My name is Maria Karekla and I am from Cyprus. I am currently studying at Valdosta State University. I have two majors, Psychology and Art Education. When I finish my Bachelors' degrees, I would like to enter a graduate school in order to get a Ph.D. in Psychology (probably clinical therapy). My topic for this paper was impressions of interviews. This project came about as a result of the recent controversy, on DuPonts' proposed titanium mining project, at the Okefenokee refuge. The purpose of this study was to interview a number of people, who are either directly or indirectly connected to the proposed mining project. Also this study tried to obtain the different perspectives involved in this issue, and look at the opinions that people have towards this project. Four people were interviewed. These are, in alphabetical order: O'Connell, Maggie, Environmental Educator at Okefenokee Refuge, Hill, Jim, Philosophy and Ethics Professor at Valdosta State University, Pistelli, Cindy, a local person,
Samborski, Jon A., Director of Environmental
Affairs at DuPont.
Usually, when any environmental issue
evolves, there are three basic groups that get involved and try
to investigate and maybe do something to change the problem. These
are: Science, Stewardship and Activism. In addition there are
other groups involved in a nationwide debate about the environment.
According to Dr Jim Hill, professor of Philosophy and Ethics
at Valdosta State University, these are: Radical environmentalism,
Radical Consumptivism, Conservationism and Preservationism. Dr Hill is himself a preservationist. He explained that all of the above groups care about the environment in different ways. All of these groups took an interest in the Okefenokee issue, for different reasons. For example, the radical consumptivists, see the swamp and the wetlands, as land which can serve the needs of humans for food, housing, etc. The conservationists, are interested in Okefenokee and want to preserve it for humans, to have a place to go fishing, canoeing and have other recreational activities. Their "logo" is use them, but don't use them up. The preservationists, like Dr Hill, believe that this famous swamp has inherent value and must be preserved not because it serves humans, but because the environment, the animals, the trees, the plants, have some claim on just being. Therefore we must be careful about using the environment and respect it for its beauty. Dr Hill also supports the new growing movement in Environmental Ethics, the Egocentrism, which looks at and thinks of everything that is part of the earth, rather than just humans.
Let us look at the facts concerning the
proposed mining at Okefenokee. As Mr Jon A. Samborski, Director
of Environmental affairs of DuPont, explained, DuPont was proposing
to mine Trail Ridge, found on the East side of the OK refuge,
for the mineral titanium. DuPont purchased and leased 38,000 acres
of land at the east boundary of Okefenokee, according to Mrs Maggie
O=Connell,
the Environmental Educator at OK.
DuPont has been doing the same kind of
mining for 40 years, in the North-East Florida to South East Georgia,
on the same trail. According to Mr Samborski, the Stark Florida
project is nearly identical to the one planned for Okefenokee,
with both the equipment and land used being identical; AAlso
the actual geology and hydrology are similar@
stated Mr Samborski. Mrs O' Connell, disagreed with this, saying
that DuPonts=
project in Florida is not located next to a wetland like Trail
Ridge is, at Okefenokee refuge. Therefore, the actual project,
its consequences and effects may differ from the original one
in Stark, Florida. Also there was no monitoring at Stark and no
data collected regarding the environment, before mining occurred;
since that project was started before any legislation was enacted.
Recently, the media presented that a
resolution, as well as a cancellation of the project was decided,
by DuPont. When Mrs Pistelli, a local person was asked, she said
that she didn't believe that DuPont would stop there. "They
will bring it up again, when there isn't so much publicity,"
she said. Mr Samborski shed light to this question of whether
or not the project was cancelled, by explaining,"that saying
that the project is cancelled is not an accurate statement."
He went on though to say that any kind of mining project draws
attention because of its nature, and a lot of misconceptions arise
as a result. In this case DuPont had proposed the year 2002 as
a projected mining year and had been engaging in a dialogue with
all kinds of groups and individuals since 1994. When DuPont recognized
that there were misconceptions and lack of information among the
public, they decided to stop their activities for the time being.
Meanwhile they will engage in all the issues and try to understand
all the concerns. Finally, again according to Mr Samborski, they
want to come up with proposals, which will address these concerns,
so as to get a good outcome based on science and not speculations.
DuPonts=
plans for the future include, obtaining an independent third party
facilitator, which a group made up of different interested parties,
organizations, groups and DuPont will select. This facilitator
will aid in making the process fair, inclusive and collaborative.
As for predicting the outcome, Mr Samborski said that at this
point it is difficult, since the work with the groups has not
yet started. DuPont states thought that they are open to a full
range of outcomes, from Amining@
to Ano
mining.@
According to Dr Hill though, EPA and the Secretary of Interior
declared the project off-limits. What will happen now said Dr
Hill is that they will go to court and DuPont will try to fight.
DuPont may win, if they manage to convince the public that their
intentions are good. Dr Hill encourages us to be weary of such
business and such projects.
What is involved in the actual mining
process though? And what will they remove from the ground? Again
according to Mr Jon Samborski, big holes are not opened and left
as many people think. What happens is this; A 1000 x 1000 feet
pond is originally created. A drench is used to remove the titanium
(Ti) minerals which are heavier than sand. Sand makes up the basic
composition of the soil in Trail Ridge. So these Ti minerals are
removed using gravity forces only, without any chemicals being
used at any point. Only 1-2% by volume of what is in the ground
is removed and the rest 98-99%of the drenched material is put
back immediately. Therefore the original pond created is continuously
backfilled as the drench moves forward, therefore no holes are
left behind. The final step is to replace everything that was
removed when the pond was opened. Mrs O=Connell
explained the process a little bit differently, saying that it
is the process that is bad and not the actual removal of the materials.
