Mountaintop Removal – an Abomination
Mountaintop mining consists basically of blowing off entire mountain peaks, or entire mountains, in order to easily and relatively cheaply extract coal. It occurs mainly in West Virginia and Kentucky, although mountaintop removal is also carried out in far-Southwest Virginia and in Tennessee. Peaks are sheared off with heavy machinery and explosives, exposing the coal seams inside. Excess rock is used to fill steep Appalachian valleys, some with streams at the bottom.
When rainwater falls on the filled-in valley, it trickles through the rubble and picks up pollutants off rocks that came from deep underground. The water emerges mixed with pollutants such as metals and chemicals called sulfates, which can be toxic to the insects and fish in small Appalachian streams. It is also toxic and damaging to other animals, humans and entire ecosystems.
Although the companies are required by existing laws to “rehabilitate” the damaged areas, the wanton destruction of the mountains is more than obvious to anyone who sees it.
The latest development in the mountaintop removal battle is a study published by a group, headed by a University of Maryland researcher, who said it performed the most comprehensive study to date of the controversial practice, also known as “mountaintop removal.”
They also did something that scientists usually don’t: step beyond data-gathering to take a political stand.
“The science is so overwhelming that the only conclusion that one can reach is that mountaintop mining needs to be stopped,” said Margaret Palmer, a professor at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Sciences and the study’s lead author.
The group’s paper, published in the journal Science, was released in the same week that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – which has been scrutinizing these mines – angered environmentalists by supporting a new mine permit. The EPA said the Hobet 45 mine, in West Virginia, had made changes that would eliminate nearly 50 percent of the environmental impacts and protect 460 union mining jobs.
Palmer said the group’s work did not echo the idea implicit in this EPA decision: that there could be a “good” mountaintop mine, whose environmental consequences were acceptable.
So, the fight goes on, but this time it seems that the advantage has shifted a notch to the good guys.
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We are blowing up and removing the tops of mountains, causing great damage to local communities and the environment, all in an effort to extract the dirtiest form of energy there is, coal. Insane. One way to solve this is to phase out coal plants and remove the demand.
http://www.selfdestructivebastards.com/2010/01/mountaintop-removal.html