As printed in Mineral News

The state of Wisconsin has a proud mining history. From the historic lead/zinc mines in the state’s southwest to the iron mines of its north, much has been written of Wisconsin’s mineral wealth and its role in the development of our nation (LaBerge, 1994). So when strong opposition to mining emerged in northern Wisconsin in the 1980’s, I think many of us Michigan geologists looked on with a mix of bewilderment and pride—bewilderment at the perplexing inanities unfolding in Wisconsin’s emerging anti-mining industry, admixed with pride at our pro-mining Michigan next door; that somehow our earth science education must be better than Wisconsin’s, such that the good people of Michigan would never fall for the tactics of “big environmentalism”, which some authors have accused of fraud, or likened to a cult (Huston, 2002).