During breakfast one morning the Polymet Mining/Northmet U.S. Forest Service land exchange proposal surfaced again. My wife, silent until the discussion was done, suggested we sell our recently purchased lake cabin.
Why sell, I asked, since real estate in Cook County is still depressed?
Simply because Lake Superior will ultimately become the acid runoff depository from the proposed biggest mine on earth known as Polymet. The mine relies on tailings runoff into the St. Louis River which is the largest feed into Lake Superior.
Well, I thought, the lack of unanimous outrage and organized opposition to turning the big lake into a sea of diluted acid says something about us, our political parties and who controls them, and our way of government.
Indecision to oppose strongly the Polymet movement exposes Cook County businesses, Arrowhead homeowners, and Cook County citizens to criticism that Cook County leaders will not protect vacation property owners, the water wells we rely on, or anything else mining interests may want to seize.
Indecision to oppose strongly the Polymet movement, leads me to believe that my wife has a point. Sell before everyone is selling. Knowing Polymet is coming by sea of acid water, by land vibrating from mining below, and by air blowing off the tailings piles.
A lot of people are being paid to promote Polymet. The rest of us have to volunteer our time to protect Lake Superior and the wilderness around it.
Paul Renneisen
Schroeder, MN
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