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ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) – Large stretches of salmon-spawning streams and thousands of acres of wetlands would be wiped out if a large-scale mining project were to be built in southwestern Alaska‘s copper-rich Bristol Bay region, according to a report issued Friday by the Environmental Protection Agency.

The report, while not directly addressing it, is a potential blow to the massive Pebble copper and gold mine operation proposed by an international alliance of mining interests, and opposed by environmentalists and local native groups.

Risks from building and operating such a big mine, or series of mines, range from the near-certain loss of wetlands and streams and chronic water pollution to a remote possibility of a catastrophic breach in a tailings dam planned to be taller than the Washington Monument, the report said.

The report uses elements of the Pebble plan and other information about modern mining practices to project a future scenario, an EPA manager said Friday, but the agency made it clear it is not pre-judging the Pebble mine issue.

“EPA’s draft study does not provide an in-depth assessment of any specific mining project, but instead assesses the potential environmental impacts associated with mining activities,” the EPA wrote in a statement on its website. “The draft study in no way prejudges future consideration of proposed mining activities.”

The Bristol Bay watershed assessment, now subject to public comment and scientific peer review, was initiated more than a year ago at the request of Alaska Native groups in the region. Those and several fishing and environmental groups have asked the EPA to invoke its authorities under the Clean Water Act to preemptively block development of the Pebble mine.

“What is most directly identified is what you would expect — where there is a mine footprint, you would be losing streams and wetlands and habitat areas,” Dennis McLerran, the EPA’s Pacific Region director, said on a telephone conference call with media after releasing the report.

McLerran said the EPA is far from making any decision to stop development of the mine.

“This document itself will inform future decisions, but we’re not ready or at the point to make any of the future decisions yet,” he said.

The Bristol Bay region is famous for its huge runs of salmon. All five species of Alaska salmon are native to the area, which produces nearly half of the world’s sockeye salmon, the EPA study said. Salmon fisheries and related natural resources support 14,000 jobs and have an average annual value of $480 million, the report said.

The Bristol Bay region is also famous for its abundant wildlife, including migratory birds and salmon-eating brown bears, as well as parks and wildlife refuges.

But the wild region’s mineral resources have inspired Britain’s Anglo American Plc and Canada’s Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd to form a partnership to pursue what would be one of the world’s largest open-pit copper mines at Pebble.

Earlier this week, Northern Dynasty announced that the companies’ jointly owned Pebble Limited Partnership would be spending $107 million this year to start securing development permits.

Mine supporters and the administration of Alaska Governor Sean Parnell have objected to the EPA study. They argue that it is a prelude to development-stopping action by the EPA.

The president of the Pebble Limited Partnership on Friday called EPA’s draft “rushed” and said it lacked “the level of rigor and completeness required for a scientific assessment.”

“We believe it would be unprecedented and entirely inappropriate for the EPA to take steps to stop our project before it has been fully designed, before we have presented an environmental mitigation strategy designed to protect the fish and water resources of the area, before we have completed an economic benefits study and before we have submitted a permit application and started the rigorous permitting process,” Pebble Partnership President John Shively said in a statement.

Pebble Mine opponents applauded EPA’s efforts.

“What we have read so far suggests that EPA’s draft findings regarding mining the Pebble deposit largely align with our own,” said Jason Metrokin, chief executive of Bristol Bay Native Corp, in a statement. “The science exists now to show that the proposed Pebble mine does not fit with a sustainable future for Bristol Bay, and should not be allowed to proceed.”

(Reporting By Yereth Rosen; editing by Bill Rigby, Bernard Orr)

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The short single-player campaign stars a gruff mercenary who returns to his old stomping grounds for a contract gig. Emmett Graves is the likable, well-voiced protagonist, and the simple story is laid out with stylish animated cutscenes that contrast nicely with the rich, colorful environments. From dusty earthbound outposts to clanking orbital platforms, Starhawk creates the strong sense that you are in an industrial backwater of civilization. Pipelines and mechanical detritus scar the barren landscapes, and the big, beautiful skies imbue the game with a great frontier feel.

