Pebble Mine Research Paper

Improved Essays
The land is wild and free as far as the eye can see. Salmon flood the streams of Bristol bay every fall; it is one of the world’s last pieces of untouched land. The area has been kept this way for centuries, but that could soon come to an end. Pebble Mine is a project that plans to excavate the region for copper. The mine started as an terrible idea, and now is on the brink of becoming a terrible reality. The EPA should intervene on the Pebble Mine issue because it will destroy the wildlife and the economy of southeast Alaska.
The Bristol Bay watershed provides habitat for some of the most diverse wildlife on the planet. This includes 29 fish species, more than 190 bird species, and more than 40 terrestrial mammal species (“Benefits of Bristol
…show more content…
The salmon in the environment are the most important, as they “provide essential nutrients that support the ecosystem” (“Frequently Asked Questions About Bristol Bay”). Salmon said to be so abundant, they are seen for miles. The bristol bay region supports the largest sockeye salmon fishery in the world, “approximately 46% of the average global abundance of wild sockeye salmon” (“Benefits of Bristol Bay Overview”). That is where the issue of pebble mine comes in. We have seen what mines have done in the past and this is no different, a massive dark cloud over an ecosystem. According to an assessment conducted by the EPA, “massive mine waste impoundments will cover …show more content…
Many jobs rely directly on the salmon population in the Bristol Bay region being in high numbers. Thousands in the region work on commercial fishing boats, fish cleaning facilities, or markets selling salmon as primary income. Out of all things in the region, the Bristol Bay commercial salmon fishery generates the largest component of economic activity and was valued at “approximately $300 million in 2009 (first wholesale value)” and “provided employment for over 11,500 full and part-time workers at the peak of the season” (“Benefits of Bristol Bay Overview”). Alaskans cleaning and processing fish also rely heavily on fish numbers, and annual total earnings from Bristol Bay salmon processing averages at $225 million” (“Economics of wild salmon watersheds: Bristol Bay, Alaska”). Along with people relying on the salmon to make a living, others require it as part of their culture. According to “Economics of Wild Salmon Watersheds: Bristol Bay, Alaska”, “The Alaska Native cultures present in the Nushagak River and Kvichak River watersheds - the Yup'ik and Dena'ina - are two of the last intact, sustainable salmon-based cultures in the world.” These cultures way of life revolve around the salmon species, they provide food for the tribe, a social structure, and language. For certain rituals, the sockeye salmon is even worshiped. But, these cultures and jobs will be

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Chesapeake Bay Food Chain

    • 759 Words
    • 4 Pages

    This is a paper about a the Chesapeake Bay and how its food chain works, what the roles of the organisms are, the possible effects of a decrease in population of the algae, plants, and animals, also the possible causes for this and why as well as the preventions being done against this as well as the fixing of them. Also what else could be done or should be done about the issue. That is the main topic and subject this paper is gonna talk about. There are many organisms within the Chesapeake Bay food chain and they allow a well surviving, well healthy environment, and without these little tiny or maybe big organisms this life and environment for them as an ecosystem will fail and could cause a problem of a becoming of overabundant of algae and cause many problems starting with killing off of oxygen and reducing of it which would cause a reduction of sunlight with the reduction of…

    • 759 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Pacific Northwest was once full of an abundance of untapped resources, it was barely populated and was the definition of a hinterland. As the Pacific Northwest started to become known and resources started to become majorly exploited and shipped, we slowly become what we are now, not a hinterland. After all the overuse and misuse of the land we are not and will never hinterland again. The definition of a hinterland is defined as parts of the country that is less developed and unchartered. The Pacific Northwest use to be a hinterland, but as this area grew with the railroad system that brought people here.…

    • 972 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The advent of the suminoe oyster shouldn’t appear due to the fact the impacts have a huge risk of being damaging to the chesapeake bay. economically, culturally, and ecologically the chesapeake will suffer because of introducing the suminoe. for the subsequent reasons, i'm towards the creation of the suminoe oyster. Ecologically, introducing a completely new species leaves too large a possibility of bad influences that we will’t expect. the chesapeake bay software federal corporations committee concurs, pointing out that, “there are range of massive, poorly understood risks and potential damaging results associated with introducing [Suminoe Oysters] into the chesapeake bay…”…

    • 1136 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Susquehanna River is home for many: animals, fish and people alike. It is also a key contributor to the Chesapeake Bay, being the largest tributary within the watershed. The pollution of the Susquehanna directly impacts the health of the bay. To understand the importance of the river to the bay, it is necessary to understand what is causing pollution and what solutions can be introduced to lessen the negative impacts. Pennsylvania is a large participant in rural farming as well as urban sprawl, this results in agricultural runoff from farm land and drainage from urban areas that end up in streams that carry directly to the Susquehanna River, untreated.…

