Think globally, develop locally.
I have made this my new motto of late. When I was going to grad school, the phrase was Think globally, act locally. I share the sentiment expressed in this often over-used phrase. Only, my version of acting locally is through natural resource development—responsible resource development here in Alaska.
We pride ourselves on having the most stringent environmental rules in the world, so we absolutely should be developing our natural resources here in Alaska. Not just because the bounty of our natural resource potential is why we were admitted into the union and allowed to become a state in the first place 50 years ago. But also because, if we don’t develop our natural resources here, they WILL BE developed elsewhere around the world to meet our demand, oftentimes in countries that don’t care for the environment the way we do. Thinking globally by developing locally makes sense here in Alaska.
But, I often hear we don’t need these natural resources and it is just greed that causes companies to want to develop them. Unfortunately, that perception exists, even here in Alaska. There is such a disconnect as people carry on these conversations on their cell phones, driving in their cars, about how we are destroying our precious earth for resources we don’t even need, like silver and gold and copper and oil. If only they knew.
People forget that their cars and cell phones are made of metals and petroleum products that come from the earth. They don’t just come from Costco, Target, or Wal-Mart. As the old saying goes, if it can’t be grown, it must be mined.
According to the United States Geological Survey (minerals.usgs.gov/granted.html), a car has 2,124 lbs. of iron and steel, 240 lbs. of aluminum, 42 lbs. of copper, 24 lbs. of lead, 22 lbs. of zinc, 17 lbs. of manganese, 15 lbs. of chromium, 9 lbs. of nickel, 4.5 lbs. of magnesium, 2 lbs. of sulfur, 1 pound of molybdum, and much more in it.
These resources don’t come from thin air–all have to be mined. And this list doesn’t include the plastics that comprise much of the make-up of cars these days. Of course, plastics come from oil, which comes from the earth.
What about a cell phone? 16 grams of copper, .35 grams silver, .034 grams gold, .015 palladium, .00034 grams platinum, and much more (source: pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2006/3097/).
And when it comes to powering items like cell phones and cars, there’s an even bigger disconnect. Where does the electricity come from that powers your phone? It doesn’t just come from the outlets in the wall. How about the gas to run your car? It doesn’t just come from the gas pumps. All require energy that, more often than not, comes from the earth either in the form of coal, natural gas, oil, or others.
But we can reduce our need for these nonrenewable sources of energy by switching to renewable options, right? Absolutely! Unfortunately, the cost is oftentimes prohibitive and people generally aren’t willing to spend that extra money to do so. But, putting the economics of renewable power aside, let’s take a look at what goes into making a 3 megawatt wind turbine (for scale, note that Chugach Electric currently has 500 megawatts of installed generation capacity). A 3 megawatt wind turbine requires 9,400 lbs. of copper, 6,000 lbs.of aluminum, 670,000 lbs. of steel, 26,000 lbs. of fiberglass, and 2.4 million lbs. of reinforced concrete (source: National Mining Association).
As we strive to replace fossil fuelgenerated power to renewable sources, our dependence on resource development is only exasperated. Remember the car I referenced earlier? If you switch it to a hybrid, its copper requirement nearly doubles from 42 pounds to 75 pounds.
Currently, we have a few examples of where we do think globally by developing locally here in Alaska. Indeed, Alaska helps responsibly provide the world with some of the aforementioned minerals/metals through one of the largest zinc mines in the world at Red Dog, the largest silver mine in North America at Greens Creek, as well as the productive Fort Knox and Pogo gold mines. Interestingly, Red Dog and Fort Knox now have fish downstream (but didn’t historically), highlighting one of the benefits of developing locally! These mines also keep Alaskans at work, and every one of the people that works at these mines cares about the environment. Don’t believe me? Ask them. Most of them fish, hunt, hike, and enjoy the outdoors. Though they may never articulate it, every one of them has a personal environmental ethic that strives to do it right and responsibly so that they, and their kids, can continue to enjoy the Alaska we know today.
And there are a lot more opportunities in Alaska to develop locally. Indeed, world class gold deposits have been discovered at Donlin Creek on Calista Native Corporation land and enormous copper, gold, and molybdum deposits have been found at Pebble on state land. The people that are working to bring these projects to fruition have done so with the greatest of respect for the land and the other resource users who depend on it and the water nearby.
Unfortunately, there is already much opposition to projects such as these. I find it ironic that many of the people that oppose resource development projects here in Alaska work in boats that are made out of metals and use fossil fuels to harvest their resources. They drive their cars, talk on their cell phones, hope for more wind power, you name it. Indeed, these nay-sayers don’t know how the metals they have come to depend on were mined, or where they came from. In fact, they don’t care – just as long as it’s not here in Alaska. That mentality is, unfortunately, what drives the opposition to these projects. But the double standard is obvious.
I’m fine with Alaskans choosing to oppose specific projects, but they must remember that demand for the items that make up the things they use every day will be met, if not here, elsewhere around the world. Their choices will impact the environment, the safety of workers, and the U.S. and Alaskan economies.
Unfortunately, these nay-sayers are not thinking globally. They’re only thinking locally.
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