The conclusion I have come to is that for most of my life I lived amongst a human world which has not been able to appreciate in any significant way what really matters within the foundation of life for it must be an unfortunate life indeed that achieves its freedom from such destructive habits and meaningless monetary desires.

If it were in my backyard, I’d be concerned…

Listening to the radio today, the commentator at KSRM radio in Kenai Alaska was commenting on the Pebble Mine project and citing his support for the mine for solely monetary reasons. But this was to be expected from an advertising medium as the massive dollars flowing into the radio stations from the Pebble Mine group is so large it is bound to influence the minds of all those with incomes that rely upon the dollars spent on advertising like the 14 Million dollar advertising budget of the mine.

It’s not like it is being put in my backyard…

How much will politics, propaganda and misdirection play in the future of mining in Alaska? Will we open up the Caribou Hills to the next open pit mine? What if gold were to be found there next week? How would you feel if all the subversive marketing dollars were misleading the people and moving the general public in other areas towards opening the mine so they could make a few dollars or possibly get a job without any effect upon the areas where they live?

It’s not like it is on the Kenai River…

Just for the sake of identifying with this thought, lets assume that the Pebble Mine were actually in our backyard. Let’s say the ore deposits were found in the mountains above Cooper Landing and in the Kenai River watershed. Are you already feeling a troubled reaction arising from deep within your gut? Take a second and write down those feelings you’re having and try to be honest with yourself.

So if it were in Your Backyard, would you still be so exuberant about granting some outside corporation the right to take your minerals with just promises of some degree of restoration at a time and in a manor to be determined at that time and with know oversight or implied safeguards in place?

If your being honest with yourself, most likely your answer is no. Few of us actually came to live in Alaska looking to extort the old Rape and Run mentality of the 70’s. We came here to experience the wilderness quality of a land yet uncompromised by civilization. We were looking for a life free of encumbrances that threatened our desire for a way of life unlike found anywhere else in the industrialized world.

There’s plenty of misleading reporting at work on this subject and from the tone of the respondents here on the Kenai Peninsula the marketing dollars have had some degree of success. What is also obvious is the change in the tone of those who are on the opposite side of the issue. For it seems like the people who are opposed to the Pebble Project are really ready to dig in and fight now that the propaganda has begun to flourish. But less could not be expected for when you se something you are so passionate for about to be destroyed for all future days in your life and most likely of the lives of your children, it becomes a crusade to try to protect it.

Like a mother protects a child, we vow not to submit to the will of outsiders as this is our land and not the possession of some big corporation or just that of the people of the NANA or any other single Native Corporation. The ownership of the land in question is that of All Alaskans and we will not go down without a fight.

Stop The Pebble Mine before it’s too late. In theory this might just be possible, but in reality, we know it’s an impossible task. There is just far too much money backing the project to be able to have much effect upon its future existence. What we can do is continue to fight for our rights to protect this wilderness land from modern large scale mining operations ripping and tearing at the land causing unjustifiable devastation of such magnitude it can be seen from the International Space Station.

Wilderness is a resource that can shrink but not grow.

The best uses of our natural surroundings remain to be controversial between the people of Alaska as well as within the government. In each case there are strong arguments as to how best to protect our wilderness as related to the topics of mining, subsistence living, commercial fishing, recreation and ecological preservation. That which will remain as a constant in these arguments is seen as the two opposing factions where ethical lines most often divide.

Looking into these total opposites we begin to sense a conflicting set of moral values. One side views the oceans, skies and lands as endless sources of assets waiting to be consumed. This group appears consumed in monetary stature with a profound arrogance or haughty impudence. Opposing this view, others see any incursion upon the wilderness that consumes for profit a nonrenewable resource in an unwarranted, unacceptable manor as an outright disgrace that threatens to eliminate another resource Alaskan have cherished for centuries.

How does one apply their own set of aesthetic values to something so diverse as the Alaskan wilderness? What causes one person to see an exquisite masterpiece when another sees a harsh environment of little or no value to them?

From this point forth, the opinions expressed of the Pebble Mine Project, personal, individuals, or other entities are that of the individual user posting their personal opinions and may or may not reflect our principles of conservation, beliefs in preservation, esthetic values or other viewpoints of establishing the meaning and validity of any critical judgments we express concerning the development of such a large scale mine in the wilderness of Alaska.