Nice article, which brought up a point I've been making for decades. I have visited mining operations in the US, Canada, and Mexico. The mines in this country and Canada are modern, safe, and cleaner than ever before. Mines in Mexico are leave much to be desired. Environmentalists are still getting the metal they need for their modern lives (mountain bikes don't grow on farms) but they are getting that metal from third-world, un sustainable mining practices, harming the earth more than a well run mine that will eventually be reclaimed.

It is more NIMBY than anything else.

Of course mines are not pretty (unless you're a geologist) but they are esential for our way of life. I know that there are some plans in motion to built solar farms on top of the huge tailings piles left over from copper mining in Arizona, which would be the ideal solution to the problem.

(EDIT: here's a story on mining and solar power

The REE mine in California is very important to our economic security. Shutting it down would be a huge mistake.

The uranium situation is getting tight while at the same time there is a push on to remove areas of Arizona from claim staking or exploration.

Then there is this where Nevada is considering putting their Minerals Commission into the state enviromental agency.

Yikes.