Mining Persuasive Essay

There are many factors that contribute to Idaho’s pollution problem, but mining may be the biggest. Mining is a huge industry in Idaho, hence the nickname “The Gem State”. The biggest product from Idaho’s mines is silver. Silver mines are some of the largest polluters in the state. Bunker Hill, or Silver Valley, as the Coeur d’Alene region is known for its numerous mines, was recently named a Superfund site. A Superfund site is a site under protection for removal of toxic wastes by the EPA. Although that beautiful valley was also once known for its abundant wildlife, now the rivers are flooded with phosphorous, selenium, zinc, lead, silver, cadmium, and arsenic, all from tailings of several mines in the region. Lake Coeur d’Alene now contains over 70 million tons of toxic waste sediments in its bottom. This pollution has endangered people in the area for years. In Smelterville, where a smelter ran for nearly 100 years, a large number of people have been diagnosed with health complications caused by extremely high levels of lead and other toxins in their blood. These conditions, for most, have existed nearly all their lives. Many remember being ill for most of their childhood and on. In 1973, before the smelter was closed, the average lead toxin level per deciliter of blood in children tested was 70. A reading of 10 is considered high alert. Rocky Hill, who grew up in Smelterville and

For instance, transporting the materials from the mines from place to place can lead to the roads being congested, putting a strain on the roads. Evidence of this is shown in Fractured Land when Lisa is observing a high way. She writes of various trucks involved in the fracking industry creating traffic and putting wear and tear on the roads of U.S. Highway two (55). Many of these mines are in more rural areas where roads were not made with the intention of there being as much pressure on the roads as the activity with the mines creates. This means the increased activity on the roads results in them breaking down. The same goes for these trucks as it does for the movement of vehicles shipping in materials from different nations for the fracturing to take place. More congested roads also means greater odds for accidents. This is evident when Westburg, the Fractured Land author writes of an accident that occurred along U.S. Highway 2. Multiple trucks collided until one of them crashed into a tanker trailer with crude oil. This vehicle exploded and burned for many hours, resulting in the closing down of the entire highway (Westburg 141). Because the majority of these mines are built in areas where the roads are not made to suit traffic, the roads are too narrow. This ultimately leads to a rise in tragic accidents. Also, along with more goods being mined comes more products to be shipped over seas. This would inevitably lead to more pollution. For instance, "In 2013, transportation contributed more than half of the carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides, and almost a quarter of the hydrocarbons emitted into our air" (Union). This is tainting both the environment and human health, as the only atmosphere the world relies on is being tainted by globalization. The trucks and planes involved in shipping the metals from place to place would mean more fossil fuel

I would have to say that from the reading that it can be very harmful for the coal mining chemicals to seep into the ground into our drinking water.

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 processing. These wastes, called tailings, are usually left in giant piles on the ground or in ponds near the processing plants (Figure 12.9). The tailings contain toxic materials such as cyanide, mercury, and sulfuric acid. Left

One consequence on the environment would have been from the pollutants the mine would have given off. One of these pollutants would be Mercury. In the process of getting iron ore from taconite pellets, which is what is mined, the taconite must be heated up, one element that is given off during the heating process is Mercury (WI DNR, 2003, 22-25). When Mercury is in it’s gaseous form, it enters the water cycle and helps form acid rain (WI DNR, 2003). When the acid rain is released as precipitation, it enters the waterways and pollutes the waters. In the case of Northern Wisconsin, this acid rain would help pollute the Bad River Watershed, one of the biggest tributaries of Lake Superior, which would be polluted from the Mercury. Pollution of Lake Superior would be devastating. Lake Superior is the world’s largest freshwater lake and it’s water flows through the Great Lakes, down the St. Lawrence River, and into the Atlantic Ocean, all of which would be polluted. Also, Lake Superior is a huge source of drinking water for a huge portion of cities located right on the lake including Ashland and Superior in Wisconsin, Duluth and Cloquet in Minnesota, Sault St. Marie and Marquette in Minnesota, and Thunder Bay in Canada just to name a few (Lake by Lake, 2003). Another major pollutant is Sulfate. Sulfate is one of the major parts of taconite mine runoff. Sulfate does the same as Mercury except it is mixed in the water right away instead of being in acid rain, though it is a component to acid rain (WI DNR, 2013, iv). Sulfate directly ran off into watersheds creates more problems than if it were just in acid rain. In the Bad River Watershed, wild rice is a prominent crop grown in the water for the Ojibwe. That runoff can form Sulfide, and it has been shown in Minnesota to be toxic to wild rice, helping destroy a means of income for so many people (“Wild Rice Sulfate, 2014, 5-6).

