What does it means to be an environmentalist.
To be an environmentalist means an individual advocates the preservation of natural resources and helps insure the natural beauty of the land. Unfortunately, too many West Virginia officials take the state’s natural resources for granted and are leading its people to believe there is an endless source of cheap energy in mountain top removal mining. As a West Virginia native this writer knows all to well what happens when big business wins out over land preservation. The most disturbing sight this writer has seen is the aftermath of mountain top removal mining.
Mountain top removal mining has been in practice since the 1960’s. In order to reach the coal around 400 to 500 feet of the mountain top is blasted off to expose the seam. All the excess material from blasting and bulldozing is piled up in the surrounding valleys and streams. The landscape is a pitiful sight resembling a moonscape. There are no trees, no wildlife, just rocks, dirt and mud. However, in 1983 the Federal Government took notice of environmentalist’s actions aga...
Martin, John. “The Blast in Centralia No. 5: A mine disaster No One Stopped.” Public Administration: Concepts and Cases. Stillman, Richard Joseph. Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2010. 31-44.
Throughout this mining process a byproduct is created called chat. The chat is leftover rock and waste from mining that did not contained the desired materials. The chat was left on the site because the Bureau of Indian Affairs thought it could be of value to the Quapaw tribe (1). This chat contained high levels of toxic lead and other harmful chemicals. It is estimated that there are 75 Million tons (150 billion pounds) of chat piles remaining exposed to the environment as well as numerous flotation ponds that haven’t been taken into account (4).
As his voice erupts through the broadcast, a quote rings through the nation’s ears. “The human brain now holds the key to our future. We have to recall the image of the planet from outer space: a single entity in which air, water, and continents are interconnected. That is our home.” This quote demonstrates the confident voice of David Suzuki presents his keen identity. The quotation presents the determination as well as the passion that he has on protecting the environment and the glint of hope that relies on humans taking on this responsibility as the key to saving our delicate planet.
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
This Paper will describe and analyze three articles pertaining to the ongoing debate for and against Glen Canyon Dam. Two of these articles were found in the 1999 edition of A Sense of Place, and the third was downloaded off a site on the Internet (http://www.glencanyon.net/club.htm). These articles wi...
The documentary “Mine Your Own Business” asserts that environmentalists’ opposition to the Rosia Montana mining project is unsympathetic to the needs of the locals, prevents economic progression, and locks the locals into lives of eternal poverty. The film claims that the majority of the village’s population support the mine and the investment in their hometown. In interviews with the locals, many state that they are excited about the possible job opportunities and prospective income that the mine will present them. The film further presents foreign environmentalists as aliens who are too far removed from the situation to truly understand the needs of the locals. Furthermore, to respond to the claim that the mining operation would destroy Rosia Montana’s quaint appeal, the director points out that one of the Romanian government’s stipulations was that the mining company, Gabriel Resources, would be required to clean up the existing pollution and to maintain a fund of $30 million to be used for further clean-up of the area after the mining company discontinues its operations. Furtherm...
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).
The United States government is known to give its citizens great advise with much care and concern. With this being known, many people come to the conclusion that United States citizens can faith in the government when it comes to making crucial decisions. Terry Tempest Williams is not one of these people. In “The Clan of the One-Breasted Women”, Williams gives her views on the government conducting nuclear tests in Utah. In contrast, in “America’s Energy Plan in Action: Bearing Witness,” an article Williams contributed to Orion magazine and OrionOnline, Williams speaks on issues containing actions of the government drilling for oil and natural gases. This is also conducted in Utah. Both of these articles share a common topic and tone. These two pieces both focus around major concerns for the Earth and how the government will is helping to destroy it for things like nuclear testing and drilling for oil and gases.
I think it is agreed by all parties that it is an eyesore to see these people blockading the roads to prime tree-cutting land and bombarding our most respectable government with impractical proposals. It is not so Herculean a task to discourage these self-named “environmentalists” in their follies by paying them no heed. However, a new generation of them has sprung up. Citing how it is in fact profitable to protect the environment, they try to pull blindfolds over the public’s eyes. Therefore, whoever could find an easy and economically sound method of reclaiming these lost souls would deserve to be made the head of our nation at the very least.
