Greenpeace

            When driving into the beautiful state of West Virginia, travelers immediately see the state sign that boldly reads “Wild and Wonderful West Virginia.” The lush vegetation on either side of the road gives this state its “wild” appeal and the beautiful and majestic Hardwood forests show its “wonderful” side.  Beautiful mountains rise up and seem to touch the sky in the distance. As I ride down the interstate, I am reminded of stories reminiscent of medieval castles and brave knights. However, once past the initial Virginia-West Virginia lines, the “wild and wonderful” façade begins to fade. As you drive closer to those mountains in the distance, you may notice that many of them have been mangled into barren plateaus. These decapitated ridgelines are the direct effect of Mountaintop mining.

            The process of mountaintop mining is a simple one to grasp, however the reasoning behind this grizzly mutilation is much harder to understand. The process begins with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) granting the coal companies the right to clear the top. Next the coal companies shave the top of the mountain of its majestic and beautiful hardwood forests leaving a gaping hole in the ecosystem. After the land has been stripped of all of its useful and appealing growth, the mountaintop is rigged with large amounts of explosives to completely obliterate the soil and rock that stands in the way of the coal seams within the mountain. In a way, this barbaric infringement makes me think of the famous words from a Marvel comic: “Hulk SMASH!” I think of this disparaging style like the difference between a tightrope walker and an angry rhinoceros: which would you rather meet in the wild? After the top has been blown off of the mountain, there are still millions of tons of rubble that need to be cleared away, and where do they put it? The rubble is then dumped into valleys surrounding the mountain, filling in these natural depressions including the ecosystems and rivers that happen to be located in those areas.

            Now, so far it may just seem like I’m just attacking the process and making a “mountain out of a mole hill” as the saying goes, but let’s take a look at the impact on humans. In West Virginia, nearly 60% of young fish in the heavily mined areas have deformities, and many of these fish contain high levels of selenium. Sometimes, these fish contain more than twice the amount of selenium as the amount that other states would deem unfit. These fish, if consumed by humans could cause many side effects, from uncomfortable, to severe. If there is an excess of selenium in the body, but only a little bit, people could experience bronchitis, deformities of the hair and nails, rashes swelling of the skin and severe pains. However, if there is an extreme excess people could experience an enlarged liver, lung cancer, and even death.

            Mountaintop mining not only destroys the environment, it also is harming fish and even people. This process is being investigated and debated on whether the EPA should ban this harmful process. In Charleston, West Virginia, Environmental Justice Resource Staff, Bill Price has taken action to help save the beautiful landscape of West Virginia in a joint campaign initiated by the West Virginia Sierra Club. Mountaintop mining is dangerous as well as harmful in many ways and should be controlled.

Citations:

"Fatalities in West Virginia Coal Mines 1883-1925." Southwest Cyberport - Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Jan. 2010. <http://www.swcp.com/~dhickman/wvcmf/wvcmf.html>.

Kitts, Gene. "West Virginia Coal Association." West Virginia Coal Association. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Jan. 2010. <http://www.wvcoal.com/>.

"Scientists Urge U.S. Government to Ban Mountaintop Mining." Environmental Issues - News and Information about the Environment. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Jan. 2010. <http://environment.about.com/b/2010/01/08/scientists-urge-u-s-government-to-ban-mountaintop-mining.htm>.

" Selenium (Se) - Chemical properties, Health and Environmental effects."  Water Treatment and Purification - Lenntech. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Jan. 2010. <http://www.lenntech.com/periodic/elements/se.htm>.

StateUniversity.com. "mining - History, Steps in the mining process, Mining techniques, Environmental effects and mitigation, Mining industry              ." Cambridge Encyclopedia. State University, n.d. Web. 29 Jan. 2010. <http://encyclopedia.stateuniversity.com/pages/15206/mining.html>.

"WEST VIRGINIA COAL FACTS." West Virginia Office of Miners' Health Safety and Training Homepage. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Jan. 2010. <http://www.wvminesafety.org/wvcoalfacts.htm>.

"West Virginia Coal Mining." West Virginia Genealogy - WVGenWeb Project. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Jan. 2010. <http://www.wvgenweb.org/wvcoal/>.

"West Virginia Environmental Issues :: Sierra Club West Virginia." Welcome :: Sierra Club West Virginia. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Jan. 2010. <http://westvirginia.sierraclub.org/our_issues.html>.

“Extinct: 1. No longer existing in living or active form; having died out. 2 completely gone or destroyed; extinguished.” –American Heritage Dictionary

Ever since life has been found on earth, organisms have been dying and extinctions have occurred. Mass extinctions, however, are much less frequent, and far more destructive. I our present day, humans are witnessing a mass extinction. During the history of the Earth, there are only six recorded mass extinctions in Earth’s generous 4.6 billion year lifespan, the most recent taking place over 73,000 years ago. This extinction was due to the super-eruption of the Toba volcano, most Homo sapiens died during this time leaving only about 10,000 individuals on Earth. Though this is not considered one of the five mass extinctions, it was a major event and nearly eradicated the potential for evolution into present day humans.

When asked the question of whether we should care about the affects of human activity and whether we should care as long as the ones that we eat survive, I tend to think of two alternate questions. The first one involves re-defining “wildlife” in our minds and questioning whether the animals we eat can be considered “wildlife”. The second question is a two part question: Is the extinction occurring right now actually a natural cycle, or is it human induced? Could our effects on the environment lead to our own demise?

Answering my own question regarding food stocks, I do not believe that animals raised for the sole purpose of eating are considered wildlife. Around 12,000 years ago, it is believed that man first domesticated the dog. Domesticated animals never really know the hardships of the wild; they are raised, fed and bred in a sheltered environment. Stock animals, are even less privileged. They are raised for one purpose: for human consumption so in my mind, stock animals are not really animals, they are tools for human consumption. I’m not saying that it’s humane; I’m saying that these creatures can not survive in any other environment. It would be like trying to plug your toaster into a sink full of water. 

Moving to my second question, I definitely think that humans are causing most of the deaths in animals and plants. Humans have created an unsafe environment for organisms to function by industrializing, over populating, and polluting the Earth. If humans do not stop multiplying and destroying, the same thing will happen to us as is happening to the overpopulated rabbits in Tasmania. Tasmanian officials are planning to bait poisonous substances around the most populous areas to try to contain the rabbit population. Now, I don’t think that alligators and deer are going to start poisoning humans, but I think something, like a virus or a bacteria is going to wipe out huge populations of humans, especially since we are in such close quarters with each other. The Bubonic plague is a good example.

In conclusion, I do think that humans should care. Mainly because biodiversity could save our lives should a catastrophic event occur. Many species of endangered plants and animals have key ingredients for medicines and treatments. Biodiversity is the most wonderful thing the Earth has offered and it’s up to us to preserve it.