During the process, they will remove all the land and process
it and then put it back. Specifically, before the hole is dug
up, the land is cleared and the first soil layer is removed. The
drench part is placed at a depth of 50 feet under the ground.
"The soil is taken up by the drench, is mushed up and gets
speeded out the back," Mrs O'Connell explains. At the end,
they try to recontour the land and put back the top layer of soil.
The 1-2% of material removed consists of Ti baring materials,
which specifically are: Rutile, Ilmenite and Leucoxen.
The above Ti baring materials are used
to make Titanium oxide. Titanium oxide has a vast number of uses
which mostly include making pigments used in paints, food products,
clothing, cosmetics, toothpaste, etc.. Mr Samborski encourages
everyone to go check their toothpaste, to see that titanium oxide
will be present in the ingredients. He said that AEvery
day, every person, touches and uses titanium oxide.@
Most people, Mr Samborski said, think that Ti is primarily used
for aerospace equipment, but this is only a minor use of it. When
asking Mrs Pistelli, the local person, it was found that she only
knew of the aerospace equipment uses of Ti and was surprised to
learn about its vast number of everyday uses.
The next query included the wildlife,
the animals, the birds and all the other species that live in
the Okefenokee swamp. DuPont has not yet looked at all the wildlife
, but are planning to do so, as Mr Samborski specified. They will
also look at the water and how to mine, and the impact mining
will have. Mr Samborski stated that DuPont has a goal to even
enhance the wildlife in the area, after they recline the land.
Mrs O=Connell
is mostly concerned with the hydrology of the area, since the
proposed mining area is on the ridge that makes the swamp. The
swamp is only 120 feet above sea level and DuPont will be going
50 feet deep into the earth, right next to the swamp. Therefore
it will be dangerous, and they don=t
know how this will affect the swamp. Also in the area live a great
number of rare species, some of which are endangered. According
to Mrs O=Connell
some of these species include: the Red Coaided Woodpeckers, the
Gopher Tortoise, indigo Snakes and the Stripped Newt (an amphibian).
When Mr Samborski was asked if he was aware of any endangered
species in the area, he said that there is a high likelihood of
the Red Coaided Woodpecker to live there. These birds, he went
on to say, are endangered and there are few such birds nationwide,
but are very common in this area. Since the DuPonts=
studies are not complete yet, he wasn=t
sure what other species may be present. Mrs Pistelli had an idea
of endangered species in the area, such as the Woodpeckers , the
North Florida Owl and the Florida Panthers. It was interesting
to hear what she said though, that Aeven
if there are few endangered species now, more will be probably
created if mining occurs.@
Therefore, what can be done to protect
the wildlife and especially the endangered species? As Mr Samborski
said, a number of things can be done. One is to relocate them;
another to preserve the areas the endangered species are found
in and the other is to recreate the habitat and even enhance it
afterwards. Mrs O=Connell
says that the above options can be done, and actually Woodpeckers
have been relocated before. It is a viable option, she continued,
but obviously there will be some loss. Many times we have heard
though that if a species is endangered there are laws to protect
them. Mrs O=Connell
was questioned about that and was also asked how could DuPont
even be considered to get a license to mine, if there is such
a big number of endangered species. In her answer, she mentioned
that DuPont can go to the US Fishing Wildlife service, where the
Okefenokee belongs to, and be evaluated. If they make a viable
plan, which is perfectly scientific, biologically and chemically
viable, then they may be granted the license to mine the area.
DuPont brings up another point, that
the Trail Ridge is basically filed with Pine trees, which paper
companies cut on a 20 year cycle. Therefore there already exists
a disturbance in the environment, and when the mining is over
the land will go back to the pine production. Mrs O=Connell
disagrees with this direction of thought. According to her, the
paper companies don=t
cut down everything at once, they cut some trees at a time so
as not to disturb the habitat. She also stated another point to
be considered. Tree raising has been going on for a long time,
due to the use by the paper companies and as a consequence, a
lot of pesticides have been applied to protect the trees. During
the mining process though, such pesticides may enter the water
and end up contaminating the whole OK refuge.
The consequences of the mining on the
refuge, don=t
end here. OK is considered a class 1 wilderness area, which means
that is highly sensitive to noise, dust etc. Noise, dust and so
on, will come about as a result of mining and will affect the
whole refuge. There are also, 400 000 people per year visiting
the Okefenokee, as Mrs O'Connell informed us. These come from
15 foreign countries and from 50 states. Of these people, 200
000 will enter the refuge from the road next to where the mining
will take place. Can you imagine the impact? All these visitors
will be disappointed; canoers and fishermen will not like to come
to Okefenokee anymore, for a day of peace and quiet, since there
will not be any.
A lot of people support DuPonts=
mining project, since it will bring money to the area, as well
as employ 120-140 people. At least 80-90 of these people will
come from the local area, Mr Samborski stated. DuPont will be
paying $4 million per year in compensation and wages. At the state
wide level, new jobs will be created, which will provide services.
DuPont expects the standard of living to become higher as a consequence.
Mr Samborski explained that as a whole 423 additional jobs should
be created around the whole state with $8 additional million being
paid. Out of this DuPont will make $15 million per year. The local
area will gain around $6 million per year and the state around
$1 million per year. Mr Samborski went on to say, that the Stark
Florida project lasted for 40 years and this is expected to last
as long, so the jobs should be available for at least 40 years.
According to the Mrs Pistelli, we must think that employment may
be increased, but is it worth it? Also when the project finishes,
the people will find themselves out of jobs again and the standard
of living will fall. Is all this worth it?
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