Don’t force mine on Pittsylvania
Wikimedia Commons
Legislators and supervisors representing the county where a uranium deposit is located oppose lifting a moratorium on mining.
Virginians are keenly aware that their legislature is not populated with nuclear scientists. The vast majority of the 140 men and women who will determine whether to lift a 1982 moratorium on uranium mining in the commonwealth hold no expertise in the topic.
We hope, but don’t anticipate, that all have read the National Academy of Sciences study, which warned of the difficulties in implementing adequate protections against environmental and public health hazards.
January 28, 2013 - 6:21 AM
I don’t understand. I thought mining was next to Godliness. I thought ruining the environment and the climate in the name of “prosperity” was one of the central tenets of American Exceptionalism! So why are people worried about a little radioactivity?
It sounds to me like they are debating whether to give a company the freedom to open a mine, not forcing a mine on someone.
“Freedom to open a mine” sounds harmless and American enough. Problem here is this approach falls into the “straw man” argument technique. Pertinent, verifiable information is missing. Go deeper: Do a thorough review of the competing claims, including the current and remote history of such situations, and decide which is more valuable: short term economic gain for a few–verify it for yourself–or the well-documented potential for permanent widespread environmental ruin.
There is a moratorium on uranium mining so you can’t open one. How is lifting that ban going to force something on someone? If the state passed a law that a mine had to go there, that would be forcing it on them.
A “straw man argument” is when you give someone a position to hold that they never held and then attack them for holding it. Just so you know.