“Mining in the Age of Climate Change” at Sustainable Tucson meeting

by Carolyn Classen, blogger

April 8 @ 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm

“Join us Tuesday, April 8, at 6 pm, on Zoom, for our next Sustainability Spotlight program, “Mining in the Age of Climate Change.”

Our panel will present an overview of some of the actual or potential impacts of mining in Southern Arizona and will address the conflict between the environmental risks and destruction caused by mining and our need for metals used for clean energy to fight destructive warming. Speakers will represent Save the Scenic Santa Ritas, Arizona Mining Reform Coalition, and others.

For more information, check our website closer to the meeting date, or sign up for our newsletter (link on the website). Find the Zoom link for the meeting on our website (www.sustainabletucson.org) or on our Facebook page or Meetup group. Our meetings are held on the second Tuesday of each month. If you would like to be added to our newsletter e-list, please send name and email address to paula@sustainabletucson.org.”

Tuesday, April 8, 6:00-7:30 pmZoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84912522580?pwd=nmb6YbhLBvqL2xfVLrt3MkCdDlSIpH.1

“Tuesday, April 8, 6:00-7:30 pm Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84912522580?pwd=nmb6YbhLBvqL2xfVLrt3MkCdDlSIpH.1 Arizona has long been known and treasured for its beautiful scenic wild places, many of which are held sacred by indigenous peoples of the state. At the same time, many of those scenic places are also sources for one of Arizona’s distinctive “5 Cs”: Copper. Because copper is increasingly in demand for production of many electronics and clean energy devices, a sharp conflict arises between environmentalists intent on preserving wild places and businesses interested in profiting from mining. Quite a few communities in the state, including several near Tucson, are grappling with this conflict, the subject of our next Sustainability Spotlight program.   Join us for an overview of some of the actual or potential impacts of mining in Southern Arizona and the conflict between environmental risks and destruction caused by mining and the need for metals used for clean energy to fight destructive climate warming. Our panel will present an overview of some of the mining laws we all should understand (e.g., the 1872 law, still in effect) and what kinds of reform are long overdue, as well as an update on the recently proposed Mining Regulatory Clarity Act. We’ll also get a rundown of mining impacts that communities are particularly concerned about — health risks, effects on water supply, air pollution from particulates and toxins, and more. Then we’ll focus on the area closest to Tucson where the mining/environment conflict can be seen, namely, the Santa Rita Mountains, with a look at legal current challenges against Hudbay and Copper World, as well as state agencies. We’ll learn how we, as concerned citizens, can help. There will then be time for Q&A. Our panelists are: Rob Peters is Executive Director of Save the Scenic Santa Ritas. Before joining Save the Scenic Santa Ritas, Rob was senior Arizona representative for Defenders of Wildlife, where he worked on issues that included Arizona mining (working closely with the Patagonia Area Resource Alliance), western water issues, public lands, transmission lines, jaguar recovery in the US, climate change effects on biological diversity, among other matters. He also authored major Defenders of Wildlife reports. Rob has extensive experience analyzing mining proposals, Forest Service and BLM management plans, and endangered species recovery plans.   Prior to joining Defenders, Rob was executive director of the Western Slope Conservation Center in the small town of Paonia, Colorado, and before that, worked for World Wildlife Fund US as an expert on how global warming affects biological diversity. Rob has been a free-lance editor and college teacher, and has also worked as a web programmer, cartoonist, and disco dance teacher. He received a Ph.D. in biology from Stanford University and a B.S. from the University of California at Santa Cruz. Curt Shannon is currently the Interim Director of the Arizona Mining Reform Coalition. He is one of the founding members of the Concerned Climbers of Arizona (CCA). Since 2004, CCA has worked to protect Oak Flat and other rock-climbing areas threatened by mining activity or other forms of land use. Curt’s professional background is in electrical engineering, materials science, and product management; having spent most of his career working with gallium arsenide and other III-V compound semiconductors. For the last ten years, Curt has worked primarily on energy consulting (with an emphasis on solar energy) for a number of Indian tribes and solar development companies in Arizona..”