Destroying the Grand Canyon for fun and profit
Because of the resurgence of nuclear power, uranium mining claims in the western US have skyrocketed from 2,000 in 2001 to over 43,000 last year.
Those claims are now encroaching on the Grand Canyon and other western monuments:
On public lands within five miles of Grand Canyon National Park, there are now more than 1,100 uranium claims, compared with just 10 in January 2003, according to data from the Department of the Interior.
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Uranium claims are also encroaching on stretches of Western parkland such as Arches National Park, Capitol Reef National Park and Canyonlands National Park, all in Utah, as well as a proposed wilderness area in Colorado called the Dolores River Canyon.
The central question is this:
"If you can't stop mining at the Grand Canyon, where can you stop it?" asked Richard Wiles, executive director of the Environmental Working Group.
So far, we haven't been able to stop mountaintop removal in Tennessee, and we've barely been able to stave off unnecessary oil drilling in ANWR. The question posed by Mr. Wiles is not just rhetorical, as history has proven.