Coal mining, in particular, strip mining has become the latest casualty of the growing green movement in the United States. What is strip mining? Encyclopædia Britannica Online defines strip mining as the removal of vegetation, soil, and rock above a layer of coal, followed by the removal of the coal itself (“strip”). Most Americans don’t realize the impact this material of biological origin that can be used as a source of energy (“fossil”), or fossil fuel, has on their everyday lives or the nation’s economy. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the mining industry directly employs some fifty thousand Americans with nearly half that number working in the more specific field of strip mining, or mountain top removal (“Average”). The Intergovermental Panel on Climate Change reports in their “Fourth Assessment Report” that coal derives half the electricity production in the U.S., with the U.S. exporting approximately six percent of the coal produced (Sims). Despite the positives, strip mining poses some serious consequences to the environment, portraying the industry in a negative light, some of which include deforestation and erosion, contamination of water, and wildlife poisoning and loss of habitat.
Deforestation and erosion are the most obvious effects of strip mining. In order to get to the minerals beneath the surface of the earth, miners must clear-cut the area in which they will be working. According to the EPA, mountain top removal will affect 6.8% of forested land in the Appalachians (United). Carl E. Zipper and co-writers, having affiliation with the Department of Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences, make it clear in their report, “Restoring Forests and Associated Ecosystem Services on Appa...
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...ed landscapes.” Conservation Biology 19(3):768-792. PDF file. University of Alaska Fairbanks. University of Alaska Fairbanks, June 2005. Web. 4 July 2011.
Sims, Ralph E.H. et al. “Chapter 4: Energy Supply.” Contribution of Working Group III to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2007. Cambridge and New York. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Web. 5 July 2011
"strip mining." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 04 Jul. 2011.
United States Environmental Protection Agency. United States Environmental Protection Agency, n.d. Web. 4 July 2011
Zipper, Carl E., et al. "Restoring Forests and Associated Ecosystem Services on Appalachian Coal Surface Mines." Environmental Management 47.5 (2011): 751+. Environmental Studies and Policy Collection. Web. 30 June 2011.
Zielinski, E. (2012, April 25). The Northwest Forest Plan. Retrieved from U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIORBUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT: http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/info/history/sidebars/ecosystems/Northwest_Forest_Plan.html
Removal of the mountaintops causes environmental impacts from blasting. The blasting has caused rocks to be deposited into valleys on the hillsides, burying almost 2,000 miles of streams which feed the Mississippi River. Slurry, the residue which is used to clean the coal can wash into groundwater and may contain arsenic, lead, manganese, iron, sodium, strontium, and sulfate. A recent research study is beginning to link these environmental impacts to the grave health concerns in the Appalachian communities. During most of the Mountaintop removal mining’s history coal industries have been able to obtain permits easily to operate, but once under the Obama administration Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) those permits now take more time to obtain. The permit process requires all applications to be reviewed before being given out to coal
Both the National Mining Associations, U.S News, Office of Surface Mining have studied environmental and economical issues and numerous newspaper articles found on the subject. Here is a brief overview on what mountaintop removal is. Mountaintop removal is a type of surface mining that has been granted a variance of approximate original contour and extracts an entire coal seam or seams running through the upper fraction of a mountain, ridge, or hill. The coal must be extracted by removing all the overburden [topsoil] and by creating a level plateau or supporting certain post-mining land uses.
Once the gray wolf population had declined in the National Park, many ecological impacts were observed. Without a sustainable wolf population in the park, the elk population began to take over and increase in size. Due to this increase in elk, many of the deciduous woody species began to become overgrazed. With the e...
Mountain Top Removal is an American tragedy, the process in which mining companies remove forests and topsoil then explode the mountain apart level by level to get to coal layer. It is estimated that the explosives are equivalent of the Hiroshima bomb. A lot of the mining waste is discarded into valleys and streams; the water runoff is high in silt, ion, and sulfur compounds, which in turn pollute water downstream. Even with chemical treatments, vegetation has a hard time growing on the infertile and highly acidic soil. Mountain top removal occurs in eastern Kentucky, southern West Virginia, southwest Virginia, and east Tennessee. Virtually 1.2 million acres of land has been surface mined and more than 500 mountains have been ruined by mountaintop removal mining.
One of the most visible and mutual environmental impacts of ski areas on the environment is deforestation and grading of slopes. In order to service a multitude of winter sport enthusiast, mountain slopes must be cleared of dense forest in order to make way for ski runs and lifts. With the ski industry in the US showing steady numbers (Satistica) resorts have to come up with new attractions to keep past patrons and attract new customers. One of the ways that they do this is by opening up new terrain, which increases the amount of deforestation damaging the local vegetation. Ski resorts essentially have two options in creating new terrain. First clearing runs by removing trees and other woody vegetation, leaving the topsoil and seed bank intact or by grading slopes by using bulldozers to remove any abnormalities. The second method is preferred as it is faster and more efficient and allows for the slope to be opened earlier with less snow pact.(USA) The impacts of grading slopes by bulldozing destroy the vegetation, reduce the topsoil and greatly contribute to erosion. The removal of woody vegetation can also lead to a drastic change in the local vegetation in order to keep the trails clear it requires constant trimming of the new growth of unwanted vegetation that can help anchor topsoil in place and provide better growing conditions for other plants. The destructive method of bulldozing runs not only leads to environmental degradation but also can be counter productive. According to a UC Davis study, while clearing slopes of vegetation and irregularities by bulldozer might result in opening earlier than other resorts the increase in maintenance, will likely offset any monetary gains (USA).
