The work hasn’t ended to protect our natural resources from the devastation and destruction that uranium mining can bring. I encourage you to continue to work and push for forceful and effective implementation of the recently passed legislation in Colorado.
What’s the best way to do that? Get involved. Stay informed. Take part in the formulation of the laws’ enactments.
Where can you go to find out how to do those things? http://www.nunnglow.com
Do it today!
I was just browsing the internet when I came across a fairly recent article at the Greeley Tribune, writing by a guest. Several strong points are made about the past history of urnaium mining in Colorado, the present dangers, and further actions that need to be taken. Of course, since this article was written, HB1161 and another bill have been passed and signed into law. These bills will indeed go far toward protecting our health and our natural resources; however, this is not the time to step back and think that all the work is done. Indeed, I’m doubtful that the corporations that want to mine uranium will sit back and give up–thinking that this bill will prevent them from moving forward with their plans. As has happened in the past in other areas of the country, interpretation and enacting of the laws has yet to happen. Therein lies the danger. We need to remain vigilant and reactive in order to preserve our health, our environment, and our property values. Continue to monitor the CARD site for information and to take action as needed. Together, we can protect ourselves and our environment from the ravages of uranium mining.
More news of interest related to uranium mining dangers:
Uranium Mining in the West–Natural Resources at Risk - We’ve already seen the danger with respect to uranium tailings at … Energy policy: Nuclear, HB 08-1161, SB 08-228 - A ghost town in northern Colorado could prove to be the battleground for another fight over uranium mining as a Grand …
Uranium mining dangers being hidden, expert warns - The prospect of uranium mining has been widely debated in Eastern Ontario and western Quebec, as claims dot a large swath of land in the two regions, including unceded Algonquin land in the Sharbot Lake area. …
Radioactive Rivers - The Brenk Report - Sandy Carroll, who was recently appointed environmental manager at Harmony Gold Mines, told Beeld newspaper that admittedly, ‘the mining groups were informed about the dangers indicated in the report.’[ She said Harmony ‘was talking to …
Uranium mining dangers being hidden, expert warns - Geopolitical, environmental concerns not worth short-term economic gain, author argues An …
Uranium Mining - Unfortunately, much of this grief is the result of the uranium mining that was done in the 1950’s and 60’s. It was these people who went down into the mines and brought home the yellow dust. Many of the mines were on their tribal lands, …
Yesterday was my first experience with tornadoes in Northern Colorado. Having lived in Kansas and then in Illinois, I didn’t even give it a second thought when there were thunderstorms in the area yesterday. I assumed that tornado sirens were in place and functioning.
I assumed wrong. My son and I were in his bedroom and I was reading to him. We had the windows cracked so let in some fresh air. Suddenly my ears felt just a little strange and I noticed there was no wind blowing. I stopped reading and looked out the window. Although I didn’t see anything unusual, I was able to hear that someone was playing their radio very loudly and it sounded like a weather announcement. I just caught the words tornado warning.
Both of us headed for the basement right away and took a radio with us. Come to find out, there were tornadoes all around us. Unfortunately, we now know that there was one fatality and that Windsor, Colorado took the brunt of the tornado hit. It was amazing that more people weren’t killed since there were apparently no sirens sounded in the Windsor area.
In retrospect, I also found myself wondering what would have happened in a tornado like that to a pile of tailings at an in situ uranium mining site–like the one proposed for Nunn, CO. My builder says that a huge pile of dirt he had next to one of his homesites (near one of the touchdowns in our area) was completed scattered for miles around. The house it was next to was absolutely covered and splattered with the dirt/mud mixture.
Imagine what it would do with radioactive tailings!
I urge you to continue monitoring the mining situation in CO or where ever you call home.
For more on the tornadoes visit:
Northeastern Colorado Tornado Response - Please call United Way’s 2-1-1 to volunteer or donate to the victims of the Northeastern Colorado Tornadoes. Colleen Carey is a 5th Grade teacher at Mountain View Elementary School in Windsor, CO. Here is her story: …
Comms down for a bit and update from Windsor, CO tornado - Sorry about the lack of updates but my concast has been down since yesterday and isn’t expected to be back up for a bit due to the tornado that hit about 1.5 mi east of where I am. All is cool,… [[ This is a content summary only. …
Video footage of the Windsor, Colorado tornado - Amazing.
