Bush Okays Blowing Up Mountains for Mining Companies

[Narz]

Good thing paper isn't as critical as fossil fuels or he might be coming after the Redwoods next.

http://www.motherjones.com/blue_marble_blog/archives/2007/08/5270_bush_okays_blow.html

Bush is set to release a regulation tomorrow that will allow mining companies to blast the tops off mountains and dump the resulting waste in nearby streams and valleys. Currently the practice, called mountaintop mining, exists in a hazy legal status but has been used regularly for the past two decades. The new rule will loosen a 1983 law which prohibits disturbing soils within 100 feet of streams (in the past, companies have been sued under the Clean Water Act for dumping mining waste into streams), essentially giving coal companies the go-ahead.

As we reported last year, the Appalachian mountains (where the majority of mountaintop removal mining takes place) have been so degraded that the public can take tours of the mind-boggling environmental damage. But mining companies and their coal mining advocates think they are providing a great service. Proponents claim that coal reduces our reliance on foreign oil and mountaintop removal provides more flat land for big box stores like Wal-Mart. Woo-hoo!

Jan. '09 can't come fast enough (though I wonder how much firmer any stance any of the current hopefuls would take ).

 

[JohnRM]

Good thing paper isn't as critical as fossil fuels or he might be coming after the Redwoods next.

http://www.motherjones.com/blue_marble_blog/archives/2007/08/5270_bush_okays_blow.html



Jan. '09 can't come fast enough (though I wonder how much firmer any stance any of the current hopefuls would take ).

Can it get any worse? Honestly.

 

[Bad Player]

Is Bush trying to get a record low voter support before he retires?


or is he getting kick-backs?

 

[AL_DA_GREAT]

why can't they just tunnel in to the mountain?

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

"Hmmmm ...."

 

[Julian Delphiki]

xchars.

 

[Elrohir]

It has been used in Appalachian coal country for 20 years under a cloud of legal and regulatory confusion.

The new rule would allow the practice to continue and expand, providing only that mine operators minimize the debris and cause the least environmental harm, although those terms are not clearly defined and to some extent merely restate existing law.

And note that his isn't Bush himself making this call - it is the Department of the Interior. So all in all, a pretty boring story.

 

[Luckymoose]

Bush is doing this to trick you into thinking he is not a good president. But in truth he is really wanting you to vote democrat so you can see what a bad president is.

 

[skadistic]

And note that his isn't Bush himself making this call - it is the Department of the Interior. So all in all, a pretty boring story.

No ! Its Bush Bush Bush !!! Its all Bushes fault and only Bush !!!

 

[Che Guava]

And note that his isn't Bush himself making this call - it is the Department of the Interior. So all in all, a pretty boring story.

Even if the story isn't about Bush per se, it's still an interesting and important one.

"Providing only that mine operators minimize the debris and cause the least environmental harm"? Minimize the debris caused by blowing the top of a mountain off?

Sounds like a paper mill saying "Sure, we'll still dump the effluent in the river, but we'll be sure not to spill any on the banks, to minimize environmental damage..."

 

[JollyRoger]

And note that his isn't Bush himself making this call - it is the Department of the Interior. So all in all, a pretty boring story.

Rulemaking for Executive agencies is controlled by the executive branch, so ultimately, the buck stops at Bush's desk. The White House was likely aware of this rule and I would hazard a guess that it trickled down from the White House rather than was something the Departmentt came up with on its own (more likely trickling from the Office of the Vice President than the kid's table in the Oval Office).

 

[Leonel]

Bush is doing this to trick you into thinking he is not a good president. But in truth he is really wanting you to vote democrat so you can see what a bad president is.

I always knew he was a clever and crafty kind of guy! What better way than to make people think you're a little on the duh side.

 

[Merkinball]

For real, who wants mountain tops blown up...

 

[Babbler]

For real, who wants mountain tops blown up...

When you got coal into those mountains, you can make a nice sum of money on it.

 

[amadeus]

And just what is so terrible about this?

 

[Perfection]

They're the Appalachians which are like scarcely mountains to begin with.

Overglorified hills, really.

 

[emzie]

"Hmmmm ...."

Friggin brilliant.

 

[JohnRM]

They're the Appalachians which are like scarcely mountains to begin with.

Overglorified hills, really.

They're also my home. I don't want a bunch of bald spots on the scenery that surrounds me. The coal-strippers came through and tore this place up years ago and left our waterways dead and our landscape barren. Everything is only just now starting to get back to normal. I just don't want them tearing up the natural beauty of our land for meager profits and for things that we don't need.

 

[El_Machinae]

So buy the land to protect it. That's the libertarian way.

 

[Fugitive Sisyphus]

I admit I have no feelings about this one way or another. One of the few drawbacks to living in Florida is that I don't understand issues involving 'mountains'.