from here.
Frankly, I don’t quite understand what all the Teghut cause is about. I have a bunch of friends engaged in a movement to stop the Armenian Copper Program (ACP) from establishing an open pit strip mining operation for copper and molybdenum ore in Teghut’s forest. They say the plan includes clear-cutting over 1,500 acres of Teghut’s forest. Clearly that’s bad. But – in this economy you’d think it’s justified to cut some forest to help the exports and the economy, and provide jobs to the people.
The Teghut campaigners, however, say “ACP plans to create a “tailing dump” in a nearby pristine gorge, where heavy metals and other toxins from mining waste will leach into the ground and into the river flowing through the gorge, ultimately contaminating the local water supply. Furthermore, they make a valid point:
What do we know about Armenian Copper Program’s track record? ACP owns the infamous Alaverdi Smelter, which processes copper ore for a consortium of mining companies in the region. No birth anomalies were recorded in Alaverdi in 1992 when the factory was idle, but in 2001, 28 cases of birth defects were registered and 107 cases in 2004. How will birth defects benefit Armenia’s next generation, Armenia’s future?
I really don’t know – but this slideshow and the music in it are beautiful, and I’m willing to at least listen to the people who are putting so much effort and creativity into their campaign. Don’t think ACP could come up with something like this – do you?