Over the years countless people have tried to pass legislation to stop a endemic of destruction. The purpose of this research is to inform the uniformed and curious about the ecological and some economical effects that strip mining of Appalachia and spread information of the deleterious effects in has inflicted. A beautiful region of America categorized by poverty and many harsh backwoods stereotypes, lives perhaps the oldest, and in some opinion the most beautiful, mountain range in our part of the
Introduction Appalachia is a vast cultural and geographical region “that follows the spine of the Appalachian Mountains from southern New York to northern Mississippi. It includes all of West Virginia and parts of 12 other states: Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.”4 The distinctive Appalachian culture is a result of the blend of unique backgrounds -Native American (primarily Cherokee), Celtic
deposits and have many areas where mining may occur. Quite often, coal companies use huge deposits of coal to make money, but mining these areas have been damaging to the Appalachian region for decades. Environmental issues have become apparent with massive flooding, rock slides, water contamination, and sludge impoundment (Community). All of these have become major issues within communities among the eastern region, because they may cause a community or environment to lose its significance. Flooding
000-square-mile region that follows the spine of the Appalachian Mountains stretching from southern New York to northern Mississippi. It is home to more than 25 million people. Appalachia Mountains are rich in natural resources, containing an abundant number of coal, timber, oil, gas, and water (Daugneaux 1981). These natural resources have historically influenced the economic characteristics of the region. The region's economy has been highly dependent on mining, forestry, agriculture, chemical industries
cheap energy, mining companies have turned to a practice called mountaintop removal mining, or simply mountaintop mining. Mountaintop mining is a form of surface mining that involves removing the tops and sides of a summit in order to more quickly and efficiently remove underlying coal deposits. Although this kind of mining is cheaper than traditional subsurface methods, its social and environmental costs are steep, making it a major source of contention in both the Central Appalachian region and America
Mountaintop mining has been practiced in the United States since the 1960s, primarily in the Appalachian Mountains. The process involves removing all tress from the site, then the topsoil, and then using explosives to remove the remaining soil and rock to reveal coal. The coal is removed and processed, and then the mountaintop is “reclaimed” with soil or an appropriate substitute, and sometimes replanted.6 While mountaintop mining in the Appalachians is only a small percentage of coal produced by
might be in jeopardy of losing. Surface mining began to replace traditional underground mining around WWII (Bozzi 116). Rather than digging into the mountain to extract the coal, strip mining involves removing the overlying soil and rock that covers the coal deposits (Lutz 1). It seemed appealing at first because the previous known dangers of black-lung disease and cave-ins were now limited with the surface mining method (Bozzi 116). However, surface mining came with it’s own problems, a lot of them
country even thought they live in an area that is environmentally diverse and full of natural resources such as coal, timber and agriculture. The author of the book looks at the coal history of her hometown West Virginia and examines the impact of mining and mountain top removal has had on the region. Appalachia’s poverty rate is twice as high as any other region in United States. The regions are primarily country and the people are largely white with majority of the locals having roots that have
Week 4 worksheet ENV/100 August 16, 2013 Tiffany Alvarez Week 4 worksheet How do minerals affect society? Minerals can affect society in many ways for example; Surface mining destroys vegetation across large areas, increasing erosion. Open-pit mining uses huge quantities of water. Acid mine drainage is pollution caused when dissolved toxic materials wash from mines into nearby lakes and streams. Minerals is approximately 80 percent of mined ore consists of impurities that become wastes after
that is climatically unique with a rich history rooted in copper mining. It is thought that man is responsible for the total destruction of the environment over this large area, but it is mostly contributed to the exclusive location. The Copper Basin was susceptible to negative environmental effects due to its topographical, geological, climatic, edaphic, and meteorological location. However, the copper mining had a transformative effect on the surrounding lands that of which are still recovering. The