Larry Buhr wrote:
>I actually caught the UP, 'bats save mines' story twice this morning on
>NPR here in Reno. It was a good piece and a rarity in addressing
>industrial heritage issues. For those that missed it, some of the old
>copper mines in Michigan's Upper Peninsula are being left open, with
>human-proof protective grates, so that thousands of bats can continue to
Larry:
Several fallacies are at work here.
First, there are no human-proof anythings. Some idiot will pry open those
grates, fall in, get killed, and incite an outcry from the safety groupies
who want to eliminate all hazards from the world. They'll pass a law against
grates that people can pry open.
Second, there is no such thing as backfilling a shaft mine, unless you
backfill it from the bottom. There are too many cases of mine shafts, wells,
and cisterns that were "filled," only to collapse at some inopportune time.
I've heard of schemes where the "experts" install a "permanent" plug a short
distance below the top and fill the part above the plug. These "experts"
generally belong to that dominant subspecies called the "low bidder."
> I wonder if there is any
>life-form that specifically utilizes old open-pit mines? Seems
>unlikely.
Yes, there is. Homo Sapiens, var. dirtbiker. Unfortunately not endangered.
Ned Heite ([log in to unmask])
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|Baby the\ Why do ghosts wander the streets during
|1969 Land\_===__ the wee hours of the morning?
___Rover ___|o Because bars don't serve spirits
|_/ . \______/ . || after closing time.
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