What if someone came out in support of Augusta Resource Corporation’s proposal to develop the Rosemont Mine in the Santa Rita Mountains southeast of Tucson. Would they be tarred and feathered and ostracized?  Would they be threatened and marginalized?

Well let’s play that game.

What would happen if someone led the charge to support Rosemont Copper? Someone who did not have a horse in the race.

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First off, they would be supporting something this community sorely needs. Jobs — 500 high-paying jobs.

There’s also the money — $300 million a year to be spent in Pima County and $500 million statewide, according to the Western Economic Analysis Center.

And then there are the property taxes. The Rosemont Copper Mine would be one of the biggest taxpayers in the county — to the tune of $16 million. That pays for lots of teachers, deputies and ball fields.

What I hear from long-time miners is that this would not be like the open pit mines of old. Instead of a huge scar covering a dozen square miles, this one would be smaller. And let’s be realistic. How many of us have actually hiked in the area? Those who have know it’s already riddled with the remnants of previous mining efforts. Once the Rosemont Mine goes into production, how many of us would even know it? That’s what I figured. 

Opponents of the mine are a vocal minority trying to preserve a utopian vision of a pristine planet that doesn’t exist.

Without copper, these same folks would not be able to get their Mac laptops or their Prius cars.

Plain and simple, we need copper. Where do we want to mine for it? In Indonesia, Peru, or the Congo? Foreign counties that may have unstable governments or face chronic stoppages by workers who have to endure poor conditions and pay. 

But do radical environmentalists here care? I doubt it.

Putting the kibosh on the Rosemont Mine is the ultimate NIMBY play — orchestrated by a politically correct, tied-in group with a lot of time on their hands.  

By not allowing the mine to move forward, copper supply will be diminished while demand is kept high, along with the price.

In fact, stopping the mine would directly result in keeping prices unnecessarily high on things we need that are made with copper. It’s one of the unintended consequences foisted upon us by a radical environmental movement. It reeks with social injustice. Beating back the supply of needed commodities, keeps low income earners poorer. Lost jobs and higher prices are the byproduct of this utopian worldview.

Most wage earners want a job and a chance to provide for their families. They don’t wake up and say to themselves “let’s go hike in the Santa Ritas.” Most don’t really have time to bone up on the environmental cause du jour.

There are tradeoffs to make every day. Do I watch my daughter’s soccer game or go to my son’s clarinet recital?

In people’s heart of hearts — if they really thought long and hard about it — would they realize an impaired quality of life if the Rosemont Mine were opened? I don’t think so. 

So would someone really come out and support the mine? Would common sense win out over political correctness?

This region is at a crossroads. We are in an economic recession. We need a stimulus — one that does not rely on a government handout paid by taxpayers.

Would someone who has the ear of the community be tarred and feathered if they came out for the mine? Probably, but it may be what’s needed.

Contact Mike Boyd at azmboyds@aol.com. Boyd is currently vice president of development for Western Wind Energy Corporation. He has worked as a consultant and lobbyist and served on the Pima County Board of Supervisors from 1992-2000, was Pima County Recorder from 1988-1992 and worked for KVOA 4 and KOLD 13 as a news anchor and reporter from 1984-1988.