Celeb speaks against Alaska mine

Actor Robert Redford has jumped on board with the Bristol Bay Alliance, a group of fishermen, business owners and Alaska citizens who are fighting to prevent the creation of North America’s largest open-pit gold mine in the Bristol Bay Watershed, the world’s greatest commercial-salmon fishery, according to media reports.

In a guest post by Redford on Care2.com, an online hub for healthful living and human and animal rights, Redford noted that while he is not against mining, the creation of the proposed Pebble Mine would destroy an “American paradise” that is home to salmon, bears, moose, caribou, wolves and whales, as well as native communities that have lived there for thousands of years. He also noted that the two-mile-wide pit proposed for the gold and copper operation would produce 10 billion tons of contaminated waste, which equals 3,000 pounds for every human on Earth.

The hard-rock mining industry is the biggest source of toxic releases in America, according to the Bristol Bay Alliance website. The proposed project is the result of the Pebble Limited Partnership, a joint venture of Anglo American plc, a global mining company headquartered in London, and British Columbia-based Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd.