Support the Timberjay by making a donation.

Serving Northern St. Louis County, Minnesota

The public must verify the promises of industry

Posted

For 500 years extractive industries have exploited community resources, both labor and natural. When exhausted, leaving in their wake a depleted and devastated mess. Commodifying all things natural, and workers, is dehumanization on par with other “isms:” racism, sexism and classism. Workers are far more valuable and integral to the economy than mere commodities or cogs.

History shows the promises of industry are overblown, their practices venal and predatory.

Ecology and economics share a prefix derived from oikos, the Ancient Greek equivalent of house, household or family as a basic unit of community. Increasingly, human consciousness grasps the connect between ecology and economics necessary for our well-being and survival. The economy and ecosystems are seen as commons belonging to everyone, not just those most rapacious.

Climate, fresh water, fish, forest and bountiful outdoor beauty have greater value than minerals. To sacrifice the former in pursuit of the latter for short-term gain while ignoring the long-term is risky business. Sulfide mining endangers environmental sustainability, make no mistake! Corporate claims without evidence are telling and need vigorous challenge. Working families and their posterity deserve better! Trust not, but verify!

The big picture depicts treasure on and above the ground level while tunnel vision sees only treasure below ground. Let’s not sell ourselves short with the mindset dichotomy of industrial master and a subservient and expendable employee. Thinking of ourselves as citizen-workers with rights and responsibilities, capable of imagining roles, relationships and rules different from the past, should yield more beneficial results. A greater voice and vote in our economic system compatible with natural and human ecosystems is in order for communities where the waters flow north, south and east.

Harold Honkola

Tower, Minn.