Native Americans have suffered from one of America’s most profound ironies. The American Indians that held the lands of the Western Hemisphere for thousands of years have fallen victim to some of the worst environmental pollution. The degradation of their surrounding lands has either pushed them out of their homes, made their people sick, or more susceptible to disease. If toxic waste is being strategically placed near homes of Native Americans and other minority groups, then the government industry and military are committing a direct offense against environmental justice. Productions of capitalism and militarism are deteriorating the lands of American Indians and this ultimately is environmental racism.
Owens Valley lies to the east of the Sierra Nevada mountain and west of the White-Inyo mountain ranges, just to the west of the U.S.’s Great Basin. Early settlers to this area, as all other immediate surrounding area’s originally, were Indians, one of the Paiute tribes. This tribe lived by a simple and direct policy in terms of living with the environment. Their food supply was derived from seasonal crops of wild seeds and roots, fishing, and hunting of the deer, antelope, mountain sheep, jackrabbit, and waterfowl which flourished along the valley floor and hillsides. They took only what they required for food and trade. Unfortunately, pioneer expansion soon took precedence with the majority of them being miners who migrated to the region from the east following the Western mines (Sauder, 1994). With this colonization came agricultural expansion as well, which included cattle production and various farming crops. Of course, confrontation, the beginning of a lifetime of fight over Owens Valley, was spurred with the Paiutes over ownership of this rich valley abundant in usable resources. Due to the Paiute’s simple and peaceful attitude, the early pioneers took over the valley and every one of it’s resources, placing the Paiute’s out in the cold, where they continued urbanization and agriculture of the landscape.
In 1989, seventy five percent of Americans identified themselves as environmentalists, and the number has continued to grow since then (Walls 1). Environmentalism is now the most popular social movement in the United States, with over five million American families donating regularly to environmental organizations (Walls 1). Environmentalists today focus on what kind of world they hope to see in the future, and largely deal with limiting pollution and changing consumption rates (Kent 1 and 9). Modern environmentalists also have much different issues than those Carson’s America faced. With climate change becoming more threatening each year, protection of the natural world is needed more than ever. Pollution has caused the warmest decade in history, the deterioration of the ozone layer, and species extinction in extreme numbers (Hunter 2). It not only threatens nature, but also human populations, who already suffer from lack of clean water and poisoning from toxic chemicals (Hunter 16). Unlike environmental actions in the 1960’s, which were mostly focused on protection, a massive increase in pollution has caused efforts to be focused on environmental restoration (Hunter 16). Like in the time of Silent Spring, environmentalists are not only concerned with one country. Protecting the environment remains a global issue, and every nation is threatened by the
Changing the messaging of their argument to racial discrimination moved the focus from the polluting facility to the people who would be victimized by its presence. This communication method is further explored in the case of The Ancient Forest Rescue (AFR), a group of concerned, mostly white, young activists fighting against a mining operation in the heart of the San Luis Valley, a mostly Latino populated region. The AFR was against a toxic mining operation that would cause tremendous amounts of soil erosion, which would nearly destroy that area’s watershed. These activists were well intentioned, but local residents had to make them aware of the historical and cultural context of discriminatory environmentalism (Westra and Lawson 2001). The Chicano community needed a safe space for themselves in order to communicate about the cultural significance in preserving their land.
Today, we live in a world interwoven with women’s oppression, ecological degradation, and the exploitation of workers, race, and class. In the midst of these troubles, a movement known as ecofeminism appears to be gaining recognition. In the following, I hope to illustrate this revitalization movement . I will begin by characterizing a definition of ecofeminism; I will then bring to the forefront the ethical issues that Ecofeminism is involved with, then distinguish primary ideas and criticisms.
As a result of this process, the mine sites "do not develop normal soil structure or support the establishment of a plant cover". Many mine sites have...