Okay, I’m not the most sociable human at the present time so I’ve not been playing much in blogland. While I’m not about to commence running rampant from blogcasa to blogcasa, I really want to share this recent Nature program with anyone interested in the interconnectedness of all things. What Plants Talk About offers some incredible insights into the living Earth we call home. I think it also serves as a huge positive statement regarding why we MUST preserve the ‘natural’ environment widely and learn to re-integrate our human species with our plant and animal relations quickly in order to ensure our own survival. If we don’t, I suspect we may find Earth less than welcoming of our continued presence. Mother Nature will find a way to deal with us as hostile creatures and create a new healthy balance. No, I’m not kidding.
It is very well worth an hour of your time to watch and learn what’s going on with all the leafy green things above and below ground. This is a very accessible program about some serious science. It’s also features beautiful photographic film work.
Much thanks to Roxie for her very generous gift of art supplies to Cheryl Locke’s elementary class on the Pine Ridge Reservation. My poem, as promised, on topic of Roxie’s choice.
Visit Roxie’s blogcasa for many things writing/publishing related–with good humor too. Sorry, not the Good Humor Ice Cream Bars–yet. Though she may figure out how to link us up with those too soon enough! http://roxieh.wordpress.com/
This post concerns ”Much Ado about in-situ leach uranium mining, Powertech, clean water, mine bonds, the environment and Bills.” No, not tax bills, not Mr. Bill, but bills of legislative import in South Dakota–the land of Powertech Potential Profits without accountability. Well, Lilias Jarding, who plays very nicely with the Clean Water Alliance of South Dakota, has a few activist proposals for the citizens of South Dakota concerned about the potentially nasty toxifying effects of in situ uranium mining touted by Powertech and their other foreign–and American grown–cohorts. Without further ado, please take a gander at Lilias’ list of not to be missed Bills.
From the cyber-desk of Lilias Jarding, Clean Water Alliance of South Dakota,
Senate Bills 148. 149, 150–and 141.
Greetings –
There are now three bills in the S.D. Legislature that we need to work to support! This is great news, but now the work begins. This message contains information on how to contact your legislators to say you support the bill and information on each bill. Please read to the bottom and take action today.
The first bill, Senate Bill 148, would return state regulatory authority over in situ leach uranium mining. This is the authority that was taken away in 2011 by the bill that Powertech Uranium authored. We are FOR this bill. We want the state to regulate this type of dangerous mining, not just some distant federal officials. And we want regular monitoring of the construction, operation, and water quality at ISL mines. Without state monitoring, this regular oversight will not occur.
The second, Senate Bill 149, would change the current law. The current law gives uranium companies 30 days to report environmental violations without any penalty. Instead, under this bill, the companies would have to report environmental violations within 24 hours. We are FOR this bill. We want companies who do this dangerous type of mining to be responsible for their spills and leaks. We want problems to be reported quickly, so that corrective measures can be applied quickly.
The third bill, Senate Bill 150, is the longest. It provides additional protections that: (1) require uranium companies to return water to baseline conditions after they mine, (2) let the Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources determine if it is feasible to mine safely in a particular place, (3) allow a mining permit to be denied if the company cannot demonstrate that restoration of water will work, and (4) require full restoration of water quality after mining. We are FOR this bill. We want full protection from the problems that in situ leach uranium mining has caused in other places. The mining companies say they can mine safely and without contaminating groundwater. This bill simply holds them to their word.
These are important bills, and we are lucky to have strong supporters like Senator Bradford and Representatives Heinert and Killer, who introduced these bills and will work to support them. So please take a moment to thank them. And plan to support these bills by going to Pierre, when they are up for hearings. This could happen with only a couple days’ notice, so have your gas money set aside! We’ll help arrange carpools, when the time comes.
Right now, please contact your area’s legislators and urge them to support each of these bills. You can find out who your legislators are at http://legis.state.sd.us/who/index.aspx
You can e-mail legislators at http://legis.state.sd.us/email/LegislatorEmail.aspx You only have to write a message once and change the legislator’s name at the top and in your “Dear ___” line. If you have more than a few minutes, please contact every legislator and ask for their support.
We will be targeting the members of specific committees, as soon as the bills are assigned to committees. So watch for that.
Thanks for all you do. As usual, let me know if you have questions
Senate Bill 141
Here is another bill we need to support. It’s Senate Bill 141. It would increase the bond requirements for mining companies and would apply to Powertech Uranium’s proposed mine. The text of the bill is here: http://legis.state.sd.us/sessions/2013/Bill.aspx?File=SB141P.htm. Before they start mining, companies have to post a bond to insure that the mine is cleaned up, especially if the company goes bankrupt or leaves the state. These bonds are usually way too low. This bill would require a higher bond.
