The Man Behind the Proposed GTac Mine in Wisconsin

America's leading asshole - Christopher Cline

Christopher Cline is a billionaire living variously in Palm Beach, mega-yachts, hiding behind his extraction conglomerates with a long history of poisoning huge tracts of land and water, leaving area residents and governments to clean up his toxification.

Known as the new New King of Coal, Cline doesn't bother much with his public image, beyond avoiding as much as possible the public eye, as he looks at the Illinois Basin for more coal extraction and fracking and northern Wisconsin for the largest open pit mine on the planet in a pristine area that for now draws tourists from out-of-state.

The coverage of Cline in the American press has been relegated to celebrity pieces on whom Cline is dating with an occasional piece on Cline buying up stock in the extraction industry. Cline manages somehow to keep an extremely low profile.

Bios of Cline are typically written by environmental activists noting how destructive and oblivious cline is to the health of the people his extraction operations destroy:

Although Cline’s lifestyle appears to be all about champagne and caviar, the basis of his wealth presents a far darker story than the golden-hued online tour of his 33,413 square foot mansion in North Palm Beach, Florida.

According to an extensive 2010 profile of Cline in Bloomberg Markets Magazine, he became "a billionaire by betting on a dirty fuel the world can’t get enough of." (Pember, Indian Country Today)

I'll poison your land and water, buy the politicians and there's nothing you can do about it, is the position of this gaping asshole of a man, pictured above-right, next to his Mine Games Yacht (unless he's already sold the $ 28-million, 161-foot toy for a more expensive yacht). (Fabrikant, New York Times)

The new problem is that Cline is trying to begin operations in pristine northern Wisconsin in Iron and Ashland counties by ripping open the largest open pit mine in the planet looking to make some more $ millions from iron ore extraction (eventually), expressing no concerns that his proposed open pit mine would release into the pristine environment various toxic amounts of mercury, arsenic, and other heavy metals, sulfates, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides, and simply ignoring what looks bad such as the release of sulfuric acid into area rivers, streams and lakes.

Penokee Hills range in northern Wisconsin - Perfect for a
massive open pit iron ore mine, claims Christopher Cline

For now, most legal experts see high hurdles before Cline could begin operations no matter how many Wisconsin Republicans are trying to help Cline destroy the Penokee Hills range in northern Wisconsin, pictured at right. (Kaufman, New York Times)

Political opposition has galvanized against the very idea of disturbing a pristine wilderness, as Cline is now allied now with the Koch brothers. (Verburg, Wisconsin State Journal)

Supported by Scott Walker (and opposed by Walker presumptive Democratic Party opponent, Mary Burke), the proposed Gogebic Taconite mine would toxify the pristine "headwaters of the Bad River, which flows into Lake Superior, the largest freshwater lake in the world and by far the cleanest of the Great Lakes. Six miles downstream from the site is the reservation of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, whose livelihood is threatened by the mine." (Kaufman, New York Times)

Iron County Wisconsin is a corrupt political jurisdiction, where the rule of law has long been supplanted by political and personal alliances.

Yet, even Iron County touts the grandeur of its natural resources and habitats as a "place of incredible natural beauty. With 300 pristine lakes encompassing 34,000 acres of pure water, the only thing that could make it better is Lake Superior coastline. Good thing Iron County has that, too. Come and enjoy an amazing waterfall, or take a long walk on the beautiful sandy beaches of Saxon Harbor."

Why despoil such an amazing environment: Corruption and convenience, and the sociopathic drive for extraction of natural resources for profit, whatever the consequences of poisoning the surrounding environment and residents.

The CIA has a term for the type of human being who would inflict mass casualties intentionally by injecting toxic agents into populations: Terrorist.

"Terrorists have considered a wide range of toxic chemicals for attacks. Typical plots focus on poisoning foods or spreading the agent on surfaces to poison via skin contact, but some also include broader dissemination techniques," reads a public CIA site dealing with the delivery devices of toxins and other "typical agents ... available to al-Qa'ida and other terrorist groups."

Unfortunately, for Americans the extraction industry is not listed as a terrorist organization.

Fortunately for Americans, we still do have the Environmental Protection Agency, the Army Corps of Engineers and a federal court system protecting the habitat and environment of protected species under federal law that Cline would need to navigate before he begins his plan of destruction.

Citizen groups insist their voices are heard before Cline executes his project of terror by extraction.

Wisconsin environmental activist, Frank Koehn, remains optimistic of stopping the would-be terrorist, Cline: "With the mercenaries he hired, Chris Cline shows that he’s just another rich guy who’ll try to take our resources and pollute our water. It’s not the first time this happened, and they’ve all failed. He will, too." (Pember, Indian Country Today)