Photos of tornado damage in Windsor, CO - Pretty amazing photos from the huge tornado that hit there earlier today.
Tornado Demolishes Windsor, CO - A huge tornado ripped through Windsor, Colorado, just before lunch yesterday, destroying much of the town of 19000. Miraculously, only one person was killed, a camper at a former missile silo now turned into a campground, …
The Salvation Army: DISASTER NEWS: Northern Colorado Tornado … - … (mobile kitchens) following the tornadoes in northern Colorado. The canteens will be serving beverages, snacks and meals to the first responders and tornado survivors, located at the Windsor Recreation Center, 250 11th St. Windsor, CO.
Water–the stuff of life. Yesterday, Colorado Governor Bill Ritter signed into law House Bill 1161, which will go far to protect Colorado’s precious ground water from contamination due to in situ leach mining of uranium.
The law will go into effect on July 1, 2008, and is one of the most stringent mining laws in the country. Although it won’t prevent in situ leach mining, it does make it much more difficult to accomplish in Colorado. The important thing now is how this law will be enacted throughout the state.
Continue to monitor this site and/or the CARD site for further actions you can take to ensure that this law is enacted effectively to provide strong protective measures for our ground water.
Thank you for your continued support in this important fight to protect Colorado and its natural resources from the devastating effects of mining.
Read one of my earlier posts on this topic:
Colorado HB 1161 Passes and Moves to Appropriations - We can all breathe a little easier today. Friday, the bill that has been put forward to protect the water and other resources from contamination by in-situ leach uranium mining passed unanimously. The fight is not over yet, …
For more information on this exciting news, you can read more here:
Energy policy: Nuclear, HB 08-1161 - HB 1161, sponsored by Fort Collins Democratic Reps. John Kefalas and Randy Fischer and Republican Sen. Steve Johnson, requires uranium miners to prove they can return groundwater either to pre-mining conditions or those in line with …
Western Lands Uranium Gopher for May 16, 2008 - Dick Clement, the head of Powertech’s US operations, told the Northern Colorado Business Report he has no real problems with HB 1161. “There is no question we can do this but we don’t know how much ground water it will take. …
Mining bill will protect water. | By Pamela Dickman and Jon … - Colorado now has a law to protect water from contamination associated with in situ uranium mining. On Tuesday, Gov. Bill Ritter signed House Bill 1161 – a measure Fort Collins lawmaker John Kefalas and mining executive Richard Clement …
Ritter signs uranium bill - House Bill 1161, which was sponsored by Reps. John Kefalas and Randy Fischer and Sens. Steve Johnson and Bob Bacon, stems from a proposal by a Canadian-based company to begin in-situ leach mining in Weld County. …
I was reading in my local paper this morning that Vestas is intending to expand it’s operations in Colorado. I applaud their decision to expand their presence in the state. This is the direction and focus that our state needs to concentrate on as we move forward into a new energy economy. As Timothy B. Hurst points out in his article A Big Week for Vestas Wind Systems it has indeed been a big week for this company and for this state.
You can find out more about Vestas and its wind turbine business in these recent posts from the blogosphere:
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Vestas Quietly Opens First North American Blade Plant - Danish wind-energy giant, Vestas, has apparently already opened the doors to its $60 million, 400000 square foot blade manufacturing facility in Windsor, Colorado. Even though the plant was not officially scheduled to open until this … CO Getting World’s Largest Wind Turbine Factory - Earlier this year, Vestas opened its first American blade manufacturing facility in Windsor’s Great Western Industrial Park. That $65 million, 350000 square-foot facility, will produce more than 500, 40-meter wind turbines a year when … The Synergy Between Wind Energy and Freight Trains - When Vestas Wind Systems announced that they would locate their first North American blade plant in Windsor, Colorado, company officials said part of the reason for doing so was because of the site’s proximity to the regional rail … |
This video highlights the dangers of uranium mining and how it effected a town called Grants.
