Back in February, the Senate voted 50-49 to allow a copper and nickel mine near the pristine natural wilderness of the Boundary Waters of Minnesota, in a watershed that flows into the protected area. This vote is a travesty.
So, two weeks ago (kind of keeping up, aren't I?) Governor Tim Walz issued an executive order banning the state from issuing any permits for the mine to proceed. GOOD move.
But -- Walz won't be governor next year. As one would expect, the evil Republican woman running for the seat immediately advocated the mine, and opposed Walz's executive order. This is in keeping with the GOP tradition of besmirching and attacking our natural heritage.
Senator Amy Klobuchar, who voted NO against the lifting of the ban, has not apparently said much about Walz's executive order, and what she'd do if elected. I really hope she plans to do the right thing, and I hope she gets elected so she can indeed do the right thing.
Here's what she said. (As the article notes, copper-nickel-precious metal mining is much more dangerous than iron mining. That's because those ores are sulfides and the mining process will release acidic waste.) "Klobuchar said she has serious concerns about mining next to the BWCA, but also noted that “there is other mining going on across the Range, including Mesabi Metallics iron ore mine about to open up, and some other proposed mining projects that don’t endanger the Boundary Waters, that I think it is important to continue to allow pending environmental reviews to go forward.”
Editorial from the Washington Post:
A copper mine would turn much of this paradise into an industrial zone
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