Please contact the bill’s sponsors — Senators Adelstein, Rampelberg, Kirkeby, Lucas, and Tidemann and Representatives Sly, Kopp, Hunhoff (Bernie), and Shrempp — and thank them for sponsoring the bill.
Please contact your district’s legislators — and as many others as you have time to contact — and tell them you support this bill. We support this bill because we want to be sure that the state’s natural resources are protected and that South Dakota taxpayers are not left paying to clean up messes left by mining companies, as has happened so often in the past.
Oh and everyone please take notes for when Powertech Uranium Corporation–or some version thereof–comes to visit your state sniffing for uranium and such.
Sheelah McLean (left), Nina Wilson, Sylvia McAdam, Jessica Gordon
If you’re still wondering what has Canada’s First Nations “Idle No More” then brew some tea, get your seat all comfy and let the ladies do their thing–teach. Here’s a very accessible introduction to the issues. Canada’s Omnibus Bill C-45 has been passed by the senate. Guess what that means after Dr. Pamela Palmater lays it all out.
Sylvia McAdam, Jan. 6 Teach In, Calgary via placesintheforest
Sylvia McAdam presents Peaceful Women Warriors ~ Alberta
Nina Wilson interview with Trevor Grey Eyes News regarding C-45
In depth presentation about Canada’s First Nations issues. This is very clearly presented information and explanations.
Dr. Pamela Palmater ~ Alberta (part 1/4)– On the legislation/Harper/Indian Act/environment and more.
(part 2/4) Water issues, discrimination via the Canadian legal system, pipeline, treaty partners, reserve land, First Nations elections, protests, chiefs and more.
(part 3/4) Omnibus Bill C-45, treaty rights, jurisdiction, ”unlocking our lands,” education, who benefits from First Nations poverty and more.
(part 4/4) Resource Development by force, right wing media spin issues, social media, White Paper 2012, et al.
Anyone else get the sense that just meeting with Harper is not going to silence the drums of ”Idle No More” while genocide is committed via legislation?
The letter following my comments is from the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary pages on Facebook. Please help spread the news. I think they could use some major support. They’re fighting uranium mining. This post is my tiny effort to raise awareness. Thanks to Earth Tribe for its support.
Powertech Exposed –and the difficulty of commenting via a malfunctioning website: http://www.powertechexposed.com/ The uranium mining industry is not playing “fair”–because they know their mining is not wanted in the Black Hills -or anywhere else where the population is informed about the dangers of uranium mining and the environmental dangers it produces. Clearly some people learned nothing from the Fukushima disaster.
Please consider the dangers and consequences of the Dewey-Burdock project – From the desk of IRAM Program Director, Susan Watt
From the desk of IRAM Program Director, Susan Watt
January 1, 2013
Please, I would ask all of you to read and understand what is going on in the arena of the Uranium Mining.
This proposed project affects all of us. Please support our efforts by joining us and the community on Thursday Night, January 10, 2013 at the American Legion in Hot Springs, So Dakota for a Community Meeting at 6:30 pm.
- SW
# # #
REPOST – December 30, 2012
Cindy Bladey, Chief, Rules, Announcements and Directives Branch
Division of Administrative Services
Office of Administration, Mailstop TWB-05-B01M
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Washington, D.C. 20555-0001
Docket NRC-2012-0277, the proposed Dewey-Burdock project, comments on the SEIS
Dear Ms. Bladey,
Twenty five years ago I founded the Institute of Range and American Mustang (IRAM) a 501 c 3 non-profit corporation. IRAM’s Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary is home to more than 600 wild horses on 13,000 acres of private range in South Dakota.
On this location one can find; 60 million year old remains from the Pleistocene era of plants and animals, Ancient Petroglyphs that date back hundreds of years, Native American Ceremonial Sites, Historic Pioneer homesteads, and hundreds of native species of plants and animals. IRAM is supported by the thousands of visitors that come to South Dakota each year to see the natural history of the local area. Besides a Wild Horse Sanctuary the historic significance of this region brings people and scientists from all over the world.
For hundreds of years, the Cheyenne River that runs through the Sanctuary was the first source of water for the wildlife that lived on the grassy prairies. Ancient man and the dinosaurs of the past traveled this waterway. Native Americans hunted the buffalo and then held their sacred ceremonies on this land.
Along with IRAM’s Board of Directors, I am greatly concerned over the proposed Powertech Dewey-Burdock project that is located within twenty miles of the Sanctuary. We feel that the SEIS was issued before all the relevant information was available.