Uranium: Boom, Bust and Back Again - The best video clips are right here
Have you ever wondered what difference one person could make? Does the prospect of protecting our natural resources sometimes seem like an overwhelming task?
In this morning’s local paper I found an article written by Kevin Sullivan over at The Washington Post. In it he describes one film producers concerted effort to ban plastic bags from her hometown of Modbury, England. What started out as a nature documentary quickly turned to a horror scene as Rebecca Hosking, a BBC wildlife film producer, worked on a sugar-white beach in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. All around here were the rotting corpses of dead albatrosses–victims of various brightly colored plastics the birds had mistaken for food.
When Rebecca returned to her native England to finish her documentary, what she found snorkeling in the cool British sea near her hometown made her disgusted. Plastic bags, thousands of them, covered the bay floor she was exploring. Although she’d never been a campaigner or activist before, she knew she had to do something. She also realized that she couldn’t fix the problems she found at the bottom of Midway, but she was convinced she could make a difference in her hometown.
She scoured the Internet and found a biodegradeable alternative to plastic bags–made from cornstarch. She then convinced a local butcher to try out the new bags she’d found. Finally, at a town meeting with local businesses, she asked business owners to make the switch. When everyone saw that the butcher had had great success with the substitute bags, all the businesses came on board and made the switch. Last May 1, Modbury became Europe’s first plastic-bag-free town. Now, there are 120 British cities and towns exploring a ban on plastic bags and nin have already banned them.
The next time you wonder what difference one person can make, think of Rebecca Hosking. She saw a problem, she researched alternatives, she devised a plan, and took action. Her actions made a difference for one town in England and is spreading to other towns. What action can you take today?
Wonder what others in the blogosphere have to say about plastic bags? Here’s a recent sample:
WEB EXTRA: Liberal bill to ban plastic shopping bags dies - A Liberal bill to ban shopping bags is effectively dead, leaving the fate of the plastic nuisances bundled up in a confusing overhaul of the province’s household recycling program. Liberal Leader Jon Gerrard’s bill to outlaw the bags by …
China Puts a Lid on Plastic Bags - It’s about time: In China three billion plastic bags are used every day, and our planet’s oceans now contain over six times as much plastic as plankton. Reuters reports that this ban will be a boon for manufacturers of reusable cloth …
Ban Plastic Bags in Kingston, ON! - The movement to ban plastic shopping bags may not seem that revolutionary, but it is and Kingston can be one of the first cities to do this. San Francisco was the first city to ban plastic bags and other countries have since implemented …
Plastic bag nightmare continues - Despite repeated rhetoric by the authorities (March 31, 2007: No leniency in plastic bag ban says Sindh Minister for Environment and Alternative Energy, Dr Saghir Ahmed, April 30, 2007: Drive against plastic bags intensified, …
Kudos to this young lady - Now today the Washington Post is carrying this article about a young British woman who has succeeded in getting her small village to ban plastic bags, inspired by the devastation to wildlife in the Pacific: …
Plastics, or Benjamin Braddock’s Revenge - Ireland’s “plastax,” launched in 2002, has resulted in a 90 percent voluntary reduction in plastic bag use. Finally, corn-based, biodegradable plastics are beginning to surface, and though these polymers are not yet as durable as …
National Trust introduce 5p bag fee - This makes them the latest in a series of companies and organisations - including Marks and Spencer, and Help the Aged - to ban free plastic bags. The banning trend started because of a Daily Mail campaign against the plastic bag …
Pending plastic bag ban in San Jose + “green” construction video - Last year, SF finalized a ban on plastic bags in grocery stores and pharmacies…will San Jose take the same route? How effective will this really be? And finally, if and when will San Jose place a ban on both plastic AND paper bags? …
Help the Aged launches reusable jute shopper following plastic bag … - On 2nd June 2008, during National Recycling Week, Help the Aged will become the first charity shop retailer to ban plastic bags in its high street stores. To ensure that customers are not left inconvenienced by this move, …
Ground zero for bag bans - The small village of Modbury, England, was the flash point for the latest trend of communities trying to ban plastic bags, and Rebecca Hosking was the spark. The Washington Post’s May 6 issue has an interview and feature about her role …
IKEA Saves 100 Million Plastic Bags Since 2006 - In support of the Daily Mail’s campaign to ban the use of all single-use disposable plastic bags, IKEA UK have announced that a total of 100 million plastic bags have been saved since first launching a 10p charge in June 2006 and then a …
Paper or Plastic - Consider this - many cities are banning or planning to ban plastic bags. Seattle is currently one of those cities considering a 20 cent green fee on all plastic bags. While Plastic is more convenient and yes, can be shipped easier than …
I decided to do a round up of information across the blogosphere of uranium mining articles that may affect the Western United States. Without input and action from all Americans, precious natural resources are at risk of being distroyed or hopelessly polluted.
