Okefenokee threatened by state’s business-friendly standards
Georgia’s prolonged status as the most business-friendly state raises troubling questions about trade-offs made to achieve it.
The foolhardy recklessness of Georgia’s pro-business fixation is underscored by heated disputes over the Twin Pines mining proposal at Trail Ridge, which directly threatens the world-renowned Okefenokee Swamp. In a written statement, a hundred well-qualified scientists have testified about the unacceptable risks: “Mining close to the swamp has a high likelihood of causing permanent damage” to the Okefenokee.
Engineering solutions to prevent various destructive impacts of the project on the swamp are claimed, but such methods are unproven and prone to unexpected failures. Yet, thanks to Georgia’s business-friendly blind eye, state officials appear ready to put the Okefenokee in needless jeopardy just to strip-mine titanium, among the most commonly found minerals. The cavalier marginalization of serious hazards to this world-class environmental treasure is a tragic testimony to the abject failure of Georgia’s outdated economic development standards.
A new vision for Georgia’s economic future is imperative to prevent irreversible damage to the Okefenokee.
DAVID KYLER, SAINT SIMONS ISLAND
CENTER FOR A SUSTAINABLE COAST
Election fraud bills amount to voter suppression
The article by Ken Block (“Trump hired me to prove 2020 election fraud,” AJC, March 3) confirms what all the investigations in Georgia have shown – there was no widespread voter fraud in Georgia. Donald Trump hired Block to find fraud. Block concludes, “There is no evidence that Georgia election officials certified the wrong winner in 2020.”
In spite of all evidence to the contrary, our Legislature spends inordinate amounts of time and money trying to pass laws to “prevent voter fraud.” This is not voter protection; this is voter suppression.
Republicans in many states are working to remove voters from the rolls in heavily Democratic areas. Our state has recorded the most challenges despite no appreciable voter fraud.
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (a Republican) said, “There was no evidence of widespread voter fraud.” (12-23-2020). This is a solution looking for a problem.
KARLA PEABODY, CUMMING
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