    • 878 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    To begin with, the miners leave behind a very ugly legacy. A lot of water and chemicals is used to extract oil from the dirt. In the article of Friends of the Earth note that it takes three barrels of water to extra a single barrel of oil. The water from the extraction contains very toxic components. It cannot be released into the streams.…

    • 876 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    McEwen used an expert at UC Davis in order further prove his perspective. With the use of a quotation from an expert, making this article further believable and reliable. Stern explains the plan that most likely will not help the salmon, one of the main problems they want to get rid of. The paper explains through the use of ethos/ethics how the river plan will not work and how it will bring…

    • 955 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Shantana Burrell Poisoned Waters Essay 10/27/14 There are many issues and concerns in Chesapeake Bay Estuary. Issues with Agriculture, air pollution and water pollution. In the video someone mentioned that the unfortunate reality is people get sick from water every day and we there is information suggesting that problem is getting worst today than it was 10 years ago and this problem is a result of a number of different contaminants being in the water that ultimately can make people sick. Within the bay there are many environmental declines.…

    • 1198 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    total of 283 million tons of coal were mined, providing about 64% of the state’s electrical production (Reese and Loughlin, 61). ” Mining has caused severe environmental impacts ranging from the toxic chemicals seeping into the watershed, the altering of landscapes, and large amounts of waste (Reese and Loughlin, 61). New laws have been developed in order to reverse the negative trends from mining, which include the following: Abandoned Mine Land law, Open Cut Land Reclamation Act, Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (Reese and Loughlin, 62)…

    • 1077 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    When speaking with marine biologist Jenelle Whitemend, I learned about several human impacts negatively affecting the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem. The most prevalent impacts include urban runoff, agriculture, and pollution (from boating and the atmosphere). While on the pier I noticed several individuals boating off in the distance. The motor on Speedboats contribute to pollution since they expel gasses into the atmosphere. Jenelle Whitemend also enlightened me on how human impacts are directly affecting the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem.…

    • 238 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Mystery Creek Resources, Inc. (MCRI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fire River Gold Corporation, proposes to continue to operate, reclaim, and close an underground precious metal mine and associated mill known as the Nixon Fork Mine Project (Project). The Project is located approximately 32 miles northeast of McGrath and eight miles north of Medfra in west-central Alaska (Figure 1; see Appendix A for report figures). The Project is not connected with the Alaska road system; therefore site access is by charter plane flown out of Anchorage, Fairbanks, or McGrath. The Project includes a 4,200-foot long airstrip, which is the sole source of access to the site for all workers, equipment, and supplies.…

    • 1164 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Chesapeake Bay Lab Report

    • 1073 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Introduction The Chesapeake Bay that is 200 miles long is considered the largest estuary in the United States. It is home to more than 17 million people (NOAA). Baltimore, one of the most important North Atlantic port is located on the Chesapeake Bay. Oysters are one of the biggest resources of the Chesapeake bay.…

    • 1073 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    The Polymet mine will not be a horrible, terrible disaster that will pollute every liter of The Boundary Waters and Lake Superior, as everyone seems to think. It is just another mine, like the hundreds of others in the United States, so why are people so worried about it? It seems to be because it is in the near vicinity of the boundary waters, so people instantly freak out. What people seem to fail to realize though, is that the mine has passed extensive regulations and met all state (Minnesota) standards.…

    • 146 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Great Essays

    Furthermore, the safety issues that arise from strip mining and mountaintop-removal are incredibly serious, and the lack of government regulation seems to help keep these safety concerns and health issues from seeing any kind of reconciliation. Acid rain and acid mine runoff, has caused a dangerously high level of mercury to be present in Kentucky streams. Pregnant women who eat fish from said streams risk causing serious, lifelong harm to the child. Of the 113 tons of mercury produced each year in the U.S. 48 tons comes from coal fired power plants. In Kentucky, the number of children treated for asthma has risen almost 50 percent since 2000 (Reece, 2007 p 25).…

    • 1567 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Decent Essays

    The polymet mine, a very controversial topic and frankly I am unsure of whether the mine should be started or not. I cannot state my reasoning because we don't have enough facts to state was it bad or good. Polymet has not given us enough facts to state what is right to do or not. That's why I am unsure whether it is good to start or not. The speaker from polymet said that they will clean everything up but where are the facts about how they will do that.…

    • 90 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Mine buckets like this one were used by in some of Drumheller Valley’s earliest coal mines – including the Miller Mine and the Newcastle Mine. The hoisting arm is mounted low on the bucket to provide a lower centre of gravity for easy dumping. Although a lock on one side of the hoisting arm is designed to prevent accidental dumping, several injuries were sustained when men were accidently dumped out. At least two deaths in the valley are associated with this type of bucket.…

    • 138 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays