Irony Alert - Utah Ski Resort Owner Wants To Open US' 3rd-Largest Coal Strip Mine - ENS

[hatrack]

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, August 18, 2009 (ENS) - The largest coal strip mine in Alaska history proposed by the owner of the Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort in Utah has aroused the concern of conservationists and skiers groups concerned about the mine's contribution to global warming.

Richard Bass, who owns the Utah resort, has partnered with William H. Hunt to form PacRim Coal LLC, which has submitted permit applications to build a giant coal mine that the groups say would not only raise the planet's temperature but also destroy 11 miles of prime salmon streams feeding the Cook Inlet.

"It's sadly ironic that the owner of a business that is solely dependent upon heavy snowfall and consistent winters is pushing a project that is a direct threat to the ski industry and completely contrary to the ideals of outdoor recreation," said Ryan Demmy Bidwell with the Ski Area Citizen's Coalition.

The coal mine on the Chuitna River, about 45 miles west of Anchorage, would be the third largest strip mine in the United States. PacRim Coal, a Delaware corporation backed by Texas investors, hopes to extract 300 million tons over 25 years. Nearly all the coal excavated from the mine, would be exported to coal markets in China and other Pacific Rim countries. When burned, Chuitna River coal would emit more than 27 million tons of carbon dioxide, the groups calculate.

EDIT

http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/aug2009/2009-08-18-091.asp

[pscot]

1. Bass and Hunt

Two names from the past that waft through the air like the stench of a failing septic system. Both are scions of families with a long history of ecological vandalism. If I had a hit list they would both be on it.

[NNadir]

2. Confessing that I have skiied Snowbird on a business trip, I note that the numbers

in the article seem to be off.

Coal is about 90% carbon, meaning that there would be 270 million tons of carbon in the stuff, if it is typical.

With a molecular weight ratio of 44/12 CO₂ to carbon, that would suggest roughly one billion tons of carbon dioxide.