Surface mining should be stopped because it has endangered species, cracked buildings, damaged social culture, polluted streams, and has caused lung disease to coal miners. For years the coal industry has made the people of Appalachia to live in an environment filled with polluted streams and uncertainty about the preservation of their homes. Rebbecca Lindsey acknowledges that strip mining has had a devastating effect on the environment and asked "some people's jobs are more important than other people's home or the preservation of the area's natural heritage." (Lindsey 2007).
Surface mining has destroyed beautiful mountains for decades. Surface mines are estimated to be three times as efficient as traditional deep mines,but they cause more environmental hazards than deep coal mining. (Lindsey 2007) points that surface mining is "more economical for coal companies, and essential for mining thin seams of lower-sulfur coal which is more valuable in today's market." It is obvious that the coal companies has put their financial interest first before considering the devastating effect of surface mining. Not surprisingly, the effect on local eco-system is catastrophic.
Coal mining has caused cracked buildings to the residents of Appalachia and has caused lung disease to coal miners. As Parson points out, there are highly damaging repercussions for human social cultures, as well as the environment. She describes the case of a retired miner, whose lifetime involvement in deep coal mining has left him crippled by black lung disease, with no chance of retrieving compensation from his employers. Now to add insult to injury, he is faced with the prospect of having to abandon his home because of a strip mine which could come as close as 300 feet (Parsons, 2001) from his door. This act of negligence by the coal company is unacceptable because the coal companies are meant to give back to the community especially the workers who risk their lives for their selfish interest. Despite complains from residents about cracked walls, and dust nothing can be done to stop the shaking because the company is operating within the legal blasting limit(Parsons,2001,1) and will invariably affect the houses of the local residents.
Streams have been polluted with toxic metals due to coal mining. In Erik Reece's lost mountain the Federal Agency For Substance and Disease Registry (ASTSR) came to martin county to test the soil and water for harmful substances. They concluded that there was no harmful substance in the soil or water. Due to the persistent complaints from the residents, the Kentucky university took the sample from the (ASTDR) and tested it for harmful substance. The test revealed a 3,810 times aluminum, high level of cadmium, mercury in the water and soil (Reece 2006 pg131). The Federal Protection Agency should be proactive in safe guarding streams and lakes from toxic pollution. As Erik Reece (2006) points out, the extent of the damage which is being caused to both environment and human populations is enormous. He states that "blasting......has polluted thousands of family wells ....wildlife populations have been summarily dispersed....entire ecosystem have been dismantled." (Reece, 2006,2).
The people of Appalachia have been hit by the negative effects of water pollution. A national academy of science has reported that "60,000 babies born in the united states each year could have been exposedn to enough mercury in the utero to cause poor academic performance latter in life" Reece (2006 pg25). I support president obama reform on industrial waste because it taxes companies that pollute the environment with industrial waste. This strong measures need to be in place so that the coal company will show some restrain towards environmental pollution.
The situation in Appalanchia is, therefore disturbing for several reasons. It cannot be denied that coal has been part of Appalachia social and economic cultures for many decades, but it is only recently that this has taken the form of strip mining and mountain top removal technologies. These changes have benefited coal companies, but not local communities; in fact, the impact on the latter has been almost entirely negative. In addition, as Reece and Parson point out, the destruction to the environment is "irreparable." Attempts to regulate this type of strip mining seem to have been, for the most, unsuccessful, which perhaps unsurprising in view of the fact at least some of those concerned maintain that the environment and social impact is only minimal.
A further cause for concern is the fact that coal mining, in wharever form, is contributing to the gradual exhaustion of non-renewable energy source. Parsons points out that a possible economic transition for the region would be towards tourism, given the considerable natural beauty of the landscape: however, the widespread use of surface mining is also destroying the mountain as an economic alternative. Surface mining should be stopped because it has caused polluted streams, damaged social culture, cracked buildings, and has resulted in lung disease for coal miners. Although Reece titles his work "Lost Mountain" it seems clear that more than mountaintops will be lost, if current mining pratices are allowed to continue in Appalachia.
Work Cited
Online journal article- Lindsey, Rebecca. "Coal controversery in Appalachia." (2007):31-55.
5 march 2009
Online book-John, R.Poponio. Mountaintop Mining/Valley fills in Appalachia.2005.
Environmental Protection Agency page 3. 5 march 2009
Book- Reece, Erik. Lost Mountain: A year in the vanishing wilderness.
The New York : Riverhead, 2006.
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