Introduction
The Navajo Nations geology makes it one of the riches deposit sites for uranium and other nonrenewable resources. Uranium is a naturally occurring element in trace amounts in the earth’s crust and has been used for many different purposes. In the last century the uranium ore was used extensively by the federal government for atomic energy defenses. Uranium mine operators removed nearly four million tons of ore from 1944 to 1986 resulting in 520 abandoned uranium mines on the Navajo Nation (Maldonado 2005). Many Navajo uranium miners report that they were never told the hazards of mining uranium, and were not given any protective equipment or proper ventilations in mines. In most cases miners used pick axes and shovels to remove uranium ore. At one point there were approximately over 1000 mines on the reservation. In the early days of mining on the reservation Navajo miners were paid minimum wage or less. Many miners in 1940s were paid less than a dollar there jobs included blasters, building wooden supports in the mines, diggers, transporters, and millers. Exposing these workers to unsafe and unsanitary conditions, many times they had their entire families with them in the mining camps. By the late 1930’s there was a strong correlations between uranium mining and high rates of lung cancer among uranium miners. Uranium tailing piles are a legacy of an “out of sight out of mind” mentality of the last century. Many of these tailing sites were left exposed to precipitation and wind carrying uranium far from the original sites.
In 1979, near Churchrock, New Mexico, 1000 tons of radioactive mill waste and 93 million gallons of acidic, radioactive solution was released into the Rio Puerco when the catchment...
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... pine. American Journal of Botony, 81. pp. 936-949
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Rock, et al. 1986, 1988; Entcheva-Cambell, et al. 1999. Plant responses to stress may have spectral signatures that could be used to map, maonitor, and measure forest damage. Remote Detection of Forest Damage.
Many variations and species of plants can be found all around the world and in different habitats. These variations and characteristics are due to their adaptations to the natural habitat surrounding them. In three of many climatic zones, the arid, tropical and temperate zone, plants that vary greatly from each other are found in these locations. In this experiment, we’ll be observing the connection between the adaptations of the plants to their environment at the Fullerton Arboretum. The arboretum is a space containing numerous plants from different environments. The plants are carefully looked after and organized into their specific habitat. Therefore, we’ll be able to take a look at the plants within multiple
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Quality Engineering took ground water samples that showed volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) in the supply well. This well was formerly used for drinking water for the community. The results indicated that the ground water beneath the property was contaminated with radioactive material and VOCs. A sphagnum bog on the grounds had evidence of radioactive contamination. The soil, sediment, surface water, and ground water on the site had high levels of depleted uranium. On some of the soil and sediments, Poly Chlorinated Bi-phenyls were recorded. The buildings and structures on the grounds were as well contaminated with depleted uranium and other hazardous substances.
The ecological effects of wildfires on Yosemite are among some its greatest benefits. Trees like Bishop Pines and Sequoias have evolved in such a way that their seeds will only open when exposed to high temperatures. The fires also help to clear out dead leaves and weeds, thereby making sunlight accessible to new plants and increasing their chances to germinate (Marder). Wildfires are so essential in areas like Yosemite that over millions of years, plants have developed strategies to be successful in this type of environment. For instance, giant sequoias have developed a thick layer of fire-resistant bark. This bark is “the main explanation for tree survival in intense fires” (Gignoux, Colbert, and Menaut). Fire makes the soil fertile and redistributes the nutrients evenly so that the next generation of trees can cover more space. The fires have helped...
"Related Topics." Plant Science Research : Ozone Effects on Plants. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2014.