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As Emmett gets to work clearing out the mutated humans that plague the local industry, you learn the basics of combat. You run and gun with vigor, zipping around at a sprint that sets a fast pace for combat. Though your enemies can move quickly too, there?s no real sense of urgency on the default difficulty. Your partner in the sky keeps you well apprised of the enemies you are facing, and you frequently have timed indicators that show you which enemies to expect and where they will come from. This methodical pacing gives you plenty of time to employ Starhawk?s most novel feature: the ability to bring prefabricated buildings crashing down from low orbit.

With a press of the triangle button, you call up a radial menu of available assets, make your choice, and release the button to summon your structure (provided you can afford it). Walls and turrets can stand alone to form a rudimentary defense, but with a little care, you can create one long linked wall studded with elevated turrets?a much more formidable barrier. Supply depots and watchtowers bring new weapons and cover positions, while shields and repair arms help fortify your position. Seeing enemy waves crash against your fortifications and be thrown back is a pleasing reward for your efforts, and it?s also fun to take the fight to them.

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By Nicole Matthews

Solid waste disposal is a major environmental issue faced by countries around the world. For small islands such as Guam the problems that come with solid waste disposal are especially demanding due to the limited amount of space available and the close proximity to bodies of water that flow into the ocean.

One dumpsite that has been a consistent source of pollution is the Ordot Dump. First used by the Japanese during their occupation of Guam in World War II, the dump was a consistent source of environmental pollution until its closure in 2008. In fact, it was not until 45 years after its initial use that the dump was marked as harmful to the environment under the Clean Water Act of 1972.

Map of various dumping and recycling sites on Guam. Source: www.guamsolidwastereceiver.org

Specifically, in 1986, it was discovered that the Ordot Dump was leaking leachate, water that seeps through the solid waste and collects the chemical compounds it comes in contact with. This leachate was seeping into Pago Bay, one of the major sources of drinking water for the island?s inhabitants.

Recognizing the potential health impacts presented by the dump, the Guam Department of Public Works (GDPW) was ordered to shut down the Ordot facility and replace it with an alternate site, as well as implement a progressive waste disposal/recycling system. A new site was chosen, and the Layon Landfill was constructed within four years. Although a relatively short-term solution, the Layon site is estimated to have a capacity that will serve the inhabitants of Guam for thirty years.

The Layon Landfill contains a double liner system with a built in leak detection. Such preventive technologies serve to eliminate groundwater contamination and gas release (due to anaerobic decomposition of waste materials) from the site. Although the Layon Landfill closely follows EPA regulations, there is never an absolute guarantee that harmful contaminants will not be released into the surrounding environment. For example, the risk of sedimentary and groundwater contamination, as well as methane release is still a possibility.

Author photo by Jim Haw

The issues faced by Guam regarding the two landfills pose questions for other island nations facing waste disposal issues. The Layon Landfill represents a temporary fix to a critical long-term problem. It will be interesting to see what kinds of solutions other island communities develop in the future.

Author Bio: Nicole Matthews is a freshman working toward a bachelor?s degree in Political Science in the USC Dana and David Dornsife College. After graduating, she plans to pursue a graduate degree in environmental law and policy.

References:

Delfin, Joanna. ?Environmental Story: History of the Ordot Dump.? Guambusinessmagazine.com. Guam Business Magazine, May 2012. Web. 9 May 2012.

?Ordot Dump and Layon Landfill.? Guamsolidwastereceiver.org. Gersham, Brickner, & Bratton, Inc., 2012. Web. 8 May 2012.

Editor?s note: Scientific Research Diving at USC Dornsife is offered as part of an experiential summer program offered to undergraduate students of the USC Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. This course takes place on location at the USC Wrigley Marine Science Center on Catalina Island and throughout Micronesia. Students investigate important environmental issues such as ecologically sustainable development, fisheries management, protected-area planning and assessment, and human health issues. During the course of the program, the student team will dive and collect data to support conservation and management strategies to protect the fragile coral reefs of Guam and Palau in Micronesia.

