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Negative and positive impacts of coal mining
Negative and positive impacts of coal mining
Negative and positive impacts of coal mining
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Coal Mining in West Virginia has long been a source of income in the mountain state. Coal was first being mined here in 1742, and many of our families have felt the impact of coal. My grandfather and great grandfather were both involved in the coal industry. Both worked underground while my grandfather graduated to an above ground job doing maintenance on long wall miners and other mine related equipment. I can say that the life of a coal miner has altered the ways of many for this great state (both good and bad), which I will elaborate below.
Over a span of 273 years people have been mining coal in West Virginia. West Virginia has provided heat for homes and businesses with bituminous coal. And today, West Virginia’s coal miners are
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For instance, I have experienced the good of coal first hand. I have fished many streams in West Virginia that all the water is coming out of old and new coal mines. This provides a valley for homes, habitat for fish, food for people, heat for homes, and jobs for the people that live near the river. There are many places like this spread throughout West Virginia and other Appalachian States.
Coal Has provided my home, my famines home, my friends home, and many other homes in the state with heat. There is a large chain of events that help West Virginia. The coal mines is started near a river or t creates a river, then people move to the area creating a stable job for people in the area. The coal is mined and transported to homes around the state. This heats homes and creates families for future coal miners. This will keep the coal industry booming for many years to come
Coal also can be very damaging to the environment. People in the coal industry don’t always follow the precautions needed for helping the recovering environment that coal mining hurt. Most of the time water is polluted from the byproduct the is produced while mining coal. Like acid mine drainage, air pollution from coal-fired power plants, coal dust, coal sludge, and mountaintop
Copper mining has had a huge impact on Michigan throughout history. Copper mining has had such an impact that the Upper Peninsula of Michigan has a region referred to as “The Copper Country” because of its involvement in the copper-mining industry. The copper-mining industry has also led to technological developments necessary for hoisting and drilling as well as the development of towns and cities in the Keweenaw. In addition, it led to the creation of many potential jobs for residents of the towns that were developed to support these mines.
...ing the conditions faced by coal miners and their families in addition to events leading up to the uprising. However, some additional research should be done in regards to the West Virginia Coal Wars and the Battle of Blair Mountain.
The Powder River Basin coal beds are some of the thickest in the world helping to make the basin one of the top producers not only nationally but globally as well. Although the coals are low rank and therefore not ideal for producing electricity, the sheer amount of coal in the basin makes it very economical to mine these coals. The low ash and low sulfur content of the Powder River Basin coals also make the coal ideal for the current marketplace. The low ash and sulfur content helps to make these coals relatively environmentally friendly in comparison to coals that are mined from places like Illinois, which have higher sulfur contents. The vast amount of resources that the Powder River Basin contains makes this region of the United States a major player when it comes to supplying energy for the next century.
Coal mines in these times were glorified death traps and collapsed. Often. Workers or their families were basically never compensated for anything, and even when they took things to court, essentially no court was sympathetic toward any coal miner or their family, and if their father or brother died, they were on their on for the rest of their life, often then forcing child boys to work if they weren’t already. Also, not many workers spoke proper english in the mines, so they could not read instruction signs, and by misuse of equipment, killing themselves and/or other
The period in American history between 1900 and 1920 was a very turbulent one. Civil unrest was brewing as a result of many pressures placed upon the working class. Although wealth was accumulating at an astonishing rate in America, most people at the lower economic levels were not benefiting from any of it. Worst of all for them, the federal government seemed to be on the side of the corporations. Their helpless situation and limited options is why the coal strike of 1902 is so important.
Coal production had become a driving force behind the United States industrial revolution. Coal was used for a variety of purposes including powering steam engines, iron manufacturing, and the heat in homes and towns. One of the largest users of coal in southern Colorado was the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company (CF&I). Their furnaces were heated with coal from, he Culebra Mountain range in the southern part of Colorado was known for having some of the richest coal in the state. The coal is glossy black bituminous coal the second highest grade of coal available.
