I’m old enough to remember when Democrats lectured everyone about protecting the environment and how evil Republicans wanted to lynch Mother Nature and roast all of the California condors. One other thing they were definitely against was drilling and mining. Digging vast holes in the ground is dangerous and releases all sorts of toxins. Do any of you remember those days? Well, put away your scrapbooks because a new day has dawned. Joe Biden and the Democrats are now in love with mining, but not for coal, of course. (Perish the thought.) But if you’re willing to mine for uranium, you can tear up the landscape to your heart’s content. And if some Indigenous American tribes happen to be living there and they are complaining about it, they need to zip their pie holes. We’ve got some nuclear reactors to build and you people aren’t going to be standing in our way. And yes, this is also being done in the name of climate change. (Associated Press)
The largest uranium producer in the United States is ramping up work just south of Grand Canyon National Park on a long-contested project that largely has sat dormant since the 1980s.
The work is unfolding as global instability and growing demand drive uranium prices higher.
The Biden administration and dozens of other countries have pledged to triple the capacity of nuclear power worldwide in their battle against climate change, ensuring uranium will remain a key commodity for decades as the government offers incentives for developing the next generation of nuclear reactors and new policies take aim at Russia’s influence over the supply chain.
The latest bone of contention in the uranium wars is unfolding at Pinyon Plain Mine near the Grand Canyon’s South Rim entrance. But that mine happens to be located inside the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukv National Monument. Awkwardly, that monument was recognized and designated just last year by none other than President Joe Biden. The Havasupai Tribal Council has registered multiple complaints, saying that this operation is taking place on lands they consider sacred. The same area is also revered by the Hopi, Navajo, and Zuni people. Their calls have thus far gone unanswered.
Back in the seventies, the airwaves were filled with advertisements featuring a dejected Native American chief with a tear running down his face over the destruction of the land. (He was actually an Italian actor, but you get the point.) The Democrats were big on that messaging also. So what changed?
The biggest change is the fact that the Biden administration is suddenly going all-in on nuclear power. That may come as a surprise to parts of his base who have continued to oppose nuclear power ever since Three Mile Island. In fact, I won’t be shocked if some of them start showing up and protesting Biden over this as soon as they finish their pro-Hamas protests. Then again, he’ll probably convince at least some of them by reminding them that nuclear reactors produce no carbon and are thus blessed by the Climate Goddess.
The other factor is the fact that Russia controls a significant amount of the world’s current uranium supplies. They’re not exactly fans of ours at the moment and the price of Russian uranium is continuing to rise. Much the same way that China is capable of cutting off the global supply of rare metals needed to make batteries for electric vehicles, Russia could choke off much of the uranium supply. We have plenty of uranium in the United States, but we haven’t mined much of it since the early days of our nuclear weapons program.
Personally, I don’t have a problem with the current progress that’s being made. I’ve been saying here for years that I’m in favor of an “all of the above” energy plan, and that includes nuclear. The problem is that it takes forever to get a new nuclear plant approved because of endless government regulations, so few energy companies want to invest in it. What bothers me here is all of the blatant hypocrisy on display, not that this is anything new. Nuclear power was evil and bad until somebody realized that it might fit in the climate cult model. Then, almost overnight, it became popular. Fine. Do whatever it takes. Just make sure you look into those new small modular reactors that are in development. They really make nuclear power a lot more flexible and usable in more areas. They’re also a bit cheaper.