Show The Herald Journal Logan Utah Wednesday April 21 2004 J -- - C3 ' Miners conservationists at odds Over mining SPOKANE Wash ( AP) — Those rings and watches in the jewelry case may be a lot more expensive than many people think ' conservationists contend Jewelry also carries the cost of environmental damage from mining for their gold silver and other precious metals according to a new pubjtc relations campaign that is Jtting pressure on jewelry retailers ' reject minerals from big polluters ' The campaign has already prompt-- d the president of Tiffany & Co to shift his attention from the jewelry on Fifth Avenue to the Cabinet Sases wilderness area of Montana 2 Tiffany recently purchased a large ' advertisement in The Washington Post to demand the federal government reject a proposed mine in the Montana wilderness and reform the law that encourages hardrock mining over conservation ip the West “Given the impact of mining for gold silver and platinum they are a company who cared about how they were viewed and what their customers think” said Steve D’Esposi-- tt president of Earthworks the environmental group leading the campaign The Tiffany ad signed by its chairman and chief executive officer Michael 1 Kowalski surprised leaders in the mining industry “I was stunned that a person of Mr Kowalski’s stature and obvious business acumen would write a letter like that" said Laura Skaer head of the Northwest Mining Association in Spokane But the jewelry industry had already started the process of guaran: teeing that its raw materials came only from socially and environmentally friendly mining companies according to Jewelers of America an industry trade group For several years the group has been pushing a policy of supporting “responsible mining of minerals ami metals" said Fred Michmershuizen director of marketing for the New d group “We're trying to open up a dia- logue with suppliers” Michmer-shuize- n said “I think mining companies should be willing to dis- necklace? ld ! - ' York-base- Wedding subsequently into northern Idaho's Lake Pend Oreille one of the largest in the West Forest Service officials approved the mine last year hut environmental groups have filed lawsuits to stop the construction US Rep Nick Rahall praised the Tiffany action and said tougher protections also are needed in the Mining Law of 872 which oiTers mining companies cheap access to federal land with few environmental restrictions “It remains a perverse incentive for mining in wilderness areas scenic watersheds around important cold water fisheries and in other fragile ecosystems’’ Rahall said But Agriculture Undersecretary Mark Rey the top administration official on the nation's forests said the Tiffany letter was filled with errors and misconceptions Rey contended the proposed mine would f)llow strict environmental controls to protect wildlife arid waterways: Critics also should consider that AP Photo the alternative to mining for precious The Clark Fork River winds its way from Montana into Lake Pend Oreille earlier this month near Clark Fork Idaho Opponents metals in the United States is mining border say the huge mine would discharge millions of gallons of a proposed silver and copper mine near the Montana-ldah- o in undeveloped countries that lack Clark from of water comes the the lake's lake into into river which the water the of waste Ninety percent empties per day environmental protections Rey said Fork River “I don’t think that’s what Tiffany D-W- 1 - cuss this” Jewelers of America played a lead- ership role in reducing the sale of blood diamonds that help fund wars in Angola Sierra Leone Congo and Liberia Last year 43 countries sighed on to ah agreement requiring every diamond to be accompanied by a certificate of origin Now Earthworks and a similar group Oxfam America are targeting what they call the dirtiest industry in the United States gold mining The US gold jewelry market is worth about $16 billion annually but one gold ring generates 20 tons of mine waste they said This year conservationists passed out Valentine Day cards reading “Don’t tarnish your love with dirty gold” in front of jewelry and watch " so-call-ed stores in New York City Boston and Washington DC Oxfam and Earthworks also released a report on Feb 1 1 that claimed mining produced massive pollution worker dangers and human rights abuses in countries such as Peru Indonesia Ghana and the Unit: ed States Metals mining is the top toxic polluter in the United States responsible for 96 percent of arsenic emissions and 76 percent of lead emissions they said1 The world’s largest open pit the Canyon mine in Utah is Bingham ' visible from outer space and measures T mile deep and 25 miles ' 'across The National Mining Association in Washington DC has a different take : “The US gold mining industry is the world’s most advanced using modem technology and stringent environmental safeguards" NMA President Jack Gerard said “Scare ' tactics- outdated and incorrect information should not be used to falsely characterize the fine efforts of these hardworking and knowledgeable men and women” The Dirty Metals campaign got a burst of publicity on March 24 from the ad in The Post in which Tiffany called on the federal government to block construction of a proposed silver and copper mine to be drilled under the Cabinet Mountains near the Montana-ldah- o border The Rock Creek Mine owned by a Spokane company would discharge millions of gallons of wastewater per day into the Clark Fork River and : - wants” D’ Esposito said the Dirty Metals campaign began in 2001 in the belief that placing market pressure bn the jewelry industry would be the best way to reform mining practices He said it is intended to raise pub- lie awareness and is not a boycott The goal is a globaj set of environmental and human rights standards for mining companies including pro: tecting water paying for reclamation of land following human rights stan- dards and not mining in protected areas D’Esposito said - On the Net: Earthworks: wwwearthworksactionorg National wwwnmapig : Mining Association: Tiffany: wwwtiffanycom LET THE BIDDING BEGIN! The Auction Mania website is available on April 25th at 9:00 am Phone lines will be available April 25th at 5pm Watch for the Auction Mania Guide in the Sunday April 25th issue of The Herald Journal IT’S TIME TO BID ON HUNDREDS OF GREAT ITEMS & FANTASTIC BARGAINS FROM JLQSAL BUSINESSES! : Magna Coelhio and : : Jared Sutherland Coelho-Sutherlar- id Magna Alexsandrai A CoeF ho and Jared Sutherland were married on May 312003 in ’ il and were sealed in the Recife-Brazil LDS Temple on June 3 2003 An open house will be held on' April 24' 2004 from 6 to 9 ' pm at the Providence Stake Center 360 E 450 North Millville Friends and relatives are invited Magna is the daughter of Fdtima and Nertan A Coelho Fortaleza-Ceard-Braz- : ' : of FortalezaCearS-Braz- il Magna likes to travel go to the shopping malls dance and she loves spending time on die beautiful beaches in Brazil She ' attended college at the Univer-sidad-e Estadual Vale do Acarau : She gradu- in Fortaleza-Braz- il ated from college on March 12 2003 majoring in Fedagogia Jared is the son of Henry and Dianna Sutherland He graduated from Mountain Crest High School in 1997- He served inthe Fortaleza-Braz- il ' LDS Mission After his mis- - " sion he went back to visit Brazil twice arid on the third ' trip hefound his “Brazilian sweetheart” He loves the traveling capoeira Gracip Brazilian jujitsu and of course Brazil They are registered at Wal- -' Mart Magna andJared wish to thank their families and ' friends for all the love and ' support they halve given us - out-doo-rs |