The Great Basin of North America and Wyoming specifically, is known for its arid and semi-arid environment, as well as prolonged and sometimes severe droughts. Drought is the prolonged and abnormal deficiency of moisture with the concomitant decline in runoff to a level significantly lower than usual (Guldin 1989). The history of droughts in Wyoming has been uncertain in the past, but recent studies of tree rings in the Big Horn Basin of Wyoming have given insight to droughts as far back as 1260A.D. (Gray et al. 2004). Looking at tree ring records in Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) and limber pine (Pinus flexilis) trees, Stephen Gray and his colleagues discovered that droughts which have been experienced in Wyoming since the 1750's, are weak in severity and length when compared to those since. The most severe drought period in Wyoming’s history occurred from 1262 to 1281. The droughts of the 1930’s and 1950’s, which have been used as benchmarks for all other droughts in the United States in recent times (Woodhouse et al. 2002), are ranked 149th and 28th respectively in comparison (Gray et al. 2004). The five top ranking droughts for 10, 15, and 20 year periods are all prior to the 1800’s, with the four driest single years being 1263, 1274, 1278, and 1280 (Gray et al. 2004). This indicates a change in precipitation patterns in the Big Horn Basin area of Wyoming since the 18th century, as all recent droughts have been mild when compared to those of Wyoming’s past.
As a result of these factors, the flora has adapted to these conditions in a variety of ways including their shape, leaf type, root system, and color. One of the most prominent adapt...
The major functions of the rain forest is they help stabilize the world’s climate, provide home to many plants, animals, and even people, and protect against floods, droughts, or erosions. Tropical rain forests have a characteristic structure that is made up of a number of vertical layers that reach up from the forest floor to the very tops of the tallest trees (Unknown). The major layers of the rain forest are the ground, canopy, understory, and overstory level. Each level have their own plant and species that may live t...
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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).
One of the most predominate ecosystems is the forest community. Covering about one-fourth of the land area on Earth, forests consist mainly of trees and other woody vegetation, growing closely together. The trees can be large and densely packed, as they are in the coastal forests of the Pacific Northwest, or they can be relatively small and sparsely scattered, as they are in the dry tropical forests of sub-Saharan Africa. Forests are complex ecosystems that also include “soils and decaying organic matter, fungi and bacteria, herbs and shrubs, vines and lichens, ferns and mosses, insects and spiders, reptiles and amphibians, birds and mammals, and many other organisms” (Audesirk, 2003). All of these components constitute an intricate web with many biological interconnections. A bird may depend on the upper branches of a tree for nesting, while the tree may depend on the fungi surrounding its roots to obtain water and nutrients. A forest performs a number of vital environmental services, such as cleansing the air, moderating the climate, filtering water, cycling nutrients, providing a habitat for animals and provides humans with recreation and beautiful scenery. Resources from the forest supply raw materials, such as lumber, paper products, greenery and pharmaceuticals. Some of the developing issues today concerning forests are fires and what we as a society can do to restore the natural ecosystems within the forests around our world. Many aspects are to be considered when looking at the ecology and bioremediation of forests such as, human activities, wildlife, endangerment and environmental changes. This paper will discuss the effect wildfires have on the forest ecosystem.
The Zortman-Landusky mine illustrates how modern mine operations continue to impact landscapes and leave behind massive environmental problems and liabilities. The mine experienced many problems, such as cyanide spills, and surface and groundwater contamination from acid mine drainage. This was one of the first massive cyanide heap-leach operations to open, as well as one of the first to close, leaving behind significant pollution and cleanup
In Indonesia, 8.828 million hectares of forests have been destroyed (see appendix 2). Around fifty acres of forests are removed every minute, not o...
Uranium was discovered by Martin Heinrich Klaproth, a German chemist, in the mineral pitchblende (primarily a mix of uranium oxides) in 1789.Klaproth, as well as the rest of the scientific community, believed that the substance he extracted from pitchblende was pure uranium, it was actually uranium dioxide (UO2). After noticing that 'pure' uranium reacted oddly with uranium tetrachloride (UCl4), Radioactivity was first discovered in 1896 when Antoine Henri Becquerel, a French physicist, detected it from a sample of uranium. Today, uranium is obtained from uranium ores such as pitchblende, uraninite , carnotite and autunite as well as from phosphate rock , lignite (brown coal) and monazite sand . Since there is little demand for uranium metal, uranium is usually sold in the form of sodium diuranate , also known as yellow cake, or triuranium octoxide).
Szalay, Jessie. "Deforestation: Facts, Causes & Effects." LiveScience. TechMedia Network, 06 Mar. 2013. Web. 01 Mar. 2014. .