What are the economic impacts of mountaintop removal?
What are the economic impacts of mountaintop removal?
Mountaintop removal not only whittles away underground mining jobs, it also creates enormous barriers to economic development and diversification, by making the area less attractive for other industries, due to the pollution of the land, air and water.
What are some advantages of mountaintop removal?
It Is Cheaper Than Traditional Forms Of Coal Mining The clean coal mining industry looks to reduce atmospheric pollution while also reducing the costs of obtaining the coal that needs to be burned for power. Mountaintop mining, when done correctly, is able to accomplish both of these goals rather effectively.
What are two environmental problems with mountaintop removal?
Living in heavily mined areas increases the risk of lung cancer and respiratory disease. Levels of exposure to pollution are highest in areas with the most mountaintop removal. Scientists found a direct link between dust from mountaintop removal and lung cancer.
How does mountaintop removal affect the environment?
Contaminants from mountaintop removal even poison the drinking water of downstream communities. And this form of mining makes a twofold contribution to climate change: The forests destroyed in the process no longer store carbon, and the burning of the coal that’s mined releases carbon into the atmosphere.
What are the pros and cons of mountaintop removal?
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- It’s cheaper than other mining methods. At first glance, mountaintop removal might seem expensive.
- It’s more efficient compared other strategies.
- It helps keep energy crises at bay.
- It can harm the environment.
- It exposes people to health and safety hazards.
What does mountaintop removal lead to?
Mountaintop removal mining devastates the landscape, turning areas that should be lush with forests and wildlife into barren moonscapes. Huge machines, called “draglines,” push rock and dirt into nearby streams and valleys, forever burying waterways.
What happens to mountains after mountaintop removal?
After the coal companies blast apart the mountaintops, they dump the rubble into neighboring valleys, where lie the headwaters of streams and rivers, like the Kanawha, Clinch, and Big Sandy.
What are the negatives of mountaintop removal?
The air and water pollution caused by this mining practice, which involves deforesting and tearing off mountaintops to get at the coal, is leading to increases in cardiovascular disease, lung cancer, pulmonary disease, and birth defects, his research shows.
What is the disadvantage of mountaintop removal?
Toxic heavy metals such as cadmium, selenium, and arsenic leach into local water supplies, poisoning drinking water. This destructive practice, known as mountaintop-removal mining, sends carcinogenic toxins like silica into the air, affecting communities for miles around.
What are some effects mountaintop removal has on the environment water local humans?
It forces residents to contend with contaminated drinking water, increased flooding, dangerous coal slurry impoundments, and higher rates of cancer and other health issues.
How does mountaintop removal affect water?
It screws up the water — both in terms of polluting downstream waterways with toxic waste and wiping out fragile headwater streams.
What animals are affected by mountaintop removal?
Recent scientific studies have concluded that pollution from mountaintop-removal coal mining is harmful to fish, crayfish, mussels, amphibians and stream insects in Appalachia. Pollution from mountaintop removal is also associated with increased risk of cancer and birth defects in humans.
Is reclamation required for mountaintop removal?
RECLAMATION — Reclamation efforts such as stabilization and re-vegetation are required for mountaintop removal sites. But state agencies routinely grant waivers to laws requiring a return of the area to approximate original contour. Reforesting is not done except at a few experimental sites.
What is mountaintop removal coal mining?
Accessing this coal through mountaintop removal mining can require the removal of up to 800 feet or more of elevation to get at one or more thin seams. Removing that much earth is done by using millions of pounds of explosives – with blasts that can be 50 to 100 times more powerful than the Oklahoma City bombing.
How much land has been destroyed by coal mining in Kentucky?
More than 1,400 miles of streams and tens of thousands of acres of hardwood forests have already been buried or severely damaged just in Kentucky alone, with many more miles already permitted for destruction. PROCESSING — The coal often is washed and treated before it is shipped to coal-burning power plants.
Why did Kentuckians for the Commonwealth change its name?
1987: We changed our name to Kentuckians For The Commonwealth to better reflect the range of issues we work on. 1988: Thanks to a powerful grassroots campaign by KFTC members across Kentucky, 82% of Kentucky voters said “YES” to the Broad Form Deed Amendment to “save the homeplace” from strip miners.