The families that live near the mine also face being diagnosed with dangerous side effects. Since the ground becomes polluted with the chemicals, most homes in the surrounding area don’t have running water because the aquifers are polluted by said chemicals that originate from the mine. And the air becomes toxic also, toxic levels of arsenic, fluorine, mercury, and selenium is emitted by coal fires, entering the air and the food chain of those living nearby. These pollutants affect the water also, making it dangerous to any living life form. It causes deformities and creates birth defects if ingested into the body (Breitenender 2). And to an extent, causes death if the water is drunk regularly. It can go unnoticed also if people don’t check their water. And if a person is unfortunate enough to live near these areas, then he likely has no running water due to the pollution of his local aquifer. People are deprived of a vital source to live and they travel far to get water. And these areas are arid which means water is a necessary

This paper will review past practices and policies relating to mountaintop coal mining, evaluate and analyze current research on the impact of coal mining on human health, and provide recommendations for further research guided by logic and in agreement with biblical truth.

The mining has become a controversial topic due to the mass publicity regarding the potential danger of nuclear power and uranium mining, not to mention the objections by some Indigenous groups. The controversy is significant

Things like mining too far into a wall that connects to an older mine, thus increasing the danger of a collapse, is common. Other practices include shoddy dams that contain the slurry, a mixture of water and fine particles of coal, which do not always meet structural regulations that can and have broken and flood nearby communities (Light and Light, 2006). There are other environmental issues that are associated with coal mining. Acid mine drainage is the result of sulfide minerals being exposed to oxygen. This produces sulfuric acid and can dissolve heavy metals from the waste rock, making it bioavailable. Without proper treatment, this will poison the water systems near that mine and will seep into the streams, creeks, and even ground and well water. The water turns orange and is impossible for anything to live off of the water or in it (Kirsch, 2014). Another issue of coal mining is airborne coal dust, which can result in Black Lung disease. This is caused by inhaling too much coal dust and is common in miners, but with surface mining becoming more prevalent, more coal dust is being released into the air and drifting down to the communities. More children and elderly people are having respiratory problems that many believe are because of

The Mining Act does a very good job at protecting certain aspects of the environment such as ensuring that over exploitation of minerals does not occur, or making it mandatory to have a plan in place for closing the mine as well as assuring that there is money to do so. Although there are many things that this Act does right, there are also areas in which there are issues and should be improved. One of the first issues pertaining to this Act is the impact that it fails to mitigate regarding water quality. In areas where mining development occurs, the water quality is drastically affected and a study found that “water from waste rock piles has an ionic profile distinct from unimpacted catchments” (Carey, Wellen, & Shatilla, 2015), meaning that in order to mitigate the impact of the runoff measures must be put in place to limit it. Secondly, the Act does not involve

A controversial topic commonly debated among society is the construction of coal mines. Although they potentially contain great economic promise and access to more resources, they also harm the surrounding environment and increase carbon dioxide emissions.

“Your assignment is to write a persuasive essay and present it to the class in a week. You will be graded based on how convincing it is. Today we will be choosing topics,” announced Mr. Bowerbank, my 7th grade English teacher and ruler of classroom 110. My class simultaneously groaned at the prospect of work. I simply lifted my head with intrigue as it was already May and about time we had our first essay. He then proceeded to give examples of topics we could choose and gave us some time to think before we had to tell him our topic. My classmates were already rushing to tell the teacher their idea lest someone else steal it. That meant the usual abortion, death penalty, or drug use topics were out. I really couldn't think of anything and the teacher was slowly making his way through the remaining students like an executioner beheading criminals in a line. I have always thought that he would make a marvelous supervillain if he had a curly mustache, a tophat, and a cape. Eventually my name was called. I slowly dragged myself over to his desk. Even sitting down, he still seemed to tower over me. “What is your topic Cindy?” As usual in such desperate times, my mind turned to food. “Waffles are better than pancakes.” I figured that a waffle was just a differently shaped pancake with a nicer texture. “Hmm. Excellent topic. I look forward to your essay!” I survived to live yet another day.

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.

Another perspective to look at it is that social impact mining has. Though it can be difficult to separate the economic impact from the social, because many social issues are the result of poverty. Meaning that if the mining

The mining industry has seen an explosive growth from the past few decades. It has played an important role in economic growth, infrastructure development and a raise in the living standard of the whole world. According to the Australian National Accounting System, the mining sector has made contributions of 9.8% GDP growth to the Australian economy between 2008 to 2009 (Australia Bureau of Statistics, 2012). However, the mining industry has caused many environmental issues such as adverse effect to air, land and water quality and continues to affect global environment as a whole. According to the World Health Organization, it evaluated that 25% of worldwide death are directly associated with environmental pollution (Blacksmith Institute, n.d). This essay will outline the environmental issue raised by the mining industry with pinpoint focus on the effects to air, water and land. It will also provide strategies for mining companies to improve the environmental conditions.