| The recent boom in hydrofracking for natural gas and oil has resulted in a little-reported side boomà ??a sand-rush in western Wisconsin and southeastern Minnesota, where we just happen to have the nation's richest, most accessible supply of the high quality silica sand required for fracking operations. Unfortunately, most of that silica sand lies beneath our beautiful wooded hills and fertile farmland and within agricultural and residential communities, all of which are now being ripped apart by sand mines interests eager to get at the riches below. This open pit mining is, in many respects, similar to the mountaintop removal going on in Appalachian coal countryà ??except that here, it's hilltop and farm field removal. The net effect on our landscape, natural resources and communities is quickly becoming devastating. |
Read the rest of the story HERE:
At ecowatch.org
At ecowatch.org
