Mountain top removal mining is where a coal company literally blows up a mountain to collect coal from underneath it. The elevation of a mountain will often be reduced by as much as 1,000 feet. Before the coal company can begin mining, they clear-cut the trees from the mountain. Instead of being sold for timber, the trees which are cut are usually piled an burned. Because the land is clear cut, there is less vegetation to absorb runoff from rain. This exacerbates even causes a problem with flooding and land slides. Since the trees are not sold for timber, a vital logging industry is negatively affected.
After the vegetation is clear cut, holes are drilled into the mountain. The holes are then filled with thousands of pounds of high explosive. The explosives are then detonated. The force of the blast will often damage the foundations of nearby houses. The force of the explosions will even thrust large rocks into the houses.
After the blasting, the rock which obscures the coal known as overburden or spoil is then removed with a huge machine called a dragline. The spoil is then shoved off into valleys. This will fill a valley and often bury and or dam head-water streams. These head water streams are the sources of major rivers in the eastern United States such as the Ohio and Delaware. The head water stream may eventually emerge from under a valley fill. However, the stream will be badly polluted with toxic heavy metals such as lead, arsenic, cadmium and mercury.
After the spoil is removed, the coal is mined. The coal is washed with water and toxic surfactants. Coal itself contains toxic heavy metals. These metals combined with the surfactants and the water used to was coal form a toxic fluid called coal slurry.
Coal slurry is held in impoundment ponds in Appalachain valleys. These impoundment ponds are held in place by unstable rubble dams. These rubble dams often fail and cause huge loss of property and life. The impoundment ponds are not lined so this toxic slurry will often leach into ground water and pollute wells and aquifers.
A mountains original contour can not be restored. The material which is left after mountain top removal mining is too loose and unstable. It is far more susceptible to the effects of gravity and erosion than a mountain.
Since the topsoil is removed, nothing can grow on the land after it has been mined. Mining companies will try to "reclaim" the land. However, "reclamation" usually consists of nothing more than a simple seeding of non-native grasses. Since the land is not fit to grow anything on, the grass usually dies quickly.
Mountain top removal destroys a very important ecosystem which contains several endemic plant species many of which are medicinal.
Mountain top removal turns a place like this:
Mountain top removal turns a place like this:
into a place like this:
Copper, gold, lead, molybdenum, silver, tungsten, zinc coal, natural gas, oil shale, and petroleum are all mined from the Rocky Mountains. However, people don't blow the Rocky Mountains up. So why blow up the Appalachians?!
Please, if you live in the United States, write congress and the president to put an end to Mountain top removal!
After the vegetation is clear cut, holes are drilled into the mountain. The holes are then filled with thousands of pounds of high explosive. The explosives are then detonated. The force of the blast will often damage the foundations of nearby houses. The force of the explosions will even thrust large rocks into the houses.
After the blasting, the rock which obscures the coal known as overburden or spoil is then removed with a huge machine called a dragline. The spoil is then shoved off into valleys. This will fill a valley and often bury and or dam head-water streams. These head water streams are the sources of major rivers in the eastern United States such as the Ohio and Delaware. The head water stream may eventually emerge from under a valley fill. However, the stream will be badly polluted with toxic heavy metals such as lead, arsenic, cadmium and mercury.
After the spoil is removed, the coal is mined. The coal is washed with water and toxic surfactants. Coal itself contains toxic heavy metals. These metals combined with the surfactants and the water used to was coal form a toxic fluid called coal slurry.
Coal slurry is held in impoundment ponds in Appalachain valleys. These impoundment ponds are held in place by unstable rubble dams. These rubble dams often fail and cause huge loss of property and life. The impoundment ponds are not lined so this toxic slurry will often leach into ground water and pollute wells and aquifers.
A mountains original contour can not be restored. The material which is left after mountain top removal mining is too loose and unstable. It is far more susceptible to the effects of gravity and erosion than a mountain.
Since the topsoil is removed, nothing can grow on the land after it has been mined. Mining companies will try to "reclaim" the land. However, "reclamation" usually consists of nothing more than a simple seeding of non-native grasses. Since the land is not fit to grow anything on, the grass usually dies quickly.
Mountain top removal destroys a very important ecosystem which contains several endemic plant species many of which are medicinal.
Mountain top removal turns a place like this:
Mountain top removal turns a place like this:
into a place like this:
Copper, gold, lead, molybdenum, silver, tungsten, zinc coal, natural gas, oil shale, and petroleum are all mined from the Rocky Mountains. However, people don't blow the Rocky Mountains up. So why blow up the Appalachians?!
Please, if you live in the United States, write congress and the president to put an end to Mountain top removal!
