Daryl Hannah, Mother Earth say 'no' to uranium mining

Actress Daryl Hannah weighed in on the debate over the Pinon Ridge uranium mill in Colorado's Montrose County, saying Mother Earth is the loser if the the mining families of Montrose County win the debate to reopen the mine. The debate has pitted the affluent residents of Telluride and surrounding San Miguel County against the blue collar mining families, but Hannah, who lives in San Miguel County, says it's a moot point.

"But you look at Uravan now and it's completely fenced off and it says, 'Radioactive, do not enter, dangerous, use caution.' The whole thing was torn down and you can't even climb around in there, you can't even go for walk in there. It's a completely toxic waste site now."

The Colorado Independent writes that the Montrose county commissioners today will weigh the toxic risks "against the possible rewards of reviving the yellowcake boom in the area around the toxic ghost town of Uravan, which produced some of the uranium ore for the first atomic bomb produced by the Manhattan Project. The commissioners have to decide on a special-use permit for Piñon Ridge because the land is currently zoned agricultural."

-- Rita Hibbard