More scary mining facts

Jonathan Thompson’s article “Mining Madness” (Telegraph, March 27) includes “really… scary” facts that deserve highlighting. Trump’s executive order (EO) sets aside environmental protections to fast-track mining projects for “just about everything.” The primary tool is the newly created National Energy Dominance Council (NEDC). The Sabin Center for Climate Change Law states that the goal of this entity is to “further his energy agenda, which centers on the rapid expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure.” The council includes nine Trump appointees, chaired by Doug Burgum and Chris Wright, who are full-throated advocates for the fossil fuel industry.

Trump wants to return to the 1872 Mining Law, which allowed people to stake a claim anywhere on public land; conduct exploratory work with a minimum of review; and pay no royalties on what is extracted. It was a free-for-all of environmental destruction. For Trump, that sounds great.

He is directing the NEDC to identify “as many sites as possible” for mineral production “as soon as possible.” This includes greenlighting the massive projects that Thompson lists. Trump says to make any revisions to existing land-use plans to “prioritize mineral production over other activities,” sidelining conservation, recreation, livestock grazing and other uses.

The EO provides for the cheap dumping of mine waste even where a valid mine doesn’t exist. For Trump, the concepts that the Earth is small, its resources limited and that the unregulated release of toxins are dangerous to human health, are nonexistent. It’s the corporate capture of government, to the detriment of people and the environment.

– Gary Stewart, Laguna Beach, Calif.