A Necessary Evil - My Rant

When I was still studying I always swore that I would never become an Environmental Consultant because it was essentially selling out. In South Africa, due to our mineral based economy, most environmental consulting is mining related. And, lets be honest mining is a messy process: it always has been, and although legislation and technology has improved the situation to a certain degree, it still is a relatively environmentaly risky and leads to ecosystem degradation. The greenie beanie in me see's this and yet not only am I currently consulting but next year I will be working for a mining company directly in a sustainability coordinator's role. My reasoning for "selling out" is two fold.

Firstly,  I realised that I can make a far larger difference working with the mines, which are likely to continue mining with or without my cooperation, than working against them. Standing outside their offices with a placard is unlikely to make a difference but working with the mine to ensure that all possible measures are taken to minimise the impacts of mining will.

The second reason is that once I became familiar with the communities in many potential mining areas and the statistics regarding average household incomes, education levels ect., I begun to see how mining could benefit such communities. Most people don't realise that the mines build and fund most of the roads, schools, clinics and provide much needed jobs in adjacent areas to their mines. These areas have mostly been long forgotten by our so called leaders. Not to mention the economic benefits of such projects to the growth of the South African economy as a whole.

I therefore can't help but feel a sense of outrage when people protest against mining on principal. Usually loudly at public meetings, on TV, radio or any forum they can lay their hands on. These people harass mining related companies endlessly. What they forget is that the electricity used to email their complaints most likely comes from a coal fired power station fuelled by coal mined locally. The reason we have local  TV and radio shows is because we have a healthy economy which can mostly be attributed to South Africa's immense mineral wealth.

If you want to make a difference, protest but on a firm knowledge base and suggest more sustainable alternatives. Put pressure on companies to be more sustainable and environmentally pro-active. The last few years have seen a surge of such type of pressure and protest. I know from working in this industry that it is working. Companies (for the most part) are wanting to comply with environmental and mining legislation (of which South Africa has some of the most  progressive in the world) and are seeking better, cleaner ways of operating.

Mining may be "evil" but it is a necessary evil. Many of the materials used to build the components on the very laptop or computer that you are reading this off were most likely mined for and probably in South Africa. The building material for your house, the electricity powering your house, and most of your household contents have likely been mined for. Our challenge as inhabitants of this earth is to find the best possible practises and solutions to make this necessary evil, less environmentally damaging. Engineers, chemists, ecologists, journalists, all fields of society need to work together to find the answers rather than focus on the challenges.

So yes, I do work in mining and yes I am a conservationist eco-bunny who loves the natural world. These are not conflicting statements in my mind because I'm helping to ensure the world is still there for future generations the only way I know how. The question is what are you doing?