Mountaintop removal is a type of surface mining that defaces mountains in an effort to produce coal, and is occurring all over the Appalachian Mountains. Obtaining coal in this way has always been a controversial debate because of the method: the mountain is destroyed. However, the opposing side is that the coal is economically beneficial when produced this way. The process removes the surface of mountains to access the layers of coal below. Unfortunately, the mountains cannot be reassembled afterwards, which makes it a debatable and hot topic in the environmental versus economical agenda for accesing coal. In observing the resources on mountaintop removal, it also became apparent that the sources could easily contain bias due to the two extreme …show more content…
Since the article is skewed towards the topic of financing more so than the actual mountaintop removal, you can only use it in consideration of what the article is covering. However, the source does discuss that funding was removed because of the harmful issues and environmental concerns. Seeing that the topic of the article is not directly on the discussion of the environmental effects, using it as a source would be difficult in that you would have to tailor what you used efficiently as to not sway from the main purpose. Another difficulty with this source is that it is heavily biased in favor of the environmental aspect of the cause. More specifically, the article quotes Ben Collins of Rainforest Action News, an environmental group, which also correlates to bias on the environmental side. However, the bias may be more in the references than the actual writing of the source itself. The publication was released in March of this year, so it is extremely up to date and therefore more relevant to use as an up-to-date resource in comparison to some of the others covered. Another downside to the article was the the briefness of it all: five-hundred words. With that in mind, there is only so much that can be covered and therefore its’ usefulness as a legitimate source diminishes by the size of it alone. It is also a …show more content…
This alone causes the credibility of the article to diminish almost entirely. However, the article does reference the Environmental Protection Agency, adding a legitimate and credible source. The material within the writing itself was extremely educational in the format. The source itself was also extremely thorough on the topic, but at a very basic and informative level, rather than diving deeper into the effects of mountaintop removal. The Alliance for Appalachia also uses this site to inform and involve, rather than to discuss the deeper conversations and debates over the
The beginning paragraph is what draws many readers to Quammen’s article. He begins with statements implying that environmentalism is a bad thing altogether. For those who are truly against environmental protection, this is an eye-catching statement. They will want to
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
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 author discusses the enticement to political groups because of geoengineering’s alleged potential to reverse global warming rapidly and cheaply, as he presents concern regarding the significant risks and the threat of technology gone wrong. The author looks at the basic authority issues raised by geoengineering, its possible functions, governance, and specifically addresses inadequate research funding, rejection, and unilateral vs individual action. Bodansky is a professor at Arizona State University Sandra Day O 'Connor College of Law and has written three books and dozens of articles and book chapters on international law, international environmental law and climate change policy. This article will be a useful tool in discovering
...ivists web site that allows you to share your environmental opinions with friends all over the country. It is hard to imagine a society such as ours without the rights that we have in the First Amendment. Without such rights, governance of our country would not be possible.
The scholarly source the author asked questions and gave answers to what a person would need in understanding species diversity and extinction. It explained details in plant extinction occurring around the world. The article was structured and offered detail about the problems of extinction occurring. The information had a good flow to it with details from the beginning to the end. The scholarly article in my opinion was well written and the sources could be visualized unlike that of the popular source.
Maniates later elaborates on each factor of his formula, and then suggests that it be used for evaluating environmental policy proposals. The IWAC framework is able to provide an effective critique for Woodhouse’s work, indicating where his argument is sufficiently detailed, and where his argument could be expanded upon.
In conclusion, these two articles framed the Tennessee Coal Ash Spill in two distinct ways, one pro-environmentalism and other is drive for profit for corporation. Framing is a way for the news to speak in more than one voice (Schudson, 2003, pg 37). These articles show how you can see one event in contrasting perspective. These articles are voiced by different people Pictures also help in framing in news media. “Images representing a particular meaning” (Hansen, 2010, pg 3). The pictures helped understand what the article was trying to address. The picture itself can tell you where the articles stands. Framing is what the news media wants to shows us and this can be shown in any way the media wants to.
Objectives • To evaluate the difficulty of mining and reclamation To calculate costs, expenses, income, and profit from a hands-on mining exercise. • To evaluate the effectiveness of reclamation and its added costs to mining. To describe the increasing rarity of some non-renewable mineral resources. Introduction Minerals play an important role in our day-to-day life, but we often do not contemplate how the minerals are obtained. Minerals are scattered all over the world, just like any other resource.
The Mountaintop is a unique one act play based on Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.’s last night before he was assassinated. The entire play takes place in a single setting, room 306 of the Lorraine Motel. The production brings an interesting perspective into play by introducing a female supporting act that at first seemed to represent one of King’s infamous mistresses, but turned out to be an angel who was sent to take King up to heaven. The play covers many aspects of King’s life and attempts to show him on a more personal level. The main theme of the play seemed to be based around humanizing King, showing elements of his life many people didn’t know about. Overall the play had good composition, many historical references, and quality acting.
...nd by our position. However, the battle against global warming, GMOs and DDT alarmism is unfortunately far from the end. The alarmist environmental movements have been endorsing these swindles for many years that include some influential groups in the government, science, business and liberal media. Up to this point, the majority of the debates were based on predictions and now we are at the point where the actual facts are showing that the predictions are incorrect. The real picture of these debatable topics are becoming more clear and unless something major occurs in the near future it is going to be difficult for the environmental groups to continue to support their untruthful stories. Solomon’s article proves that today’s governments that used to support the idea of global warming are reconsidering their position and aiming to steer in a different direction.
The latter half of the twentieth century was host to the greatest and most widespread advancements in environmental awareness in human history. It was during this time that people began to consider the effects of their polluting cars and their wasteful habits. People began to realize that something must be done to curb humans’ negative impacts on their surroundings and thus the environmental movement was born. One of the most important factors that resulted from this expansion of environmental consciousness occurring over the last several decades has been the protection of endangered species. Much has been done in the legal world to ensure the continued longevity of our planet’s diversity, including two major policies: CITES and the Endangered Species Act. Each of these policies has approached the welfare of endangered species in a different way, with varying degrees of success. Each strategy will be summarized and analyzed, beginning with the CITES treaty, as it was enacted before the Endangered Species Act. However, before examining the function and effectiveness of each strategy, it is important to understand the history behind each one of them.
How Are Mountains Formed? Mountains are formed over long periods of time by forces of the earth. Mountains just don’t appear anywhere. Most are formed when plates, or huge pieces of the Earth’s crust, pull and push against each other. Great mountain ranges are formed by the movement of tectonic plates.
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...
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.