With iron ore exportation a rising market, it's not surprising to learn about gains like the one reported in the Nov. 28 story in the News Tribune, "Minnesota ore exports grow more than 700 percent." The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, or DEED, predicts that the top buyers of U.S. goods - Canada, Mexico, and China - will exceed third-quarter earnings. It has been reported by DEED that the increase in exporting supports almost 120,000 jobs in Minnesota.
However, the article failed to address the environmental impact mining is having and will have on our Earth in the future. This brings up a social issue that many people are concerned with, and that is that our government is focused on profit and economic gain rather than the environment. By not including anything in the story about the environment, readers are only shown the positives of mining - and even then only the positives related to jobs and profits.
When we deplete our ore sources, jobs will be lost and the economy will take a hit. Then we will be left with the aftermath of mining our land.
Erika Bjorkman
Roseville, Minn.
