The Impacts of Coal Mining “America the beautiful, for amber waves of grain, for purple mountains majesties, above the fruited plain” (Bates, 1893). These words written by poet Katherine Lee Bates in 1893 offered her view of America and the landscapes that stretched out before her. At the same time Kathrine was experiencing visions that inspired her to write America the Beautiful, The United States was in the middle of experiencing The Industrial Revolution. The Industrial Revolution was largely responsible for the role it played in the utilization of coal. It was discovered that coal, as a fuel source, was unlike any other. The undeniable efficient qualities of coal made it a must have energy source. Coal was discovered to be very affordable and …show more content…
Impacts of coal mining are visible by landscapes that lack the beauty of a mountainous backdrop and landscapes that are void of any trees or plants. These areas are left barren by the excavating of the earth in order to reveal the coal hidden underneath (Theilmann, 2015). In conjunction with the impact on the environment, various health issues have arisen, along with the heightened issues of safety. Black lung, a respiratory disease, and mine accidents are responsible for thousands of mine workers being injured or even killed every year. These deaths are a result of suffocation from poisonous gases found within the mines and explosions that lead to the collapsing of mines roofs. The mortality rates of workers in the coal mining industry has one of the highest ranks in the industrial sector of mining (Joyce, 1998). As evident, the destruction left behind by the mining of coal is detrimental to the environment and has a huge impact on the welfare of the mine workers employed by the coal mining
Dubbed as “The Greatest Country in the World” by god knows who, America is not as awesome and free as some may see. In doing a close reading of Heather Christle’s “Five Poems for America”, we can see how the author uses metaphors to portray a flawed American, specifically within its political system, religion, obsession with technology and basic human rights. Americans have been living with the oppression of these everyday issues, completely oblivious thus creating the America we infamously know today.
The mid-19th century is one of the major turnarounds in the history of the United States. That is the time when America became an industrial giant and emerged as one of the most powerful countries in the world. The Industrial Revolution changed the people’s way of living in the whole world, especially the United States, from hand and home productivity to machine and factory. America rose from a rural and agricultural country to an urban-industrial that introduced new technologies. The United States has been through a lot of ups and downs in spite of its emergence and three books tell the story of the Industrial America from three different perspectives.
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).
During the 1800’s, America was going through a time of invention and discovery known as the Industrial Revolution. America was in its first century of being an independent nation and was beginning to make the transition from a “home producing” nation to a technological one. The biggest contribution to this major technological advancement was the establishment of the Transcontinental Railroad because it provided a faster way to transport goods, which ultimately boosted the economy and catapulted America to the Super Power it is today.
Although coal mining is important to local and global economies, there are many environmental impacts of both the mining and use of coal that must be considered. Actions can be taken to mitigate these environmental impacts but it is up to scientists to identify these potential problems and put plans into action before it is too late.
"The Toll from Coal." Catf.us. Clean Air Task Force, Sept. 2010. Web. 25 Nov. 2013.
The period in American history between 1900 and 1920 was a very turbulent one. Civil unrest was brewing as a result of many pressures placed upon the working class. Although wealth was accumulating at an astonishing rate in America, most people at the lower economic levels were not benefiting from any of it. Worst of all for them, the federal government seemed to be on the side of the corporations. Their helpless situation and limited options is why the coal strike of 1902 is so important.
Current research, in the field of public health, is looking at the adverse health effects of hydraulic fracturing on community members. This research is focused on looking for evidence-based research in processes, procedures, materials and cleanup from drilling and running a well. In recent years, several states such as Maryland and New York, have called for special advisory commissions to examine the potential adverse health implications for the community if the moratoriums are lifted and fracturing is allowed to start. A lot of the previous research conducted focused on the anecdotal perspective of the adverse health effects. This perspective does not offer scientific verification that the fracturing processes are causing them or evidence where the contaminations are coming from.