The Cultural and Historic impact that will result from this proposed project have not been considered properly. The relevant information is still not available. The SEIS should not have been issued until a thorough study of the cultural and historical sites on the proposed project area was completed.
The SEIS “dilutes” impacts by saying that the impacts are “small” because only part of the project area is involved. The impacts are large to the affected areas, and that is what should be considered. The Cheyenne River and its water shed are within a few miles from the proposed mining area. Our house wells and livestock wells all share the same aquifer that is to be used to inject the waste water from the project.
The SEIS only includes the impacts of a 100-year flood, and some facilities are allowed within the 100-year flood boundaries. A 500-year flood should be considered. No facilities should be allowed within the 100-year flood boundaries. Vigorous, overland and stream flooding is common in the Black Hills.
The SEIS says that impacts are “small” in a number of instances because Powertech Uranium has said it will do certain things if problems develop. The SEIS should not consider only the “best case” impacts, but should consider impacts if the problems found at other ISL projects develop. The public and the environment should be protected from worst case impacts.
Besides over 600 wild horses, IRAM also has a herd of Red Angus Cattle and over 100 domestic horses, chickens, turkeys, and peacocks. We are greatly concerned over the potential exposure to radiation for all of these animals.
The SEIS lists a number of things that Powertech should do before it starts its operation, such as air dispersion modeling, livestock radiation sampling, pump testing, creating well field operational plans, and setting up emergency procedures for truck accidents. These activities should be completed before a SEIS is issued, so that the public can have full information on which to base its comments, and so that the NRC can have full information on which to base its ratings of various impacts.
Due to the high desert environment, this area is very susceptible to lightning strikes and wild fires. This summer alone there were months of fires in the local area of the proposed mining.
The environmental impacts of wildfires, which are common in the immediate area of the proposed project, should be considered, including potential impacts if a fire strikes mining, pipelines, overhead power lines, and processing buildings.
The SEIS does not acknowledge environmental justice, cultural, and historical concerns that include Lakota treaty rights to the proposed project area and the fact that a number of Native American tribes consider the Black Hills to be sacred.
Bald eagles, sage-grouse, whooping cranes, and black-footed ferrets are all threatened or endangered wildlife species that could be negatively impacted by the proposed project. Wildlife is simply expected to disperse and go elsewhere. This creates undue hardship on sensitive species.
All ponds, including radium settling ponds, and areas where wastewater is applied to the land are threats to wildlife, particularly birds.
Public hearings should be held after full information is available on the proposed project. Hearings held elsewhere during the writing of the NRC’s Generic Environmental Impact Statement are not adequate to this specific project.
Because the state no longer has regulatory authority over ISL mining, the federal government’s plans for monitoring the project should be clearly explained in detail, so that the public can determine whether monitoring will be adequate.
All data provided by Powertech Uranium should be independently verified. It is not in the public interest to have the proposed project’s benefits and problems judged based almost entirely on data provided by the company seeking a permit.
The applicant has never mined uranium. They do not have anything close to the resources necessary to create a mine. The inexperience of the company and its lack of funding are important variables in the company’s ability to manage the environmental aspects of the proposed project and should be discussed in the SEIS.
The SEIS indicates that 30% of the water treated through the reverse osmosis process will become waste. The impacts of the removal of this water from local aquifers should be discussed much more clearly.
All of the above facts about the Dewey Burdock project and the SEIS clearly affect the Institute of Range and American Mustang Programs and Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary. The Uranium Mining would endanger the wildlife, the mustangs, the water supplies, the land and all the people that are on the land.
This matter of allowing Uranium Mining and using the water from an already delicate ecosystem must be considered and analyzed from all dangers and risks. Science tells us what a situation is but it is up to the humans involved to make the decisions. Once this area is exposed the Uranium Mining there is no turning back the clock to undo the mistakes.
Our policy at IRAM is that man is the caregiver of the Earth and all of its beings and no one has the right to contaminate or pollute the environment. There are no second chances at life if the water, land, wildlife, people and history of an area are destroyed by Corporate Greed.
There is something very great at stake here in the Black Hills of South Dakota and we ask you please to consider the dangers and consequences of the Dewey-Burdock project of what it can and might to do to the very water we drink and the land we live on.
Sometimes in life the risk is just not worth taking. Please help us keep our land and water safe.
Chasing Ice website http://www.chasingice.com/ Complete with link to James Balog’s photography and much more.
