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OPINION: What’s more important? Jobs vs the environment

No easy answer for mining project

I recently attended a community meeting about the proposed mine.

I admit I don’t know a lot about mining but I’ve seen what it does to the environment and to the people who work in mines.

While listening to everybody talk, the thing that stuck out to me was that there were two opposing sides in the room.

Those who wanted the mine to go ahead so they could get a job versus those who didn’t want the mine to go ahead because of the environmental and socioeconomic impact it would have on the surrounding areas.

The difficulty is that people on either side would have trouble understanding each other’s point of view.

If you are unemployed and struggling to feed your family and get a job, no matter how poorly paid it is, it is very important to you.

Who cares if the wetlands will be destroyed and the water will be contaminated?

You already don’t have running water in your house anyway.

If you’re on the other side of the fence, you have seen what open pit mining does to the environment.

You’ve had plenty of experience with these mining companies.

Let’s not forget the hundreds of years of knowledge we have gained over the years.

The fact is, we as a species have destroyed so much of the earth and killed so many animals that there is a very real chance the next generation won’t know what a lion outside of captivity looks like.

Just this week alone the last Northern White male rhino died.

There are two female surviving white rhinos.

We can already declare that species dead.

The question then becomes, how do you balance the view of the two sides?

Is there a middle ground that can be found?

A solution that works for everybody?

I don’t know.

I imagine those in power have a lot of thinking to do.

They have to weigh the negatives and the positives.

Is it worth changing the environmental landscape of this region over a paltry 320 jobs?

It’s not like the profits from that mine are going to come to Springs and revive this beautiful town.

However, at the same time, we have to face the facts that there are people starving every day.

These are people with children and families to support.

If the mine does not go ahead, how would those who oppose the mine live with the fact that they have basically condemned them to a life of poverty?

That really might not be the case, but to those who wanted this mine to go ahead, it would really feel like that.

I’m not speaking for them but I can imagine what it would be like to be in their shoes.

At the end of the day, whichever side you are on, somebody is not going to be happy with the final decision that is made.

As the old saying goes, you can’t always get what you want.

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