Discover the world of strip mining
By: Brian Martinez
What is strip mining?
Strip mining is the removal of a mineral deposit by removing the surface layer of the earth. This is primarily used to obtain coal that is close to the surface.
How do changes in human population size contribute to the environmental impact?
Yes, because if the area has a high population size then there is going to have to be more homes and roads. This is going to cause more impact on the environment than an area with a lower population size.
Also the more people in the world the more resources that are going to be used and more actions are going to be taken to get those resources.
Does the density of the human population in a particular area matter?
Yes, because one particular area can cause more damage to the environment because of its population size.
It can also help the environment by not contributing as much harmful chemicals than a bigger population.
All populations matter.
What are the short-term effects for the environment?
There are really no short-term effects to strip mining, it just depends on the severity to the surrounding land or removal of vegetation.
The only thing that could be done is to minimize the impact
What are the long-term effects for the environment?
- The soil is damaged , destroys existing vegetation and alters soil profile
- Strip mining deformes land and makes the land unusable
- Can disrupt water supplies, pollute water supplies, and change the ph levels of water
- Also leads to loss of animal habitats (animals can't adjust to environments)
What should be done to alleviate the problem?
There are ways to lessen the effects of strip mining those ways are:
- By using less energy, this will cause less greenhouse gas emission
- By diverting surface water and pumping groundwater, mining operation and can reduce both quantity and quality of water
- Maintain biodiversity by transplanting or culturing endangered or just any plant found on the mining site
- The most effective way to alleviate the problem would be to find a new energy source that does not require mining to obtain
Sources
- http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/climate-change/coal/Mining-impacts/
- https://sites.google.com/site/stripmininghandbook/chapter-2-1
- http://www.miningfacts.org/Environment/How-can-mining-become-more-environmentally-sustainable/
- http://www.pollutionissues.com/Co-Ea/Disasters-Environmental-Mining-Accidents.html