5). The high mortality rates are related to the environmental exposures of the coal mining along with other factors such as smoking, poverty, education, age, race and sex. “Higher lung cancer incidence and mortality in the Kentucky Appalachia is thought to result from higher smoking rates and correlates of poor socioeconomic conditions which limits the population access to health care” (Hendryx, O'Donnell, & Horn, 2008, p. 2). The population residing in coal mining areas, are exposed to contaminated water and air from the coal mining and there is a concern for respiratory illnesses related to the pollutants. The fumes or toxin released from the coal mine, this places the individual at a risk for respiratory issues such as emphysema, black lung, brown lung and
Every year, almost 1,500 people who have worked in the nation’s coalmines die from black lung disease. That’s equivalent to the Titanic sinking every year, with no ships coming to the rescue. While that disaster which took place so long ago continues to fascinate the nation, black lung victims die an agonizing death in isolated rural communities, away from the spotlight of publicity.
Fossil fuels are an extreme hazard to workers in the industry. In order to contribute the fossil fuels that power our economy, workers in coal mines, natural gas fields and oil rigs perish or endure major injuries every year. An article in the Center for American Progress states, “Explosions, fires, and collapsed mine shafts have killed at least 3,827 miners since 1968—not to mention thousands of others who have suffered from pulmonary diseases and other work-related injuries” (Weiss). Coal mining is one of the United States’s most dangerous professions and has been responsible for thousands of workplace injuries. In addition, Natural gas pipelines have caused 892 deaths and 6,258 injuries since 1970 and 161 deaths and 576 injuries this decade alone (Shearman). Workers in the fossil fuel industries risk their health exposing themselves to harsh working conditions every si...
In her book Coal A Human History, Barbara Freese states "The mundane mineral that built our global economyand even today powers our electrical plantshas also caused death, disease, and environmental destruction" (front flap) Today, coal provides for more than 55% of the electricity generated in the U.S. (Cullen, Robert Vol.272) Coal miners have had one of the most dangerous jobs in history before government regulation. Many miners had to work underground for 10 + hours a day and 6 days a week(Cobb, James "Coal") The number of deaths per year is the equivalent of a Titanic going down in the nation's coal fields each year (Turkington, Carol) According to James Cobb from the World Book Online Reference Center mine safety involves four main types of problems including accidents involving machinery, roof and rib failures, accumulations of gases and concentrations of coal dust.
The coal mining has several disadvantages which not only limited to carbon di oxide emission but also affect the land, water, human health and other species life. Underground and opencast mining both have their tremendous disadvantages for environment and the society. Underground mining requires fire blast which has lined up severe situations like human safety and environmental pollution. These activities are also responsible for the displacement of the human beings, animals and other species hence it will disturb the ecosystem. In 2006, 30 million people displace which was 50% higher than the year of 1991. The coal mining also requires large amount of water from the nearby source and this waste and contaminated water generally disposed to some river and land. These activities affect the normal drinking water, underground/surface water and the minerals of lands. The large scale excavations, removal of surface soil, dumping chemical wastes, creation of road, cutting of mountains etc. all these actions causing severe impact on the land. The land deforestation is one of the most severe problems because it’s also related to the local people and animals. Number of species and animals rapidly got endangered from the past few years because of such activities.
This article is about coal and the dangers of mining and using this natural resource. The article states that coal is used in production of half of the electricity that Americans utilize. Coal is a cheap form of natural resource and was once a growing industry, but now due to the fear of climate change and the effects on the environment it is slowly declining. There are now so many regulations attached to mining coal that many coal plants have shut down and left thousands out of work. Coal mining is a very dangerous job and leads to many deaths throughout the years. In 1992 in Wise County, Virginia eight miners were killed due to numerous violations that went unnoticed and ignored. A buildup of methane gas resulted in an explosion that killed
In our days, mining for resources is inevitable. The resources we need are valuable in everyday life. Such resources mined up are coal, copper, gold, silver, and sand. However, mining poses environmental risks that can degrade the quality of soil and water, which can end up effecting us humans if not taken care of and many of the damages are irreversible once they have occurred.