Political winds blowin' answers wrong

It's unseasonably warm. The sun is shining. The sky is blue. But, the wind is howling. Some of the cut greens Christmas decorations beside the front steps were inadequately anchored and secured. We fixed that, we think. That all depends on whether the winds get stronger than they've already been blowing. At least we don't have to shovel the wind, but the answers blowin' in the wind aren't the ones we should be looking for.

There are two pieces of legislation moving in the House in Washington.

is Birch Lake in Northern Minnesota more worthy of protection?

Photo by J. Harrington

Representative Tom Emmer's H.R. 3905, MINNESOTA'S ECONOMIC RIGHTS IN THE SUPERIOR NATIONAL FOREST ACT, and Representative Nolan's H.R. 3115, SUPERIOR NATIONAL FOREST LAND EXCHANGE ACT OF 2017. Each of these pieces of legislation is intended to supplant the due process of environmental review and permitting, and land exchange at a fair market value assed value with power politics decisions.

I wonder what the implications of these acts will be for Minnesota's ability to manage the resources within it's boundaries. Do you recall there being any public hearings in Minnesota on either of these pieces of bad precedents? Here's a list of Congressman Emmer's Town Halls. The most recent listed was back in February. His bill was introduced in October. Does anyone recall any discussion of the proposed legislation at an Emmer Town Hall? Congressman Nolan's local events are more numerous, but his efforts to avoid due process decisions and to cost taxpayers real value have triggered negative reactions for Iron Rangers.

All of the preceding is of particular interest to us because we see the consequences of Emmer's and Nolan's efforts as driving a further wedge between those who might otherwise be inclined to try to rationally discuss alternative ways to demonstrate that Minnesotans are intelligent enough to find ways to have both jobs and a protected environment. Canada has developed an approach called "Toward Sustainable Mining," [TSM].

TSM was developed to help mining companies evaluate the quality, comprehensiveness and robustness of their management systems under six performance protocols: 

  Tailings management
  Energy use and greenhouse gas emissions management
  Aboriginal and community outreach
  Crisis management planning
  Safety and health
  Biodiversity conservation management

It requires third party certification of compliance with protocols. Such an approach might, we repeat, might offer both higher environmental performance and more assurance of permit issuance than Minnesota's current system. It might also offer an opportunity to reach agreement on where in Minnesota is too risky to mine sustainably.

is the St. Louis River in Northern Minnesota less worthy of protection?

Photo by J. Harrington

When we first moved to Minnesota, several decades ago, this state was understandably proud of its environmental quality and protections. Whatever happened to the culture that supported enactment of the state's Minnesota Environmental Protection Act? When did we decide that a scorched earth policy was the only way we could create jobs? How did our members of congress become convinced that setting very bad precedents was what we wanted them to do? It's less than a year until we get to confirm or deny the correctness of their judgement. Compare the performance protocols listed above and tell me that our current permitting systems, and the two pieces of bad legislation in the House, are equivalent to Canada's current system. Is Minnesota really trying to win a race to the bottom, so we can become bottom feeders?

[UPDATE: H.R. 3115 passed the House. No Senate companion, but House could try to amend it to a "must pass" piece of legislation.]

Boundary Waters

by Sheila Packa

Off the road
where lichen and thick moss
take in minerals
beneath the balsam
over the border
past the landing
in the stone face of granite
above the water's mirror
small islands where
root dives into stone
amid broken limbs
of white pine
behind the reflection of day
into dark endings
reached for my own reaching
hand in the cold water
of October—
a tail flick of a fin
among the sunken
shoulders
in a vein of ore.
To take from another body
is a question
answered by loon
or by the morning rime
with weasel
searching the char of a cold fire.
After the urgent
animal of the body—
a heavy frost
and the moose that trod
over our path
running, hunted.       

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