With all the ways there are to share information and communicate in this time of technological multitasking galore “mail” remains a constant source as both snail mail (those hard copies that are deposited in your own private hard copy mailboxes) and email (all the electronically created and delivered “soft” efforts to communicate via cyberspace complete with “in boxes” and mailing options. Anyone else recall the attempt by the American government to charge US all five cents per email we sent? Have I got that right? So far that effort to get a slice of the internet mail pie has failed. So far. I think. I may be wrong about this failure to milk us.). Why do we so enjoy getting all our forms of “mail”? One reason I enjoy my mail is because of the information it brings to my attention that I may well have otherwise missed or overlooked or simply never discovered. There is something to be said for “subscribing” to business websites for updates and notifications. Are you all bored and wondering what the heck any of this has to do with the Chasing Ice video? Okay. I subscribe to the Tivoli Cinemas in Westport (an area of Kansas City, Missouri) and as a result I receive a weekly email regarding which films are being shown and when at the hard copy theatre complete with big screens, comfy seats, and the rare option to buy or bring your own yum yums for consumption while viewing all sorts of films. If I did not have this subscription I probably would never have known that Chasing Ice is appearing exclusively at the Tivoli for the Kansas City area. Heck, I might not have even known it was appearing in any theatres if not for this email. Luckily the Tivoli is within reasonable driving distance for moi–who, as you’ve all guessed by now has the “yappy yaps” this morning.
Hey, they’re even offering The Nutcracker performed by the Royal London Ballet on December 23. Yes, a movie theatre will show a ballet film. If that’s not enough to raise your highbrows a notch or two then maybe The Royal Opera of London show of The Marriage of Figaro on December 30 will do the trick.
Oh and a film ticket stub will knock 50% off the price of one drink at the Broadway Cafe –which, in my opinion, offers The Best Cafe Mocha–bar none– anywhere. Definitely the best I’ve tasted in several states. (No, sorry, folks trying to staff the little upstart coffee shop in Pierre, SD, that’s not a legit cafe mocha you’re proffering. Not yet anyway. Keep trying though. Practice may pay off in time.) Broadway Cafe site http://www.broadwayroasting.com/
So, guess where I will venture, safe driving conditions being extant, during the week of December 21-27? Yep. I’ll be chasing Chasing Ice with a delicious cafe mocha accompanied by a honey soaked croissant. I’ll be enjoying what this world offers while it lasts.
Now, about all the ice chasing and film festival awards and climate change etc. . . .
Am I a shameless beggar or what? I can be. Though I suspect I need to work on my tech savvy, string pulling and emotional manipulation in order to increase effectiveness and reach. Apologies to anyone feeling put upon. But I swear that I will write a poem, topic of their choice, for anyone who swallows this hook. Really I will. Just be forewarned that you only pick the topic–not how I might treat it poetically. On the odd chance that someone out there in the cyberswamplands might take the bait I’m on another fishing trip. A quick gander at the photo subjects and no doubt everyone knows what’s on this shopping list. Yes, ART supplies. Remember those third graders without any winter coats? Well, their teacher would very much like to have them do a little art. Just the usual child’s play with pencils, crayons, markers, and maybe some watercolor paints. Nothing elaborate. They are third graders after all–not oil painting Picasso hopefuls. They probably haven’t heard of Picasso–much less dreamt of following his artistic path. At least not yet. No, don’t expect them to get any notions about Picasso or Monet from their school library or some computer the rest of us here take for granted. That is highly unlikely all real life things considered on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. The bottom line here is that Cheryl’s third graders do not create any of the usual child art in school because they have no colored pencils, markers, crayons, construction paper (primary colors), glue sticks, pencils (no.2), tissue paper, or poster board. Clearly no one can supply 18 children with all these supplies. But if each person who visits this blogcasa were to send just one box of Crayola crayons or one package of construction paper or one pan of watercolors. Just a single item, one by one would do the trick. If you’re inclined to yank my poetic strings send Cheryl Locke’s third grade students an art supply– and then state your item choice and poem topic request in the comments. So, who wants a poem?
