Growing up in the Appalachian region has instilled within me an exceptional sense of respect and pride for the natural resource industry. The industry has provided a strong foundation for success for towns, communities and families for a numerous amount of years now. Along with natural gas, the coal mining industry has had a profound impact upon my upbringing. Many members of my family have devoted large portions of their time and lives to working within the industry. It has provided them with the means to provide for our family and with a respectable career, which they can be proud of. Within my small town community, we can see signs of the coal mining industry in every direction we look. These signs provide us with a constant reminder about how much we truly rely upon the industry as a whole.
These traditions and ways of life are sacred to so many people and they must be preserved to maintain the legacy we are so fond of. Mines are struggling and large government, regulatory agencies, and interest groups are threatening their future success and overall sustainability. Personally, I want to make a commitment to be a part of this preservation by practicing law and
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It is essential for public awareness to be raised in order for citizens to begin playing a role in preserving this indispensable industry. The actions of the industry are becoming transparent and therefore, a certain degree of social responsibility must be recognized and then met. Lawyers must make a personal commitment to the industry and make efforts to intervene when necessary. They must take steps to ensure that laws, rules, standards and regulations are followed and met throughout the entire course of business by these organizations. There is an apparent need for tenacious and strong ethical leaders to step up and look out for the best interest of all the stakeholders in the
The Making of a Hardrock Miner written by Stephen M. Voynick, describes his own personal experiences as a hardrock miner in four different underground mines in the western United States, the Climax molybdenum mine in Colorado, Hecla Lakeshore Project a copper mine in Arizona, and two uranium mines in Wyoming. Rather than a book telling of the fortunes gained and lost, this book was about the relationships gained, but then also lost through mining. Stephen M. Voynick’s direct words and simple writing style provided a book that was an easy read and educational about mine work and safety.
...ing the conditions faced by coal miners and their families in addition to events leading up to the uprising. However, some additional research should be done in regards to the West Virginia Coal Wars and the Battle of Blair Mountain.
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
I comprehend that the future of coal depends on change and innovation; I feel America needs to use clean energy in the future to protect our environment and public health. I think changes to the clean water act created ambiguity to coal companies, which allowed the dumping of mining waste into our nations waterways. Appalachia needs to rely less on coal mining and concentrate on diversifying the economy. Appalachia has an abundance of resources that can be urbanized to supply new jobs and clean energy methods, such as wind, solar, hydropower and biomass, which could support rural areas. With political and economic guidance, I believe Appalachia could transition from coal to clean energy.
Coal mines in these times were glorified death traps and collapsed. Often. Workers or their families were basically never compensated for anything, and even when they took things to court, essentially no court was sympathetic toward any coal miner or their family, and if their father or brother died, they were on their on for the rest of their life, often then forcing child boys to work if they weren’t already. Also, not many workers spoke proper english in the mines, so they could not read instruction signs, and by misuse of equipment, killing themselves and/or other
In order to find the benefits and hazards of mountaintop removal mining in West Virginia, I used the various resources and gathered information from both sides of the questions posed, including economical benefits such as earnings, and environmental hazards such as ongoing experiments to clean up acid mine drainage. And some opinions written and expressed in newspaper articles and magazines.
CF&I owned the land and the mines where the coal was supplied from, the majority of the workers that they h...
The energy producing market has always been a staple in Pennsylvania's history. Being rich in coal, natural gas, and other forms of energy, Pennsylvania has produced much of the nation's fuel or electricity. With a location so rich in coal, companies began to open many mines in order to either stay ahead of competitors, improve production, or for easier transportation of the commodity. The large amounts of coal being mined ushered in the many railroad systems bringing another powerful business to Pennsylvania. Coal barons, mine owners, made gross amounts of money off of the hard work from miners. Coal had played such a integral role in the Keystone State that it led to some towns being named after the industry such Carbondale and Minersville. Pennsylvania quickly became associated with coal in America and whenever there was news about the state, coal was mentioned with it. Especially during both World Wars, Pennsylvania was looked to for providing energy used both at home and in the war effort. This supply shock meant mine operations needed to run efficiently and both the Federal government and the presidents during each respective time ensured the productivity would meet the great demand. Coal mining was at an all time high until tragedy struck on 22 January 1959, when the River Slope mine's roof collapsed because of the Susquehanna River causing flooding to the mine killing many workers. The disaster marked the beginning of the end to deep mining in Pennsylvania. To this day however, Pennsylvania remains strongly associated with the harvesting of many energy sources.
...y question, what good is a profession that destroys your home and your body? While environmental groups make the protection of people and the environment of the Appalachian region top priority, the mining companies focus on acting cheaply, not responsibly. And the policy government keeps their heads in the sand when it comes to this issue because they seek benefits of steady jobs and tax revenue of coal mining instead of seeking to guarantee clean water for Appalachians.
Our week five case study, Mattel and Toy Safety, involves toy safety inspection and product recall concerns among outside contractors. In 2007, the infamous toy company, Mattel, recalled a very large number of toy products covered with lead-based paint that were manufactured in China. Mattel responded to the massive toy recall by increasing the testing of all products and reassuring its customers that they will take affirmative action to correct the recall issues as soon possible. In my opinion, I believe Mattel acted in a socially responsible and ethical manner regarding the safety of it toys because as soon as Mattel was aware of a European merchant finding lead paint on their toy products, Mattel conducted an immediate investigation.
The natural resource that I am writing this paper on is coal. Coal is a cheap, dirty fossil fuel which we burn to create power. Coal is the most abundant in North America and in Russia, including the area around it. China also has a fairly good amount of coal in it too. Coal, like all of the other fossil fuels is nonrenewable and will eventually run out, in the not so near future. Coal is very important to many of the countries of the world. The countries that use the most coal are China, the United States, India, Russia, and Japan. These five countries “account for 76% of total global coal use.” (World Coal Association, 2014).
Canadian Natural Resources is an oil and gas exploration, development and production company with its corporate head office in Calgary, Alberta. CNR is Canada’s largest oil and gas company and one of the world’s largest independent oil and gas producer. CNR was founded in Calgary, Alberta in 1989 but there is no specific man or women who have found the company. The company started off with drilling shallow gas basin, which is a big contributor of their success. Slowly they shifted into bitumen and crude oil. CNR headquarters are located in Calgary, Alberta and all the other offices are located in Alberta except for one, Fort St.John which is located in British Columbia. Their factories and offices are located in Alberta because Alberta is the
What comes to mind when you think of coal mining? If you're like me, coal mining means living in darkness and a cold hearted industry. Other words that come to mind are poverty and oppression. Coal mining is not a job that you dream about or get a degree for. People who are coal miners do not chose a life full of danger and repression, they get stuck with it. There are many dangers that come along with coal mining, not only for the workers, but for the environment. Coal mining and the coal industry have caused irreversible damage to our environment and has killed innocent miners.
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...
Coal mining can benefit humans as well as it supports the economy in many ways. Coal mining provides a lot of jobs for local communities. It provides over 7 million jobs worldwide.