President’s Message From Bill Jeffress
Focusing on facts must be a priority
Although we do not have all the answers related to COVID-19, society is more or less set on a new “normal.” What still vexes our nation and Alaska is our obvious dysfunctional federal and local governments. H ere we are in 2021 with the pandemic seeming to be under control and a new lifestyle of masking, social distancing
It is difficult, but not impossible, to interject biases and prejudice into hard scientific data that is further supported by certified quality assurance/ quality control programs. Many of the hard-physical scientific study results can be and are reproducible by third-party analytical and peer reviews. These studies are the “reality” of resource development projects. The conflicting side of hard-science is “soft” science e.g., the socioeconomics evaluation of projects and health impact assessments. These types of studies are predisposed to interject biases, prejudices and misconceptions of reality into the evaluation of projects. Some of the conclusions generated from the soft science reviews of projects further demonstrate how truth has been distorted to blur the lines between reality and fantasy. It is hard to understand, whether we are discussing urban or rural projects, how some of these conclusions can pass the “red face” test anywhere in the world. Projects in Alaska have been demonized as potentially causing the onset of latent adult diabetes because the paycheck provided by the project would allow employees to buy candy bars, soda pop and other “junk food.” It seems that the project evaluation team feels it is incumbent on them to determine how and on what employees spend their money. Another Alaska proposed project was criticized for providing employment for only 20 years (the proposed life of the project) and this would be worse than no job to begin with (WHAT?). All I can think about are all the projects that
and clean hands. Although we do not have all the answers related to COVID-19, society is more or less set on a new “normal.” What still vexes our nation and Alaska is our obvious dysfunctional federal and local governments. During the first quarter of 2021 we have watched what can only be called a poorly scripted sitcom from the impeachment trial of the former president at the national level and disarray of organizing the Alaska State House. Time, talent and money that could have focused on issues that really matter to the people. The “issues” are what are most perplexing and oblique since our biggest challenge is distinguishing what is the truth from propaganda. Everyone has their predispositions to what the truth is, but more and more there is a real struggle to differentiate reality from fantasy. In most cases, mining and other resource development industries are based on the physical sciences and most go through rigorous permitting processes based on the scientific data collected for specific projects. Environmental baseline studies such as jurisdictional wetlands delineations, surface, and groundwater quality, hydrology/hydrogeologic studies, geochemical characterizations, flora and fauna, air quality, etc. are thoroughly evaluated by federal and state regulators based on scientific standards.
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The Alaska Miner
April 2021
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