I’m a library grazer. Yep, I confess it. Each time I visit my local public library I can’t help but shop the shelves for all the new arrivals in all genres–even the entertainment ones that often astonish me with their very existence. The downside of this book/dvd/cd grazing is that it about triples the time I spend in the library’s physical location. It also generally about triples the number of items I haul to the self check out computer and from there to the ever overflowing parlor couch where they get to catch their breath. One of the items my grazing discovered was this book of photographs from one of America’s dark actions against its own people–Japanese Americans. (Btw, there was talk of rounding up German Americans too, but that never got going. Don’t believe that? Check out the holdings at the National Archives, KCMO–oh yeah.) Not only were people forced into camps but their personal property was confiscated and they lost everything–for nothing. Is this bit of American history more than a tad disconcerting? It should be considering all the lip service paid to “human rights.” The Native Americans had/have prisons without walls via the reservations. Japanese Americans had prisons with barbed wire. As I viewed Bill Manbo’s photographs I was struck again and again at the incongruity of everything in them about people trying to maintain some sense of normalcy in a decidedly NOT normal situation–a downright irrational situation to my thinking. Usually prison/confinement is the end result of doing something “wrong”–illegal–criminal. But these families had done nothing at all — except be Japanese Americans. There’s definitely something askew in thinking that leads to such treatment of people innocent of any wrongdoing. I wonder about the American population at large that was aware of people being taken from their communities and yet allowing it, accepting it, agreeing to it. And I wonder if our current prison system is just another sign of this confining mentality. Maybe it is. Or it’s something even darker? At any rate, here is one man’s photographic record of history which shames the Americans who created and implemented this action. It also shames all those who knew it was wrong and watched it happen in silence.
Much thanks to the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University for this Vimeo film featuring Bill Manbo’s photographs.
Colors of Confinement, Rare Kodachrome Photographs of Japanese American Incarceration in World War II, Editor Eric L. Muller with photographs by Bill Manbo. Published by the University of North Carolina in association with the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University, 2012.
Ah some things just get better with time–like compost and the Urban Farming Guys’ permaculture antics in, of all places, Kansas City, Missouri. Who’d have thunk it in the city that wages war on its own trees? Mea culpa–indeed I have been remiss in not sharing all their wild and wonderful videos in a timely fashion. But today I’m on target as this is coming straight to you from my “inbox” this Sunday. Whose farming in your city? Hmm? FYI, it is possible to subscribe to TheUrbanFarmingGuys on YouTube if you want to learn about Aquaponics, Morrels, Tilapia farming, Christmas Tree Safety and much more.
If you’re wondering just what’s possible regarding sustainable living in an urban setting, then you need to discover these guys asap because they’re “making it so” all on their own steam.
The Guys have even been to Imphal, India–Seriously.
Imagine it, an artist leading the way to a sustainable, healthy habitat for urban dwellers everywhere. Where are all the yappers about “change we can breathe in”? Hmm? Where? Never mind them. This sort of creating is not part of the political playbook for gaining and keeping power. Gee, what if it was? What if we all demanded clean air around the globe? No exceptions–everywhere. And what if we refused to let politicians play their games as usual? Imagine a better world for ALL living things–not just us humans. Now. Today. It’s possible. Just ask Stephen Glassman and his team. Clearly they think it’s possible and doable. If we really want it.
This is not a joke, folks. Stephen Glassman really has the plans for cleaning the air of Los Angeles using BAMBOO! Living, breathing bamboo plant billboards. Ah the interconnectedness of all things–houseplants for cleaning indoor air and dealing with sick building syndrome, the urban farming revolution gaining ground, greening of urban rooftops and balconies–and now I find that an artist, sculptor Stephen Glassman, wants to build bamboo air cleaners along LA highways. There’s something in the air. I’m telling you, folks. If Glassman had just a tiny portion of the money spent on the latest round of political bs poured into the last election everyone’s urban air would be CLEAN. Or at least on its way to being much safer for all living things.
We can all do our part to share this dream–because we all have the tools right at our fingertips. Yes, I’m talking about that keyboard under your fingertips. If nothing else please “share” globally. Our future depends on us. Let’s give the artist a shot at improving our reality. Hmm. Why not?
Violating copyright births bad karma---imagine a mad hacker you'll never see coming--nor catch going. Respect = my work is my work and your work is your work.
Everything posted here is my work, copyrighted, unless otherwise noted. Comments aside. Om
Streaming Online
For Kili 90.1 fm, Pine Ridge, SD, click the image below for The Voice of the Lakota Nation.
Kili 90.1 fm The voice of the Lakota Nation
Native America Calling ~ Native Voice
Native America Calling on Native Voice
pantry
Pantry Goods
Cemetery Hill, Wounded Knee, Mugged by a Squirrel for a plum, Ed's driving, Art for Art's Sake, painting nudes, Cheyenne River Indian Reservation, KKFI, Crazy Horse, Reading, Marry, Critical Path, Political Missionary, White Wolves, teaser (1), We Shall Remain Shallow, Winter Fox Frank, Wes Studi, The Only Good Indian, Spotted Elk, naked woman centered, devotees (Crazy Horse), Blue Heron, Critical Path, An Adaptable Woman, and other plums ripening and Tanka Bars.
om mani padme hum jewel in the lotus wahupa qi prana universal life energy
