Happy Friday, everyone. First off, thanks a bunch for not being too hungover to read the paper this morning. After all of the “hard work” and “thought” I put into these, it’s nice to have people read them. This one is about some new politics in the controversial world here in Wisconsin. Months ago, a piece of legislation that would have brought changes to our mining laws was defeated in Wisconsin’s state legislature. The bill would have paved the way for a new iron mine in northern Wisconsin. Now, with a legislative majority, proponents of the bill are trying again. They say the mine would provide thousands of jobs in Wisconsin and serve as a great boost for the economy. Opponents say the bill guts governmental regulations and the mine would be devastating to the environment. I think these environmental concerns should be taken much more seriously by proponents of the bill.
Apparently, jobs are good. As someone who has spent my entire life avoiding any type of work, I am thoroughly confused by this. I can say for sure though that a giant mine in northern Wisconsin would certainly create a lot of them. Opponents, however, say very few of the created jobs would actually go to Wisconsinites. Mining, they say, is skilled labor, and experienced miners would be coming from outside the state to do the work. Still, I cannot deny this mine would be a stimulus for our economy.
Unfortunately, there would be unavoidable environmental harm. I can’t say how large the mine’s impact on the environment would be because I don’t know. Yes, I did research. The problem is that it’s impossible to get unbiased information. While opponents claim the bill hurts environmental protection laws, supporters claim it merely streamlines them. Obviously any mine as large as the one proposed would have to destroy a chunk of the countryside, but the risk of pollution and water contamination is unclear. The bill, needs to include strong protections against environmental damage or pollution at the state level.
As with most politics, sacrifices have to be made. To stimulate Wisconsin’s economy with a new iron mine, the environment would suffer. To preserve Wisconsin’s environment, we would pass on a great economic opportunity. The people of Wisconsin need to be provided with facts on both options and decide.
The bill was written with help from Gogebic Taconite, the mining company planning on building the iron mine following the passing of the legislation. I personally don’t trust a mining company to write a law reforming the government’s regulation of mining companies, but that might just be me. For this reason, I am quite skeptical of mine proponents’ claims that the project poses no danger to the environment.
There are also other ways to create jobs. Imagine all the jobs that could be created by, say, a high-speed rail between Madison and Milwaukee. Just a thought. Jobs can always be created in a number of different ways, but Wisconsin only has so much nature. That’s why, given the information we have, I am against this legislation and the mine for which it paves the way.
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