US Enviromental Protection Agency. (2010, December 13). Retrieved January 20, 2011, from US EPA Human Health: http://cfpub.epa.gov/eroe/index.cfm?fuseaction=list.listByChapter&ch=49
Colorado has an astonishing 23,000 abandoned mine lands. However, long-term mining impacts on ecosystems and ecosystem recovery are not well understood. Studies show that mining activity increases sediment erosion and exposes large amounts of heavy metals that can runoff into nearby lakes. Increased sedimentation and heavy metal pollution can have long-term impacts on surrounding ecosystems. Water and vegetation resources from the surrounding area are used to help power the mine which can result in high levels of deforestation and water level change. Miners also live in the area surrounding the mine and rely on natural resources for their survival. Even after a mine has been abandoned and activity has stopped, acid mine drainage can continue
The controversy over logging, and more specifically clearcutting, is not a new issue in America. Ever since the 1920's and 1930's, when this nation started to become conscious of conservation, citizens have weighed the consequences of logging. Critics have questioned whether the increase in jobs, tax dollars, and economic growth was worth the destruction of forest lands. Regardless of what they believe today, the logging industry had become so efficient that by the late 1980's nearly 100,000 acres of federal land had been clearcut since the industry began. Logging technology has advanced rapidly in terms of speed, to meet the increasing demands for lumber, paper, and other products derived from trees. This in turn has greatly impacted the environment by severely degrading watersheds, leading to increased soil erosion, the diminution in the quality of drinking water, and the decline of fish stocks, among many other consequences. In this essay I will examine the progression of logging equipment throughout the 19th and 20th centuries and discuss how these changes in technology have not only changed the relationship of those who work in the industry, but also haw this has changed the wider relationship of society and nature.
The tar creek mining site originally was owned by a Native American tribe, the Quapaw. The Quapaw wanted to keep these lands, but the Bureau of Indian Affairs deemed members opposing a transaction to mining companies “incompetent” (1). In such a case the business could continue and the Bureau of Indian Affairs sold the lands to mining companies. In essence these lands were stolen from the Quapaw because they were ripe for mining. These mines were then used from approximately 1891 to 1970. In the 79 years the mines were open 1.7 million metric tons (~3.75 billion pounds) of lead and 8.8 million metric tons (~19.4 billion pounds) of zinc were withdrawn from the mine (2). The entire area around Tar Creek is known as the tri-state mining area. This tri-state area was a massive source of metals. This area accounted for 35% of the all worldwide metal for a decade. It also provided the majority of metals the United States used in World wars I and II (3).
ENERGY USE AND EMISSIONS – “Diamond exploration and mining use two forms of energy: electricity and hydrocarbons (diesel, marine gas, oil and petrol). Carbon emissions are considered to be a major factor in global warming and climate change and thus pollute the air. When these gases are released into the environment they can threaten our health and our environment” (World diamond council,
Coal has a very negative impact on the environment, one of the main impacts on the environment is the actual process of extracting the coal from the ground. The two ways that coal is mined, underground and surface, both have different effects on the environment. The first way that coal is mined is by digging tunnels and creating mineshafts underground and then removing the coal from th...
...g the Energy Revolution." Foreign Affairs. Nov/Dec 2010: 111. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 21 Nov 2011.
Burning and mining coal for fuel is harmful to the environment but because how cheap and easy it is to find many people are unwilling to give it up as a fuel source. One of the problems with coal is that they are limited and are non-renewable so once it has been used we won’t be able to use it again.
Though it has had many negative impacts on the environment in the past, mining is a vital industry completely necessary to our economy and lives. Nearly every item we use or encounter in our day to day lives is mined or contains mined products. Without the excavation of such materials things like computers, televisions, large building structures, electricity, and cars would not be possible. Virtually every technological and medical advance uses minded materials, without which millions would suffer. Some examples of minerals in the home include the telephone which is made from as many as 42 different minerals, including aluminum, beryllium, coal, copper, gold, iron, silver, and talc. A television requires over 35 different minerals, and more than 30 minerals are needed to make a single personal computer. Without boron, copper, gold and quartz, your digital alarm clock would not work. Every American uses an average 47,000 pounds of newly mined materials each year, which is higher than all other countries with the exception of Japan, which is a staggering figure representative of our dependence and need for mined minerals. Coal makes up more than half of nation’s electricity, and will continue to be the largest electrical supplier into 2020 & accounting for some 95 percent of the nation's fossil energy reserves – nine of every ten short-tons of coal mined in the United States is used for electricity generation. As the population of the world grows more mineral resources must be exploited through mining in order to support the rising demand for such products. Though it may present a hazard to the environment and those physically located nears the mines, the materials extracted from mines...