PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • November 22, 2023
Copper was mined sustainably in Zambia for millennia. Yet, while conducting a multi-year study in mining communities there, I saw how some modern industrial practices did long-term damage to towns and the countryside. Effects included stunted vegetation; large sludge pools; huge areas scoured of everything but crushed rock; and acrid air. What changed? An economic system that reduces air, water and land to monetary value now dominates. Supporters of the Wolfden proposal cite the need for jobs. Would Wolfden establish a training system for Mainers to learn necessary skills? ~ Elizabeth C. Parsons, Author, “What Price for Privatization?” Portland