Over 5,000 abandoned underground mines dot the landscape in Pennsylvania. And although these underground channels are near invisible from the surface, there is one identifying factor you can’t miss. Bright … Read more
hard rock mining
Why Cleaning Up Our Degraded Lands—All 4 Million of Them—Is a Climate Solution
What if I told you we have an opportunity to help fight climate change sitting right under our noses? Depending on where you live, you’ve probably driven past a deserted … Read more
Hard-Rock Mining Law Stuck in the Past
On Aug. 5, 2015, an estimated 3 million gallons of heavy-metal-laden mine wastewater washed down the San Juan Mountains into southwest Colorado’s Animas River. The water turned a sickly mustard yellow all … Read more
8 Hard Truths About Hardrock Mining
The Gold King Mine disaster in Colorado was an accident waiting to happen. It’s not a unique situation, in part because the laws regulating mining are inadequate on several fronts. … Read more
What We Can Learn from the Colorado Mine Waste Spill
Oftentimes when we talk about conserving our public lands, fish and wildlife and protecting our clean air and waterways, there is an overarching impulse that transcends all politics and economics. … Read more
Toxic Mining Waste: Just Moments from a Disaster for Wildlife
When I saw footage last week of a tailing dam collapse at Mount Polley Mine, my immediate thought was of the Chino Mine near my hometown of Silver City, New … Read more
Tribes Demand Responsible Mining and Clean Water
This week, leaders and environmental staff members from eight tribes and tribal organizations are flying to Washington, D.C. to ask the Obama Administration to address a problem that impacts us … Read more
Pebble Mine Even More Disastrous Than First Thought
After months of cold and ice, Bristol Bay in southwest Alaska is beginning to spring to life. With summer will come millions of bright red sockeye salmon returning from the … Read more
Honoring the River
Everyone knows that mining can be a dirty business, but it turns out that mines are particularly bad news for tribal communities. For more than a century, American Indians and … Read more
