Life goes on without plastic bags
Dear editor,
I have been following the plastic bag ban debate, and the real point seems to have been lost in personal issues and narrow-minded opinions criticizing Erich Bussian for his approach to the issue. He is in fact, just one voice of many engaged in this issue. Suggestions as for how to do it better are not being offered. I ask, will people starve and suffer from not having single-use plastic bags? No. Will people buy food and other things without plastic bags? Yes. These are for me fundamental considerations upon which we can make the decision, since to continue to use plastic bags in the manner that we do does cause real, long-term environmental and health issues. Let’s do it, the plastic bag has to go.
– Lars Hansen, Durango
I guess there are some fish turning up in our waters that make dandy thermometers. I’ve actually known that for years. I often nail up a fresh trout on the front porch to track the temperature. They’re very decorative... and recyclable! The ones people are sneaking out of Lake Nighthorse are the best, a fine thermometer. And due to the radioactive waste in them, they glow at night. I’m sending some to friends around the country for Christmas gifts.
But, really? They need pay for studies to make sure that mercury is dangerous? I don’t know what level of education my mother had, but I know she wasn’t a scientist (made a killer mac and cheese though.
Crunchy on the top!) Anyways, the first time I ever broke open a thermometer to play with the fun mercury inside she said, “Don’t play with that stuff “ Why mom? “Because it will kill you!”
Oh. I still don’t play with mercury.
So, I want to do a study. In fact, I want to study the studiers. No, I want to study the people that hire those studiers, or maybe, I should study the people that keep putting up with this endless sad carnival of waste that allows us to pay people to continue to hire studiers to do research on the obvious!
Oh no! I’m one of those people. Maybe I’m just not hungry enough yet.
– Happy Holidaze, Michael Wayson
The Board’s 7-0 vote allows Wildcat Mining to correct existing onsite issues that have been unresolved due to a cease-and-desist order from the State that restricted our access to the site.
Mining in La Plata County and across Colorado has been a part of the legacy, the very fabric of the culture and the community. Indeed, the state’s inception and rich tapestry is due in no small part to mining.
One hundred and fifty years ago, prospectors came to Colorado in search of fortune and found an abundance of minerals in the Colorado Mineral Belt, spanning as far northeast as Boulder and to the southwest corner of the state near Durango. Gold production peaked in 1900 across the mineral belt, including many mines in and around La Plata County, like the May Day and Idaho mines.
While the legacy of the Centennial State is intrinsically tied to the extractive industry, Colorado residents have not seen much in the way of active gold and silver mining for generations.
Following a major revision of the Wildcat Mining board, management and ownership last year, we have transformed the vision of the May Day Idaho Mine Complex operation into a sustainable, responsible and transparent plan that takes into account the unique landscape, community values and importance of corporate stewardship.
Wildcat Mining must now proceed with La Plata County’s land use permitting process. We encourage all stakeholders to stay active and involved in the county permitting process and look forward to communicating with La Plata County and the community at large.
For more information on the project, visit www.varcaventures.com
– Randall Oser, president, Wildcat Mining Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of Varca Ventures Inc., of Sarasota, Fla.
How is this senseless death making us more secure?
The current estimate is that 5 million Vietnamese were killed in the Vietnam War—and a million of them were children. All the Vietnamese wanted was independence from the French, who had colonized them for 100 years.
Because of our many meaningless wars, the U.S. government is now deeply in debt, and poverty at home is increasing rapidly. If people continue living mindlessly and heartlessly, without acknowledging that they are actually paying for the destruction of other societies (through tax dollars and consumerism), then the future of your children and of all children is questionable.
Vietnam vet Mike Hastie said, “The United States is a nonstop killing machine.” Think about it. War is a way of life throughout the planet, almost exclusively created by corrupt governments. This is the only message I wish all the sleeping hearts would wake to this New Year.
– Heather Snow, Durango
Dear editor,
I have been following the plastic bag ban debate, and the real point seems to have been lost in personal issues and narrow-minded opinions criticizing Erich Bussian for his approach to the issue. He is in fact, just one voice of many engaged in this issue. Suggestions as for how to do it better are not being offered. I ask, will people starve and suffer from not having single-use plastic bags? No. Will people buy food and other things without plastic bags? Yes. These are for me fundamental considerations upon which we can make the decision, since to continue to use plastic bags in the manner that we do does cause real, long-term environmental and health issues. Let’s do it, the plastic bag has to go.
– Lars Hansen, Durango
Mercury goes into retrograde
Dear Editor,
I recently noticed a heading in the Durango Herald, “Mercury dangers to undergo more studies.”
I recently noticed a heading in the Durango Herald, “Mercury dangers to undergo more studies.”
I guess there are some fish turning up in our waters that make dandy thermometers. I’ve actually known that for years. I often nail up a fresh trout on the front porch to track the temperature. They’re very decorative... and recyclable! The ones people are sneaking out of Lake Nighthorse are the best, a fine thermometer. And due to the radioactive waste in them, they glow at night. I’m sending some to friends around the country for Christmas gifts.
