at you. Commercial fishing in Alaska is not for the weak minded or faint of heart.
Presently, this extraordinary fishing world has come under grave danger. The environmental risks that the proposed Pebble Mine has on the Bristol Bay region concluded that the mine could have impacts of devastating proportions on the regions ecosystem and salmon runs (“Minning Information Session”). This highly controversial proposed open-pit mine is stirring a ruthless environment vs. development war.
However, locked away in the pristine waters of Bristol Bay, lies an incredibly valuable resource known as Red Gold. The Bristol Bay watershed claims top spot, as the world’s greatest natural commercial salmon fishery, while Red Gold, also known as Alaskan salmon, is internationally renowned. Meanwhile, also located at the headwaters of Bristol Bay, sits a massive deposit of gold, molybdenum, and copper. If allowed to occur, Pebble Mine would be
Prof Deborah Farris
USEM 102, CRN 1665
June 4th 2012
Pebble Mine an Environmental Disaster waiting to happen
A world away from everyday businesses and corporate office cubicles, commercial salmon fishing in Alaska isn’t the ordinary boat ride. Every season, the Alaskan salmon fisherman put their lives at stake in hopes of good pay and the experience of a lifetime. The populations and economy of every fishing village in Bristol Bay flourish during the salmon season. Salmon bring in people from literally, all corners of the globe. The excitement, raw adventure, and potential for a great compensation that commercial fishing possesses is something very few occupations offer. Fishing is a gamble, a new kind of reality. Fisherman are gambling and putting everything on the line: their sanity, body, and life. Only when they’re out on that 32-foot long fishing vessel do they realize how insignificant and small they really are in the middle of Bristol Bay. Fishermen are at the mercy of Mother Nature and all she can throw and propel at you. Commercial fishing in Alaska is not for the weak minded or faint of heart.
Presently, this extraordinary fishing world has come under grave danger. The environmental risks that the proposed Pebble Mine has on the Bristol Bay region concluded that the mine could have impacts of devastating proportions on the regions ecosystem and salmon runs (“Minning Information Session”). This highly controversial proposed open-pit mine is stirring a ruthless environment vs. development war.
However, locked away in the pristine waters of Bristol Bay, lies an incredibly valuable resource known as Red Gold. The Bristol Bay watershed claims top spot, as the world’s greatest natural commercial salmon fishery, while Red Gold, also known as Alaskan salmon, is internationally renowned. Meanwhile, also located at the headwaters of Bristol Bay, sits a massive deposit of gold, molybdenum, and copper. If allowed to occur, Pebble Mine would be