Tuesday, March 1, 2016
TJ APES BLOG 21
Mitigation is mainly based on how we can patch up the scars we have made in our earth through our ecological footprints, and the burning of fossil fuels, as well as the rise of CO2 and other deadly gasses that we use on a daily basis. We need to find a new way to power our world, we have allot of things that we could be doing instead of consistently burning fossil fuels to power our earth. We need to stop burning so many fossil fuels, because we are emitting way to much CO2 into our atmosphere. Since we are emitting so much CO2 we are causing climate change, the glaciers are melting because the world is getting too hot, every year is getting hotter than the last. One way that we could help power our world without emitting so much CO2 is through solar energy, it is a renewable recourse and can run on average about 5 to 6 hour a day. So it may not be the most efficient method of energy, but it's sure allot better than burning fossil fuels.We also have other ways, for example, wind energy or, the use hydraulic energy, which is extremely efficient. But we are destroying our world, we need to find another way to power our world, because if we keep burning fossil fuels, and emitting more CO2 we wont be living on this planet for much longer, because once the glaciers disappear we disappear.
Wednesday, January 13, 2016
Mining Mountaintop Coal Removal
The world is facing major degradation in the form of mountaintop mining in many different locations. Mountaintop removal is the process of removing mountaintops to expose coal seams and disposing of the associated mining overburden in adjacent valleys, also known as "valley fills". Based on 1,200 stream segments observed, there were many disastrous traits found among them. There were increases of minerals in water (zinc, sodium, selenium, and sulfate that negatively impacted fish and other life leading to less diverse species), forests became fragmented, low quality wetlands were created, and the regrowth of trees were slowed due to compacted soils just to name a few things.
Mountain removal is a newer type of coal mining that began in the 1970’s, this type of mining is increasing in popularity and began in Appalachia. In the United states it is used at the Hobet 21 Mine and used primarily in the states of West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia and Tennessee. This type of coal mining involves 6 main components. The first component is clearing, this involves the removal of any surface environment, often times vegetation that is destroyed is not even put to any use, “the trees are often not used commercially, but instead are burned or sometimes illegally dumped into valleys,”(“Learn More about Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining." ILoveMountainsorg RSS. ILoveMountains N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Jan. 2016). The next component is blasting, this involves using explosives to access the seams. Afterwards, digging will occur in order to remove the coal from the earth. After mining, tons of debris, or “overburden” is left behind and is legally dumped into nearby valleys or streams. Coal is then processed by being chemically treated before it can be burned. The last component is reclamation, which has little effect despite federal law, most sites will never revegetate for hundreds of years.
Mountaintop removal has severe environmental impacts and is highly controversial. Mountaintop removal has affected the shape, altitude, and ecology of large areas of the Appalachian coalfields. This mining strategy can increase the amount of minerals and toxins in water sources, forests become fragmented, species are being killed, wetlands are being created unnaturally, and the process generates high amounts of carbon dioxide. Toxins in coal mine polluted streams create a decline in aquatic biodiversity. Environmental groups have brought up law suits against these coal mining companies in more recent years due to these severe impacts. The 1977 Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act: said that mining companies had to restore the land to its original shape as best as possible, “Variances could be granted if the coal operator offered specific plans for post-mining development that would benefit the community, such as schools, housing, or shopping centers, but in most cases, the development never materialized.”(Coal Controversy In Appalachia: Feature Articles. “Coal Controversy In Appalachia: Feature Articles. N. p., n.d. Web. 13 Jan. 2016.). Likewise, the Compensation and Liability Act -requires reporting of hazardous substance releases and inventory of chemicals handled("Federal Environmental Laws That Govern U.S. Mining." Federal Environmental Laws That Govern U.S. Mining. NMA, n.d. Web. 13 Jan. 2016). This shows that despite laws, degradation still occurs.
The Hobet 21 Mine is based in Boone County, West Virginia. This mine is on a mass scale, it occupies over 6,268 acres in the upper Mud River Watershed. “Local citizen and clean water groups filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia over widespread water pollution from Patriot Coal Corporation’s sprawling Hobet 21 coal mine in Boone County, WV.” Beitman, Adam, Dianne Bady, and Cindy Rank. (Patriot Coal’s Hobet 21 Mine Wiping Out W.Va’s Mud River Watershed. “Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition. OVEC. 06 Apr. 2015. Web. 11 Jan. 2016.)
