Biden is near the Grand Canyon and creating a monument

The Case For Additional Protections Near the Grand Canyon Using The United States Uranium Mine, a Defense Against Its Implications

The new national monument in Arizona is meant to protect Native American sacred sites, which are on less than 1 million acres of federal land. It’s a reflection of his administration prioritizing goals of America’s indigenous peoples.

In the Grand Canyon, tribal nations and conservationists have been calling for additional protections in the area for years, as KNAU’s Ryan Heinsius has reported.

The company that owns the only Uraniummine near the Grand Canyon does not have any evidence that mining will harm the environment, according to the head of the company.

All that we have left are our historical sites and sacred places. Everything else has been taken from us, our original homelands, our sacred places.” said Carletta Tilousi, a former Havasupai Council member and the coordinator of the Grand Canyon Tribal Coalition.

Not surprisingly, the uranium industry has opposed restrictions on mining in the area for years. They say there are significant reserves near the Grand Canyon and that they can mine it with minimal impact to the land.

The Laguna Pueblo Native Monument and a Tribal Heritage Site for the American Indian Tribes of the Grand Canyon and the Colorado River

The Biden administration is very willing to listen to Native peoples’ concerns. The president appointed the nation’s first Indigenous Cabinet member, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, who is Laguna Pueblo. The current version of this monument proposal was put into the hands of the region’s tribes, in line with what the tribal coalition has been requesting.

“A lot has changed in … 50, 60, 70 years,” Moore said. We have more knowledge about how to mine with care. The Grand Canyon is a national treasure and we have an interest in protecting it.

Moore says it’s important to develop a domestic uranium supply because Russia and former Soviet republics supply nearly half of all U.S. nuclear fuel now.

The land in the new monument has a minimal amount of known reserves, according to the White House.

The president says that the land around the Grand Canyon is so important to over a dozen tribes that he’s setting it aside.

The new monument will encompass lands on both the Grand Canyon’s north and south rims. North of the park it’s high-elevation ponderosa pine forest, at about 8,000 feet above sea level, and to the south its mixed vegetation with pinyon pine and junipers. A section of desert landscape along the Colorado River that is not part of the park will be protected. The area contains many springs and seeps that feed the river.

Biden’s Western Swing Plan: A State of the Art and a New National Monument, Part I: The Grand Canyon National Monument

Tuesday’s announcement is part of a trip that will include New Mexico and Utah, where Biden is expected to make the case for how he’s tackling the climate and economic challenges facing Americans in the West.

A recent statewide poll showed the vast majority of people in favor, though local ranchers who have worked the land for generations have concerns. The national monument designation upholds private property rights, and it doesn’t affect existing mining claims, administration officials told reporters.

She said it would protect lands that have been referred to as their eternal home, a place of healing and a source of spiritual sustenance. It will help make sure that the indigenous peoples are able to continue using the areas for important religious ceremonies, as well as hunting and gathering of plants, medicines and other materials. It will protect objects of historic and scientific importance for the benefit of tribes, the public and for future generations.”

The new national monument will be called Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument. The Grand Canyon Tribal Coalition states that the word “Ba’aj Nwaavjo” means “where tribes roam” and the word “I’ lahuveni” means “our ancestral footprints” in Hopi.

The politics of Biden’s Western swing are broader than preservation. It is about emphasizing what the administration has already done to invest in the economy and the climate — because many Americans just don’t know about it.

The press secretary said that they are going to continue doing their jobs and will talk about it. The hope is that we will get our message out.

She said that support would continue for the president as legislation is implemented around the country. I think Americans will see that we have been able to do things in D.C.

UpFirst Briefing: Biden’s Grand Canyon National Monument; Health Tips from Japan. An Update on Obeyors’ Choice to Change the Constitution

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Should Ohioans vote today to make it harder to change the constitution? Issue 1 aims to raise the threshold of approval for future amendments to 60% instead of a simple majority. The outcome of the vote today will affect the November vote on the amendment to protect abortion rights. (via Statehouse News Bureau)

The American Red Cross has adopted new eligibility guidelines for giving blood that will allow gay and bisexual men to donate. Guidelines from the FDA focuses on individual risk factors instead of sexual orientation. The rules apply to people who have had new or multiple new partners in the last three months, and have participated in anal sex.

Source: Up First Briefing: Biden’s Grand Canyon national monument; health tips from Japan.

The Times of Zaidi and Tooba Masood, Saba Imtiaz, and the Death of Yuki Noguchi

Yuki Noguchi is from the Midwest and sometimes visits her family in Japan. There is a delicious amount of fresh food available. While Japan and the U.S. are both wealthy, industrialized nations, they have very different levels of obesity. Noguchi looks into how Japanese society makes healthy living easier:

The death of Zaidi in 1971, which was followed by a media frenzy, was an event. It was reported at the time that she was involved in a public affair with a wealthy person. Both were married with kids. The authors discussed their reexamined case on a true crime show. The stories of Tooba Masood and Saba Imtiaz were discovered in the 60s and 70s, and they brought life to the city of Karachi.