Environmental Effects of Mining in the Keweenaw

The Keweenaw Peninsula, located in the upper peninsula of Michigan was the site of the first copper boom. Industrial mining on a huge scale began in the middle of the 19th century. Previously pristine landscapes were rapidly converted to support the mining operations. The local ecosystem to this day has not recovered from the impact. In addition to the civil infrastructure needed to sustain the miners and heavy mining equipment the major environmental effects are being felt from the dumping of mining waste into the local lakes.

The peak of the mining was done during a time when the environment wasn't a factor in the public consciousness. While the conservation movement in the United States can be traced back to the founding it wasn't really popularized until the 1950s. As a result mining operations completely disregarded the environmental impacts of their practices. This can be seen even today in abandoned equipment, or massive beaches composed entirely of mining waste.

Torch lake (incidentally the site of the above pictured abandoned dredge) is one of the worse cases of pollution in the Keweenaw. The Environmental Protection Agency began investigating Torch lake in 1988 and eventually declared it a Super Fund Site. Over 200 million tons of copper mill stamp sand, in addition to chemicals used in the mining process, are believed to have been dumped into the lake. The Environmental Protection Agency warns of health concerns from ingesting the waters or fish taken from the lake. The primary impact is on the lake's ecosystem. While the EPA website no longer contains the report, it is mirrored here.

In addition to Torch lake massive amounts of stamp sand has also been dumped into Lake Superior, along the east side of the Keweenaw. Besides the concerns of contamination, stamp sand poses many other risks to wildlife. This article from the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission states that the destruction of bottom dwelling animals, the risks posed by fine particulate matter, and the lack of holes and small openings can have a significant adverse effect on local wildlife.

In this one region we can see multiple examples of the hazards of mining on the local ecosystem. While the materials gained from mining are important to human life, this need must be balanced with consideration of the environmental impacts. Wanton disregard for the environment can and has left lasting damage that, when considered, outweigh the additional costs of ecologically responsible practices.

The Energy Crisis and Climate Change

The world is developing. Over the last century rapid technological development has lead to an  increase in the rate of development around the world. Nations on the forefront of technology have transitioned from sending anthropologists to study "primitive" cultures, to sending food and medical supplies to the "Third World." Now in addition to sending products, we are attempting to send production. We send schoolbooks, educators, and learning tools. The development of the Third World is widely applauded as a humanistic effort. In addition to improving quality of life for our fellow humans it provides tangible benefits in curtailing population growth and, in turn, the demand for foodstuffs. However, while we have worked tirelessly to help our fellow man into the new industrial/information age we have neglected the enormous gap between the resource demands between subsistence living and the life most citizens of developed nations enjoy. 

While having success decreasing the unsustainable demand for food caused by explosive population growth we are creating a new demand in these developing regions that is already incredibly destructive in the developed world. The demand for the new currency of life, the driving force of modern society, electricity. We in developed nations utilize this force for nearly everything in our everyday life. Life in the First World without electricity is a life without our primary source of lighting, entertainment, communication, transportation, resource production, and even security. The quality of life provided by electricity has influenced modern movements assisting developing nations. The idea that modern living standards are necessary for all people can be demonstrated in the UN policy that Internet access is a basic human right and the One Laptop per Child project.

Unfortunately this ignores the gigantic, hotly contested (in the US anyways) elephant in the room. Since the 1970 climate scientists have been sounding the alarm on what seemed to be significant, man-made, climate change. The increasing outputs of carbon dioxide caused by burning fossil fuels is now confirmed to have serious harmful effects on the environment. Storms more violent than any we have seen, record breaking heat-waves, and melting in the poles are just the beginning of what scientists are predicting. With developing nations building electricity based infrastructure and the modern world still increasing its energy demands how can we provide for this demand while avoiding irreversible damage to our ecosystem?

China, the up and coming industrial giant is rapidly approaching the point where it will exceed the coal consumption of the rest of the world combined. To a developing nation coal's low cost and low tech implementation is extremely appealing. However coal is one of the dirtiest forms of power generation. China is now experiencing pollution so bad it is considered a major health hazard. On the US scale from 0-500 (300+ levels are only in seen in the US around major forest fires) China has reached as high as 755. This brings into question the true cost of coal.

Full Cost Accounting is the idea that all factors, like environmental and health effects, should be factored into the cost of energy. In the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences Dr. Epstein et al estimated the full cost of coal to be between 9-27 cents per kWh (kilowatt hour) with a median of 18. As shown in the chart below this median is well above the US Energy Information Agencies estimates for the cost of natural gas, on-shore wind, geothermal, biomass, hydroelectric, and even nuclear power generation (note the change in units from cents per kWh to dollars per kWh.)

While natural gas, hydroelectric, and nuclear power generation have their own significant shortfalls on-shore wind is one of the cheapest, cleanest sources of energy we have found. Countries far-sighted enough to invest in this power source are now reaping significant dividends. For example Belgium is now using wind to generate more power than they can use and are now working on ideas to store the excess for sale or times of need.

For more information on the myth that renewable energy is too expense see this article from Skeptical Science.