Instructors for the course include Jim Haw, Director of the Environmental Studies Program in USC Dornsife, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies David Ginsburg,, SCUBA instructor and volunteer in the USC Scientific Diving Program Tom Carr and USC Dive Safety Officer Gerry Smith of the USC Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies

Previously in this series:

Catching Up with Scientific Diving at USC Dornsife: Surfgrass Monitoring at Catalina
Catching up with Scientific Diving at USC Dornsife: The Robot Submarine
Catching up with Scientific Diving at USC Dornsife: Diving into the Aquarium of the Pacific
USC Dornsife Scientific Diving: Moving Forward to Guam and Palau 2012
USC Dornsife Scientific Diving: Finding My Career Through This Course
USC Dornsife Scientific Diving: The Devaluation of Ecosystem Services
USC Dornsife Scientific Diving: Why USC Dornsife was the Right Decision For Me
USC Dornsife Scientific Diving: Why Experiential Learning is Vital to Academic Life
USC Dornsife Scientific Diving: My Walden South of Los Angeles
USC Dornsife Scientific Diving: Crown-of-Thorns Outbreaks and Anthropogenic Pollution
USC Dornsife Scientific Diving: The International Policy Rationale for the Military Buildup on Guam and Some Environmental Drivers
USC Dornsife Scientific Diving: Marine Ecology from Antarctica to Micronesia
USC Dornsife Scientific Diving: Palau Water Supply
USC Dornsife Scientific Diving: The Contributions of J. S. Haldane to Dive Safety
USC Dornsife Scientific Diving: Human Impacts on Mangrove Forests
USC Dornsife Scientific Diving: Global Sea Cucumber Fisheries
USC Dornsife Scientific Diving: Palauan Mermaids
USC Dornsife Scientific Diving: The California Spiny Lobster
USC Dornsife Scientific Diving: The Invasion of the Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle
USC Dornsife Scientific Diving: The Coconut Crab in Guam

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Sometimes having a pet either as window dressing or as a character can enliven the person. ?How people treat animals does tell you a lot about them as well as their culture. Now when I am referring to pet, I am specifically referring to a non-sentient life form that lives with and cared for by a sentient life form.

So to write a pet character, you need to figure out:?Species? Physical description? How are they treated??Do they have a job? Like any character, they need to serve a purpose in the story.

In Other Systems, there are a few pets mentioned. I will go in detail about Rockford.

Species and Physical Description: Rockford (Rocks) is a massive gray and white spotted domestic house cat. While dogs went extinct on Kipos, cats lived on due to their smaller size and independent nature especially aboard the Fleet.

Life Style: The humans on the Revelation consider him?Diane?s cat in the sense that Diane wanted a cat, picked one up, now feeds, waters, cleans up his litter box.

However, Rockford considers The Revelation?his domain and the crew his servants. He is benevolent. He gives preference to the Human called Diane who feeds, waters, and cleans up after him. He also gives preference to any Young Human as they tend to play with him. During the day, he wanders around the living quarters of the Revelation and pushes his scent glands on whoever is not working. While he does consider Diane?s bed a favorite resting spot, he also has his own cat-sized billet (Humans refer to it as a closet) with his toys and a scratching/climbing area and his litter box where he can retire until his special skill set is needed.

Employment: (No, they do not have a rodent problem.)

First of all, he is an excellent judge of character.

Secondly, when people are having a bad day and don?t want to deal with the hardship and the blackness of space, or just the annoyance of other human beings, Rockford is willing to cuddle while they watch vids. He also likes to play fetch with his stuffed fish and he likes to bat at pieces of fabric. He knows humans find it soothing when kitties purr.

Now you might not think this is an important job, but then you have never dealt with the black emptiness of space or a contained environment where you are stuck with the same people day after day.

Other ship?s cats in science fiction that make a huge difference in people?s lives?

When Ripley is about to blow up the ship on Alien, she hears Jonesy on the com system and rescues him. Why? She is emotionally distraught (as her crew has been killed or impregnated by the Alien) but rescuing the cat and taking care of him, calms her down and allows her to continue doing what she needed to do to escape.

On Star Trek: TNG Data had a cat named Spot. She is a couple different episodes, but she is finicky in food and friends. He creates a poem in her honor and in the Season 7 episode 19 ?Genesis, she and her kittens saved the crew. And on the funny side of things:?Red Dwarf, Lister smuggles a pregnant cat,?Frankenstein,?on board and has to go to stasis for 18 months, but after a radioactive disaster, he comes out 3 million years later. Frankenstein safely hidden in the hull has her kittens and the kitten?s progeny evolves into a somewhat-sentient cat race.

So Rockford goes boldly?okay, okay, he goes with hedonistic laziness? where at least three other cats has gone before?

Jax says: ?Petting will not mollify me! I could be a space adventurer if you hu-mans would get your act together and build me a ship!?

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