But, really? They need pay for studies to make sure that mercury is dangerous? I don’t know what level of education my mother had, but I know she wasn’t a scientist (made a killer mac and cheese though.
Crunchy on the top!) Anyways, the first time I ever broke open a thermometer to play with the fun mercury inside she said, “Don’t play with that stuff “ Why mom? “Because it will kill you!”
Oh. I still don’t play with mercury.
So, I want to do a study. In fact, I want to study the studiers. No, I want to study the people that hire those studiers, or maybe, I should study the people that keep putting up with this endless sad carnival of waste that allows us to pay people to continue to hire studiers to do research on the obvious!
Oh no! I’m one of those people. Maybe I’m just not hungry enough yet.
– Happy Holidaze, Michael Wayson
Mining part of Colorado tradition
Dear Editor,
On behalf of Varca Ventures, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary, Wildcat Mining Corp., we are proud to be a part of Colorado’s mining tradition and look forward to building on that legacy.
On behalf of Varca Ventures, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary, Wildcat Mining Corp., we are proud to be a part of Colorado’s mining tradition and look forward to building on that legacy.
For the first time in almost three decades, Colorado’s Mined Land Reclamation Board voted to approve a gold mine in Colorado. The Board voted unanimously to approve with conditions the May Day Idaho Mine Complex permit. This is historically important as the last gold mine permitted in Colorado was the Pride of the West mine near Silverton in 1984.
The Board’s 7-0 vote allows Wildcat Mining to correct existing onsite issues that have been unresolved due to a cease-and-desist order from the State that restricted our access to the site.
Mining in La Plata County and across Colorado has been a part of the legacy, the very fabric of the culture and the community. Indeed, the state’s inception and rich tapestry is due in no small part to mining.
One hundred and fifty years ago, prospectors came to Colorado in search of fortune and found an abundance of minerals in the Colorado Mineral Belt, spanning as far northeast as Boulder and to the southwest corner of the state near Durango. Gold production peaked in 1900 across the mineral belt, including many mines in and around La Plata County, like the May Day and Idaho mines.
While the legacy of the Centennial State is intrinsically tied to the extractive industry, Colorado residents have not seen much in the way of active gold and silver mining for generations.
Following a major revision of the Wildcat Mining board, management and ownership last year, we have transformed the vision of the May Day Idaho Mine Complex operation into a sustainable, responsible and transparent plan that takes into account the unique landscape, community values and importance of corporate stewardship.
Wildcat Mining must now proceed with La Plata County’s land use permitting process. We encourage all stakeholders to stay active and involved in the county permitting process and look forward to communicating with La Plata County and the community at large.
For more information on the project, visit www.varcaventures.com
– Randall Oser, president, Wildcat Mining Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of Varca Ventures Inc., of Sarasota, Fla.
Stop ‘nonstop killing machine’
Dear Reader,
Well, now that the war in Iraq is winding down, why do they still need 6,000 people for various jobs at the embassy? It is a travesty listening to mainstream news and the clown Republican nominees reporting how only 10,000 Iraqis were killed. Already trying to smooth over a huge catastrophic loss of lives, and the most disgraceful of all, is most of those deaths were children and the elderly. Unfortunately, we don’t seem to understand that children all over the world are just like ours: Full of wonder and innocence.
Dear Reader,
Well, now that the war in Iraq is winding down, why do they still need 6,000 people for various jobs at the embassy? It is a travesty listening to mainstream news and the clown Republican nominees reporting how only 10,000 Iraqis were killed. Already trying to smooth over a huge catastrophic loss of lives, and the most disgraceful of all, is most of those deaths were children and the elderly. Unfortunately, we don’t seem to understand that children all over the world are just like ours: Full of wonder and innocence.
In 1990-91 we destroyed Iraq’s electrical and water purification plants in the first Gulf War and then imposed sanctions on a broken country that killed 1 million children through starvation and polluted water. Another 1 million people died in the latest war, all of them either children or parents of children. Currently children are being born with gross deformities, and infant mortality is off the chart. All innocence is lost, only post-traumatic stress and physical disability to shape their lives into wo/ man-hood, if they live that long.
How is this senseless death making us more secure?
The current estimate is that 5 million Vietnamese were killed in the Vietnam War—and a million of them were children. All the Vietnamese wanted was independence from the French, who had colonized them for 100 years.
Because of our many meaningless wars, the U.S. government is now deeply in debt, and poverty at home is increasing rapidly. If people continue living mindlessly and heartlessly, without acknowledging that they are actually paying for the destruction of other societies (through tax dollars and consumerism), then the future of your children and of all children is questionable.
Vietnam vet Mike Hastie said, “The United States is a nonstop killing machine.” Think about it. War is a way of life throughout the planet, almost exclusively created by corrupt governments. This is the only message I wish all the sleeping hearts would wake to this New Year.
– Heather Snow, Durango
In this week's issue...
- January 25, 2024
- Bagging it
State plastic bag ban is in full effect, but enforcement varies
- January 26, 2024
- Paper chase
The Sneer is back – and no we’re not talking about Billy Idol’s comeback tour.
- January 11, 2024
- High and dry
New state climate report projects continued warming, declining streamflows