It's the Environment!

At What Cost?

Peter deFur
January 24, 2012

The week of January 16th 2012 was notable for two important decisions regarding environmental protection and energy. The federal government denied a permit for an oil pipeline to cross the plains and supply oil to the US (Houston, TX) from the tar sands of Canada. The White House said they needed more analysis to be sure the project could be done safely, or words to that effect. The other important piece of news stems from Virginia. The governor chose to not press forward this year with legislation to lift a 30 year moratorium on mining uranium in Virginia. The lengthy and detailed background on uranium mining is found in short form at the National Academies of Science web site in the recent report on “Uranium Mining in Virginia.” Virginia has a uranium deposit that is called the last best deposit in the US; Virginia put a moratorium on uranium mining in 1982.
Both decisions were based on the need for more technical information and analysis. The President and the Governor wanted more evidence to demonstrate that the projects would not result in disasters. They wanted certainty, or perhaps less uncertainty. We can easily understand the need for more scientific information and greater certainty. We also know that all such large projects have some uncertainty, and some level of risk.
The last few years have brought some incredible disasters that no one was prepared to handle: hurricane Katrina; the BP oil well blowup; the tsunami, tidal wave and nuclear disaster in Japan. Our east coast weather extremes seem almost tame by comparison- earthquakes, snow storms, hurricanes and floods. But these weather events hit millions of people, nuclear power plants, chemical plants, transportation systems and more. It seems to us that wisdom calls for cautionary approaches and more, not less, planning for the unexpected.
Industry has the technical ability to build pipelines, drill for oil in mile-deep water, mine uranium and more. But can industrial technology carry out all these projects without accidents and protecting against natural disasters? Such a level of industrial planning and implementation has not happened yet. Accidents happen and it seems natural disasters happen unpredictably. Greater planning, more care, more protection and more precaution are what the US and the whole world will need in the future.