The Hobet 21 Mine is a Mountaintop Coal Removal mine. A Mountaintop Removal Mine is a new type of mining that began in appalachia during the 1970’s, they started this mining technique because it didn’t require as many workers, so the company doesn’t have to give out as much money to the workers.”Mountaintop removal/valley fill is a mining practice where the tops of mountains are removed, exposing the seams of coal. Mountaintop removal can involve removing 500 feet or more of the summit to get at buried seams of coal. The earth from the mountaintop is then dumped in the neighboring valleys.”(Learn More about Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. ILoveMountainsorg RSS. ILoveMountains. n.d. wEB. 12 jan. 2016.
The Hobet 21 Mine in Boone County, West Virginia is owned by Patriot Coal. Patriot Coal is going to soon be known as “Patriot Coal Operations” due to sure size of the mine.
Specifically in the Hobet 21 Mine based in Boone County, West Virginia is mining coal that is in extremely high demand in the United States, the U.S. Department of Energy estimated that there was an unbelievable 28.5 billion tons of this high-quality coal in the Appalachia region in 1998.By restricting mountaintop mining to small watersheds, this could potentially substantially impact the amount of extraction that takes place in these mountaintop removal mines.
“Coal is a fossil fuel created from the remains of plants that lived and died about 100 to 400 million years ago when parts of the earth were covered with huge swampy forests. Coal is classified as a nonrenewable energy source because it takes millions of years to form.” (“Coal.” Coal. Colorado, n.d. Web. 13 Jan. 2016). Due to the high demand of coal now, we are digging up more coal now than ever before.”Seams of coal--ranging in thickness from a fraction of an inch to hundreds of feet-may represent hundreds or even thousands of years of plant growth. One important coal seam, the seven-foot thick Pittsburgh seam, may represent 2,000 years of rapid plant growth. One acre of this seam contains about 14,000 tons of coal, enough to supply the electric power needs of 4,500 American homes for one year.”(“Coal.” Coal. Colorado, n.d. Web. 13 Jan. 2016).
Throughout this project, we learned about how harmful mountaintop mining (coal removal) truly is to the environment. It's on such a massive scale that massive amounts of pollution are hurting not only the environment, but species around the mines as well. There are far better alternatives to mountaintop mining in order to obtain coal, as well as other minerals. The impacts of mountaintop mining need to be brought to the attention of many so we can put an end to this environmental disaster.
Work Cited
Wednesday, December 16, 2015
Biodiversity Hotspots: SW Australia
A biodiversity hotspot in a biogeographical region that is a huge area of biodiversity and is significantly threatened by destruction. “There are 25 biologically rich areas all around the world that have lose over 70 percent of their habitat.”(Anup Global Issues). Biodiversity is important because it helps to boost the ecosystem. No matter how small, every last bit of biodiversity is important and needs to be preserved. my group chose the Southwest Australia hotspot. Southwest Australia is classified as a biodiversity hotspot because it occupies about 356,717 Square kilometers on the south western tip of Australia. Australia occupies the botanical Province, which is one of the five Mediterranean.
Environmental degradation has impacted genetic and diversity of the hotspot. and this is caused mainly by invasive species, unsustainable use and management of natural resources, changes to the aquatic environment and water flows, changing regimes, and climate change. Due to this Australia is experiencing dry land salinity, erosion and vegetation. Approximately 1 million hectares, of Southwest Australia is affected by dryland salinity and that is predicted to rise by 5.4 million hectares 2050.
In Southwest Australia there are a lot of threatened, endangered, and critical species of plants and animals that are in the biodiversity hotspot of Southwestern Australia. Overall there are over 1,500 types of plant species which are found nowhere else in the world in the Southwest tip of Australia alone. “There are also twelve species of mammals, ten species of birds, twenty seven reptile species, and twenty two species of frogs. Sadly a lot of these animal and plant species are threatened by the environment around.”(WWF).
Southwestern Australia’s degraded ecosystems are being degraded at an alarming rate, the plan to fix this rising issue is that Australia is reviewing the first five years of Australia’s Biodiversity Conservation Strategy. This plan was set in place so they could potentially help conserve the biodiversity in Southwest Australia. This plan is a national framework guiding the biodiversity conservation policies as well as programmes of commonwealth, and state territories, so Australia’s biodiversity is healthy and can withstand threats, and so it can be valued and noticed for all of the good that it is contributing to not only the environment, but the world. “Australia’s first review of the Biodiversity Conservation Strategy will begin in 2015.”(The Encyclopedia Of Earth).
