Summary
Mountaintop mining is threatening the habitats of many species in the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia, but now the US Environmental Protection Agency is fighting back. The process of mountaintop mining includes the use of explosives in order to remove large amounts of earth, so that it is possible to get at thin coal seams. Currently, the EPA is appealing the overturn of its veto of a very large mountaintop mining project, arguing that the effects on wildlife and water quality caused by such a project are "unacceptable." One of the guidelines that the EPA used to veto the project was about limiting the electrical conductivity of water, a factor that can rise due to mining debris in the water. However, this guideline was shot down by a court in July, another decision that the EPA is appealing. There is plenty of scientific evidence that clearly demonstrates the negative impact of mountaintop on the delicate habitats of mayflies, fish and birds, such as the Louisiana waterthrush. Over the past three years there have also been many scientific studies published indicating that rubble from mining that is being dumped into valleys buries streams and leaks toxic selenium and other metals into the water. Mining companies have simply been calling the evidence "speculative". October 17 was the deadline for the submission of evidence in the ruling on the veto of the mountaintop mining project in West Virginia.
Relevance
In class we studied habitats, and learned that one of the chief causes for the extinction of a species is loss of habitat. That is precisely what is occurring because of mountaintop mining. Also, we learned about biological magnification, the process by which pollutants become more concentrated in successive trophic levels of the food web. This could be one of the major reasons for harm to larger fish and birds because they receive more severe doses of the toxins released into the water. Lastly, another topic we have briefly covered is the electrical conductivity of water and how it can be altered. This property is one monitored by the EPA, as it can be altered by mining waste that is dumped.
Link: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=epa-fights-back-over-mountaintop-mining
By Natasha Gilbert in Scientific American
October 16, 2012
Are the animals affected by the mining affected because they drink water with the metals in it, or are they directly affected?
ReplyDeleteHow does an increase in mining debris relate to an increase in electrical conductivity?
ReplyDeleteI would say that animals are affected both directly and from drinking water. Habitat destruction is a direct effect and the toxins in water kill many fish.
ReplyDeleteI am not quite sure how the mining debris relates to an increase in electrical conductivity; it was hard to find a source explaining this. I would assume that it has something to do with highly conductive particles being suspended in the water.
ReplyDelete