In arguments against mineral extraction on public lands, the argument is often made that allowing such is "short-sighted" because the roads, drill pads, or excavations will "permanently" scar the land, ruining "pristine" vistas, and the usual arguments about air pollution.
First of all, almost no land in North America is "pristine" in the true sense of the word. I see that word as a red flag that the argument is based on false premises.
Second, let's examine exactly what is "short-sighted."
Short-sighted is sacrificing the economic well-being of this and the next 2-3 generations so that a small minority today can feel good about something as insubstantial as the views they like.
Short-sighted is pretending that dirt roads and drill pads are some kind of permanent damage, when erosion and vegetation start removing them almost immediately after use. Animals don't care about roads. Roads do not pollute their surroundings. In fact, roads allow more people to experience, enjoy, and appreciate the back country, and appreciation is one goal of nature advocacy groups, isn't it? You can't really appreciate a place you can't see.
Short-sighted is ignoring the importance of mineral resources in our every-day well-being. Try living a day without using anything made from or that uses oil, gas, iron, copper, lithium, plastic, synthetics, or is shipped. The increasingly healthy, comfortable, and productive lifestyles people throughout the world live today are based on the availability and use of mineral resources, including oil and gas. To pretend that we can magically cut off these resources without drastic consequences is the epitome of ignorance and short-sightedness.
Of course, no reasonable person would conclude that strip-mining Yosemite or Yellowstone would be a good idea. That's not the argument here. The argument is about typical public lands like Utah's San Rafael Swell, Book Cliffs, and Uinta Basin, which are mostly barren deserts that happen to have prettily colored bedrock. It is simply unreasonable to put these places in the same category as Nature's true treasures.
So I'll make the logical argument: Not allowing development of our mineral resources in reasonable places is short-sighted. There, I said it.