“Western Australia’s economy is a state economy is led by the exportation of iron-ore, gold, liquefied natural gas, and agriculture products such as wheat.”( Western Australia is the fourth most populous state in the nation. In 2011, Western Australia contributed about 46 percent of Australia’s exports. “Due to this Western Australia’s gross state product (GDP) was 193 billion from 2010 to 2011, making it the nation’s most productive state. That’s a GSP of 82,653 per capita compared to the nation average which was 57,925.”(Economy of Western Australia). If Western Australia were to be a separate country it would be in the top 50 economies in the world by its GDP.
“Some types of environmental degradation that Southwest Australia has been impacted by is, human incursions and competition for resources, fragmentation, agricultural impact, mining and quarrying, unsustainable recreation, land clearing for urbanization, introduction of plants and animals, and native species.”(Australian Government Department of the Environment). All of these things are bringing Southwestern Australia's economy and environment down. If Southwest Australia keeps this up and doesn't put an end to it the chances of a rapid decline of this hotspot is extremely high, and if that happens the economy will be completely destroyed.
“The degradation of Southwest Australia is being caused by, regional culture, political, and economic influences.”(Under Threat). All of these are contributing to the degradation of Southwest Australia in their own harmful way. One of the ways that the regional culture is degrading the environment is simply by the population growth, which rises ongoing the fight for resources. Also the economic influences is degrading the environment by making everyone want to buy the resources, which means more resources are being destroyed for profit, which more and more of is getting destroyed due to the rising populations within Southwestern Australia.
Environmental degradation has affected Southwest Australia’s functional diversity as well as the ecosystems process of the hotspot due to the scarce competition of resources. “Southwestern Australia’s demand for resources was so high that it’s estimates that 93% of the original vegetation in the Wheatbelt, and 80% of the Swan Coastal Plain has been completely cleared out. “(Southwest Australia Ecoregion Initiative).This is causing huge environmental as well as economic problems with Southwest Australia. This is going to need to stop and soon if we really want to conserve Australia’s biodiversity hotspots.
Environmental degradation has impacted genetic and diversity of the hotspot. and this is caused mainly by invasive species, unsustainable use and management of natural recourses, changes to the aquatic environment and water flows, changing regimes, and climate change. Due to this Australia is experiencing dry land salinity, erosion and vegetation. Approximately 1 million hectares, of Southwest Australia is affected by dryland salinity and that is predicted to rise by 5.4 million hectares 2050.
Overall, the Southwest Australia Biodiversity Hotspot has been impacted by depletion of resources, fragmentation, agricultural impact, mining, unsustainable recreation, land clearing, and invasive species. The degradation of Southwest Australia is caused by regional culture, political, and economic influences. This area has experienced dry land salinity, erosion and vegetation. This degradation is very harmful and if it continues, the chances of a rapid decline of this hotspot are extremely high, and if that happens the economy will be completely destroyed as well.
Speldewinde, Christiaan Peter. "Ecosystem Health : The Relationship between Dryland Salinity and Human Health / Peter Christiaan Speldewinde." Ecosystem Health : The Relationship between Dryland Salinity and Human Health / Peter Christiaan Speldewinde. The University of Western Australia, 2007. Web. 13 Dec. 2015.
Shah, Anup. "Why Is Biodiversity Important? Who Cares?" - Global Issues. Global Issues, 19 Jan. 2014. Web. 13 Dec. 2015.
"Southwest Australia." WWF -. WWF, n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2015.
Natural Resource Management Ministerial Council. "Australia's Biodiversity Conservation Strategy - Summary." Department of the Environment. Australian Government Department of the Environment, Oct. 2010. Web. 13 Dec. 2015.
International, Conservation. "Biological Diversity in Southwest Australia." Biological Diversity in Southwest Australia. The Encyclopedia Of Earth, 22 Aug. 2008. Web. 13 Dec. 2015.
"What Is Biodiversity? - National Wildlife Federation." What Is Biodiversity? - National Wildlife Federation. National Wildlife Federation, n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2015.
"Threatened Plants and Animals in the Southwest Australia Ecoregion." Threatened Plants and Animals in the Southwest Australia Ecoregion. WWF, n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2015.
"Under Threat." - Southwest Australia Ecoregion Initiative. Southwest Australia Ecoregion Initiative, n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2015.
"Biodiversity." Biodiversity. CCWA, n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2015.
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