McCain Approves Bush's Rush To Open Grand Canyon To Toxic Uranium Mining

The Wonk Room:

The Bush Administration is rushing forward with plans to mine the Grand Canyon for uranium, ignoring a command from Congress to cease such operations. Since 2003, mining interests have staked out over 800 uranium claims within five miles of Grand Canyon National Park. As Mineweb reports, "The Bureau of Land Management has published a proposed rule which rejects the House Natural Resources Emergency House Resolution enacted in June that bans uranium mining and exploration near the Grand Canyon National Park."

The proposed BLM rule would not only reject the House's emergency withdrawal of over one million acres of federal land near Grand Canyon National Park from new uranium mining, but also eliminate the provisions that allow Congress to make such withdrawals in the future. The proposed rule, published on Friday, has a remarkably short comment period, closing in less than two weeks on October 27. House Parks Subcommittee Chairman Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) blasted BLM's action, saying, "This last-minute move by this 'see if we can get it under the clock' administration is cowardly."

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has been strangely silent on this issue, despite his claimed commitment to protecting the Grand Canyon from drilling.

Read the full story here.

Related:
The Butterfly Effect: From McCain's Lips To The New Mexico Desert
More Lead Pollution? Battery Recyclers Resisting EPA Rules

Read the whole story: The Wonk Room

Comments

[greenriverkate]

This sort of thing is going on in other National Parks, State Parks and they have taken over many reservation lands ignoring laws of a sovereign nation. Suppose we shouldn't be surprised as it is ALL ABOUT THE MONEY.

[mick7191]

Nothing is sacred to these people.

[Wilburrr]

The League of Conservation Voters gies John McCain a ZERO rating. McCain has earned the same rating every year he has been in the Senate. Why would anyone expect him to become green simply because he is running for President? Ignore the lip service, look at his voting record when you make any determination regarding his potential to work for environmental issues.

Uranium mining in and around Grand Canyon, while nowhere near the photograph at the head of this article, should be cause for concern among anyone downstream along the Colorado River. That includes the Central Arizona Project, whose water feeds metropolitan Phoenix and Tucson.

[Gary47]

Can we please make this story in to an ad and use it to bash McCain? Get it done NOW please. Thank you.

[patianneb]

They defile everything don't they?
This should be front page, Huff!!!!

[Liam]

For the love of everything holy, will someone PLEASE tell Bush that he's President, not King, and that he does not have the authority to just ignore Congress?

And Congress, will you please, if you ever cared about this nation, slap him back into place? Now? Before he allows the destruction of one of our great natural landmarks?

[research]

We have such a shortage of uranium ALREADY, that we will destroy our national monuments for more, and the GOP want MORE NUKES?

See my profile, there are only 13 years of known uranium reserves if we try to get all our energy from it, followed by a million years of storage destroying Quadrillions of dollars worth of real estate and endangering the world.

[darthdarcy]

More of Bush's Scorched Earth Policy, he intends to leave us with nothing but wreckage through these new presidential directives­...and Executive Orders..!

[Stephen308]

is this about drinking water or is this about being anti Nuclear power. It's hard to tell when people on the far left anti nuclear side are being honest about these things and when they are just spinning nonsense to support their radicalized political correct belief system.

[JuniorNorman]

The Bush Administration will leave us with problems 20 years out we will still be finding things they screwed up with quick profit scams!

[luvangelHussein330]

I guess this goes against mccain being enviromently friendly..­...uuugggh­hh... G_d please take the wheel...

[Gasparilla]

We know that the Bush administration doesn't care about the environment. But how about something else that will do a lot of damage to our environment? That would be a projected population of over 400 million by 2050. Most of that will be driven by immigration, but you won't see environmental groups like the Sierra Club say a word about it.

[alvdh1]

Makes sense to me if you are an idiot. Expose the veins of ore and release radon gas to the workers and the public. The Bush team always knows best when it comes to serving their corporate welfare cheats. Poison the National Treasure for corporate profit. For those of you who are not aware of the hazards of radon gas, it is an alpha emitter. Alpha emitters are harmless unless inhaled or ingested. Once inhaled or ingested they can become leathal. Neutron bullets emitted from radon or the other famous alpha emitter, plutonium, cause point mutations and or gene deletions with amazing efficiency. If this plan goes through, hold your breath my fellow miners and tourists.

[newshawk14]

This article makes it abundantly clear that Bush and McCain are joined at the hip, if not outright
Siamese twins. They are doing everything they can, to make sure that the rich and the powerful
inherit the earth.

[NC4Obama]

The Grand Canyon....
They want to mine the Grand Canyon....
Please someone tell me this is a joke, its got to be a joke.

[Perry Clease]

Even worse is that they will strip mine it.

Bush is pushing for things like this as his Presidency runs out.

[motley2]

The Canyon has already been mined, a lot. For instance, there is an old, abandoned uranium mine on the south rim, adjacent to a well-used trail. It's a hazard, but an historical hazard...i­t even has a plaque.

[Egalitare]

Oh goody. I'll add it to my "Bucket List."