Here is a selection of interesting articles about uranium mining in the West:
Uranium mining bill goes to governor | By Pamela Dickman The … - A bill tightening groundwater standards for uranium mining companies awaits Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter’s signature.
Mining Surge Near Colorado River Threatens Drinking Water For 25 … - Recently, the governor of Arizona and the chief of Southern California’s largest water supplier have expressed their concerns to the Bush Administration that uranium mines could mean contamination of the river with toxic mine waste. …
Nuclear Is Not Clean - There are communities in the Southwest still suffering from the effects of the uranium mining from the nuclear boom of the 1940’s - 1980’s (more below). But, when nuclear proponents tout the idea that nuclear energy is the clean energy …
The Grand Canyon’s Uranium Boom - Judy Pasternak had a good piece in the Los Angeles Times on Sunday taking a closer look at the rapid proliferation of uranium-mining claims on the fringes of Grand Canyon National Park. The number of claims within five miles of the park …
Uranium claims spring up along Grand Canyon rim - Add to the list the Metropolitan Water District of Los Angeles, which sells wholesale water throughout Southern California from its Colorado River Aqueduct. “In addition to the public health impacts, exploration and mining of …
Uranium Mining - Uranium claims are also encroaching on stretches of Western parkland such as Arches National Park, Capitol Reef National Park and Canyonlands National Park, all in Utah, as well as a proposed wilderness area in Colorado called the …
Senator Feinstein praises EWG’s Colorado River mining report - This report raises serious concerns about the huge number of uranium claims around the Colorado River. The river is the source of drinking water for millions in the West. We’ve already seen the danger with respect to uranium tailings at …
Energy policy: Nuclear, HB 08-1161, SB 08-228 - A ghost town in northern Colorado could prove to be the battleground for another fight over uranium mining as a Grand Junction-based company prepares to launch its own campaign to extract the resource. According to Weld County records, …
Fighting Global Warming Block by Block King County Executive Ron … - Uranium claims spring up along Grand Canyon rim Thanks to renewed interest in nuclear power, the United States is on the verge of a uranium mining boom, and nowhere is the hurry to stake claims more pronounced than in the districts …
Outrage over plans to extract uranium ore from the Grand Canyon - “The Grand Canyon is something we depend on for visitors, for tourism, it’s one of the wonders of the world, and here we are as the federal Government allowing the distinct possibility of uranium mining,” Raul Grijalva, a congressman …
Together we can battle the uranium mining companies and stop the wanton destruction of natural resources throughout the West. Be sure to stop by the CARD site listed in my blogroll for a list of actions you can take. If you live in other states affected by uranium mining, seek out local groups that are working to stop the mining. I urge you to take what actions you can to stop the mining of uranium. Nuclear power may seem like a quick fix solution for our energy crisis, but it is really no solution at all.
There is an excellent series of articles over at the CARD site from the Rocky Mountain Chronicle. The 4-part series provides in-depth information about the proposed uranium mine located near Nunn, CO.
Remember, educating yourself so you can form your own opinion and take actions based thereon is important. Don’t let this mining situation take you by surprise. Natural resources, once destroyed, are hard to reclaim–if possible at all
This series is highly recommended reading.
Congrats all round for the victories won in the legislature today. An article at CARD
highlights the fact that two important pieces of legislation have been passed. One step closer to protecting our environment in Colorado. Let’s continue to move forward and stop uranium mining in CO.