The energy producing market has always been a staple in Pennsylvania's history. Being rich in coal, natural gas, and other forms of energy, Pennsylvania has produced much of the nation's fuel or electricity. With a location so rich in coal, companies began to open many mines in order to either stay ahead of competitors, improve production, or for easier transportation of the commodity. The large amounts of coal being mined ushered in the many railroad systems bringing another powerful business to Pennsylvania. Coal barons, mine owners, made gross amounts of money off of the hard work from miners. Coal had played such a integral role in the Keystone State that it led to some towns being named after the industry such Carbondale and Minersville. Pennsylvania quickly became associated with coal in America and whenever there was news about the state, coal was mentioned with it. Especially during both World Wars, Pennsylvania was looked to for providing energy used both at home and in the war effort. This supply shock meant mine operations needed to run efficiently and both the Federal government and the presidents during each respective time ensured the productivity would meet the great demand. Coal mining was at an all time high until tragedy struck on 22 January 1959, when the River Slope mine's roof collapsed because of the Susquehanna River causing flooding to the mine killing many workers. The disaster marked the beginning of the end to deep mining in Pennsylvania. To this day however, Pennsylvania remains strongly associated with the harvesting of many energy sources.
5). The high mortality rates are related to the environmental exposures of the coal mining along with other factors such as smoking, poverty, education, age, race and sex. “Higher lung cancer incidence and mortality in the Kentucky Appalachia is thought to result from higher smoking rates and correlates of poor socioeconomic conditions which limits the population access to health care” (Hendryx, O'Donnell, & Horn, 2008, p. 2). The population residing in coal mining areas, are exposed to contaminated water and air from the coal mining and there is a concern for respiratory illnesses related to the pollutants. The fumes or toxin released from the coal mine, this places the individual at a risk for respiratory issues such as emphysema, black lung, brown lung and
Coal mines have driven the state of West Virginia since the state has been established. The state of West Virginia has never been an on the top state and in my opinion never will be. Without coal or the federal governments assisting in bring jobs to the state, West Virginia will always fall short of the stick. There are a couple things you can do in West Virginia to keep you and your family afloat, you can join the military, work in corrections sense there is prison and jails all over the state, get an education which people struggle to support themselves and end up dropping out, or illegally sell prescription drugs. I’m not promoting selling drugs or in favor of it, it’s the hard truth of this state. West Virginia also leads the nation in the highest rates of overdoses from prescription drugs use (K. Loften ,2016, March 29). This all ties into what West Virginians like to do, is to blame big government for their down fall. Traditional, the people of West Virginia believe that it’s the federal government fault for the coal industry crashing in the state. The people of West Virginia beliefs system is off of coal mining, but there is a divide in the state now. You have part of the state that is for coal and the other half against coal for various reasons. Coal fuel no matter how you look at it, is harmful to the
Coal has a very negative impact on the environment, one of the main impacts on the environment is the actual process of extracting the coal from the ground. The two ways that coal is mined, underground and surface, both have different effects on the environment. The first way that coal is mined is by digging tunnels and creating mineshafts underground and then removing the coal from th...
What comes to mind when you think of coal mining? If you're like me, coal mining means living in darkness and a cold hearted industry. Other words that come to mind are poverty and oppression. Coal mining is not a job that you dream about or get a degree for. People who are coal miners do not chose a life full of danger and repression, they get stuck with it. There are many dangers that come along with coal mining, not only for the workers, but for the environment. Coal mining and the coal industry have caused irreversible damage to our environment and has killed innocent miners.
Coal mining can benefit humans as well as it supports the economy in many ways. Coal mining provides a lot of jobs for local communities. It provides over 7 million jobs worldwide.
"Environmental Impacts of Coal Power:air Pollution." Union of Concerned Scientists. Union of Concerned Scientists, n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2014. .
These fuels include coal, oil products such as gasoline, and natural gas. Use of these fuels has a number of harmful health and environmental effects. According to the World Health Organization, outdoor air pollution, most of it from burning fossil fuels, especially coal kills at least 800,000 people each year and causes health problems for tens of millions of others. Technology is available to reduce such air pollution, but using it is costly and results in higher fuel
In our days, mining for resources is inevitable. The resources we need are valuable in everyday life. Such resources mined up are coal, copper, gold, silver, and sand. However, mining poses environmental risks that can degrade the quality of soil and water, which can end up effecting us humans if not taken care of and many of the damages are irreversible once they have occurred.