"Two for the Show..."

In this small community located in "the boonies" of the Black Hills, we actually had two hearings by the federal government: the first being the field hearing on our VA that we have been fighting to save for over two years, and the second, less than a week later, was the hearing by the NRC regarding allowing a permit for in-situ uranium mining in our county.

Once again, as I said about the first hearing in my last blog, "I was there!" It was an honor to witness ordinary citizens fighting to preserve the purity of their water with extraordinary testimony, frequently backed by scientific facts plus their personal connections to the issue.

For many individuals, public speaking is one of the most intimidating experiences, but this group of residents, most in opposition to the permit, faced their fears and stood before the group from
Washington and shared their concerns over the strong possibility of contamination to our water by this mining process intruding into our aquifers.

One of the supporters of this mining stated that we rely on electricity for the lights and air conditioning that we were enjoying at the moment in the auditorium in Hot Springs; ergo, he supported mining for uranium which could supply electricity. (Omitting the fact that our country does not need the uranium and the yellow cake from the mines would be shipped to China or other countries).

Before I made my testimony in opposition to a project that would consume enormous gallons of our water, with a strong possibility of contamination of that same water, I made an observation to the judges. "One of the previous speakers mentioned the need we had for electricity. I think that we could exist without electric lights and the comfort of air conditioning, or encourage the use of renewable energy, but what would we do without the water that I see before each of you?"

You have heard it before, but "water is life". Truly it is needed for our very existence. Each judge sitting before us had a bottle of water. They would not be drinking it if it was filled with heavy metals. They would prefer not to face a long, slow painful death.

I was honored to be at this hearing. I was proud of those who spoke up for their belief that pure water is sacred and is needed for our generation and those to follow. Even the slightest possibility of contamination for years to come is not worth the risk of some temporary employment. Passion for purity versus greed and bribery....it never changes, and I suppose it never will. Perhaps that is what life is about; the fight, the struggle, and those who take one path or the other, and those who study and search for ways to benefit our planet and all of those who rent a space and a brief time on this earth we call home.