JEFFREY LEE is not interested in the soaring price of uranium, which could make him one of the world’s richest men.
“This is my country. Look, it’s beautiful and I fear somebody will disturb it,” he says, waving his arm across a view of rocky land surrounded by Kakadu National Park, where the French energy giant Areva wants to extract 14,000 tonnes of uranium worth more than $5 billion.
Mr Lee, the shy 36-year-old sole member of the Djok clan and the senior custodian of the Koongarra uranium deposit, has decided never to allow the ecologically sensitive land to be mined.
“There are sacred sites, there are burial sites and there are other special places out there which are my responsibility to look after,” Mr Lee told the Herald.
“I’m not interested in white people offering me this or that … it doesn’t mean a thing.
“I’m not interested in money. I’ve got a job; I can buy tucker; I can go fishing and hunting. That’s all that matters to me.”
I would love to say that I would make the same decision, but damn- that’s a lot zeros coming after that ’5′. Wowwowweewa. Big props and much respect to Jeffrey Lee.
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Noelle dEstries
Noelle d'Estries, an early GO employee who took on the varied roles of Community Manager, green celebrity blogger, and more. She currently runs worstcookever.com GO entered Noelle's life in February 2007 while she was burning tires in her backyard. A phone call from the green gods at GO, burnt out the fires. Now, Noelle happily wears her GO sweatshirt while eating organic veggies and asking for paper, not plastic. A regular at the local farmer's market, Noelle shuns raking leaves and lawn maintenance, while making gourmet foods constantly. When not staring at her computer screen, she spends time with her equally attractive dog, Tessa, cat, Tim and lover Paul. She currently holds all three point records at RIT and could eat avocados and drink wine for the rest of her life.
24 Responses to Planetsaver Hero of the Day: Turns down $5,000,000,000 (that’s five BILLION) to protect ancestral lands
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Wow, what integrity!
i know, if only the world had more such people
Some things are much more important than money. It must also be very lonely to be the last of your tribe.
That’s cool. Kudos to him. Personally, I’d take the five billion and buy the Amazon Rainforest. Well, five billion dollars of the amazon rainforest. Dunno how many acres of land I could get for that, but I’d guess it’s a very large amount.
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He didnt turn down $5 billion that just what the mining operation is worth over a long period of time that it would take to mine out all the uranium.
What I dont understand is why the energy company or a neighboring government dont jsut kill him and start the mining operation. I mean if hes the only person that claims ownership of this land why is it even an issue.
Obviously im not reccomending that option its jsut that these companies have no problem creating wars to mine out mineral wealth why this so different.
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I have always believed that Mr.Lee’s attitude and reaction was what we all wanted to reach. A place where the earth and her condition was primary. Money only being of great use in the betterment of our children, elderly, and general society. That decadence be abhorred as cigarette smoking is today. I agree my profound respects go to a true earth lover.
I concur that is alot of 0′s. My profound respects the Mr. Lee.
He looks so pissed because the camera just took his soul.
He didn’t turn down 5 billion. That is what the company planned on profiting. They propably offered him a new fishing pole and a comb.
I hope he propogates his tribe, because it sucks to be the last of anything. I hope they don’t mine the land, but they most definitely did not offer this man 5 billion, so stop gushing over this racist like he is some god.