Pebble Mine | Teen Ink

Pebble Mine

February 10, 2017
By coltonthedirks BRONZE, Unalaska, Alaska
coltonthedirks BRONZE, Unalaska, Alaska
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The Pebble Mine is a highly controversial mine in Bristol Bay, Alaska. Researchers say that the mine has a risk to the salmon run. According to article by The New York Times it, “Would obliterate miles of pristine streams and thousands of wilderness acres that sustain the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery”. They would also do all they could to stop and prevent unnecessary harm to the environment.  But there is a different side to the story. The mine would employ thousands of year round workers and bring a revenue of 300 billion dollars and it could bring in even more with the price of gold going up. The yearly salmon run in Bristol Bay brings in 1.5 billion a year which is nothing compared to the mine. The salmon fishing has been important to my family, but if the mine was created, they much more money than if they were fishing .The mine would bring infrastructure to southwest Alaska to communities where most people don’t have plumbing. You can’t have infrastructure like hospitals when most people are making money well below the national average. It would also help a lot of the state budget with the taxes the mine has to pay to the state government. The big thing is that it would bring jobs, energy, and modern day life to a place that doesn’t provide much of those things.



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